27 - 5

Argentina Exiles

Another big day of rugby down in Gubbängen. A whole lot of junior rugby through the age groups, and what seemed like thousands of young Exiles playing well throughout the day. For the senior mens section only one game today against Uppsala. Both Uppsala and Exiles have a problem most clubs in Sweden would be envious of, too many players and not enough games to give them all a run out. With that in mind the two clubs gatecrashed the juniors day for a friendly between Uppsala 2s and Exiles 3s.

Exiles had a very mixed team that contained a number of Exiles up and coming talents from age group rugby (look out Swedish rugby these boys mean business), a couple of players long in the tooth, and a few wanting more game time after limited opportunities so far. Tempted to just play a Barbarians style the coaches opted instead to retain the structures and rely on several tonnes of prime Argentinian beef to hold everything together. And boy did the South American contingent repay that faith, Fernando “El Toro” Lopez bagging a hatrick and man of the match, and his countryman Santino scything through the defence with the smell of fresh mate drifting over the pitch from the sidelines to also get on the scoresheet. 

The game itself was played in good spirit reflecting the friendly nature. Both sides came to play rugby in almost perfect conditions, and much of the match was an honours even affair. Both sides ran and tackled hard, but Exiles defence had the upper hand and denied Uppsala much joy. In attack Exiles took their chances and built a lead that was never threatened. Final score 27-5 to the home side. Both sides will meet again soon as Exiles 2s take on Uppsala’s 1st XV down in Gubbängen which could be a very early title decider in the north if current form is any indication.