Exiles take second place at Kalmar 10s

Exiles II travelled down to Kalmar with a strong squad and high hopes of placing well in the annual 10s tournament. The squad was carrying a few injuries and minor knocks from the previous weeks intra club game, but looked good on paper, and went on to look just as good on grass, narrowly missing out on the cup.

The first game against Kalmar the home team was the curtain raiser for the day. Both teams fresh and at full strength played an absorbing game. Kalmar twice took the lead but were pegged back and then overtaken by Exiles who ran out worthy winners 12-14. Exiles suffered 2 yellow cards and conceded a penalty try during the game, the referee clearly not taking a liking to aspect of the Exiles play. A strong defence and lightning sharp attack when sensing opportunity saw the boys home in the end.

The second game was against the highly fancied Beer Brothers, a Swedish invitational side packed with 7s and national team players. However Exiles ran them extremely close, narrowly losing to the eventual competition winners 14-12. Beer Brothers ran well in attack but were met at every turn by stout Exiles defence, unable to break through they picked off two Exiles mistakes to score and convert, the second conversion being highly contentious as several players were convinced it had not gone over. This was to prove the difference between the two sides as Exiles replied with two tries and a conversion of their own.

The third game against Hisingen RK continued the theme of strong Exiles defending as Exiles kept a clean sheet and ran out winners 12-0, with the game called off at half time due to Hisingen losing several players to injury and only being able to field 6 men for the remainder of the game. 

Next a break in play allowed the more social nature of 10s to come to the fore as Exiles joined the all club boat race on the field in front of a rowdy and expectant crowd. Exiles went on to win this with room to spare. Never in doubt was the feeling of the boys as they romped to a comfortable win.

The final game saw Exiles take on a young Pingvin side in a contest that has decided several SMs in the XV format over recent years. Exiles by now were down to the bare bones in terms of players and finished with 9 as no more subs were available due to injuries sustained during the day. Quite possibly a few key players with minor knocks having one eye on this weeks first second team league fixture away at Uppsala, and with Exiles leading comfortably, chose to keep further powder dry. Exiles eventually ran out winners 32-7 with the fast and mobile Pingvin side unable to cope with the power game Exiles brought. 

That brought a conclusion to the days rugby. All in all a very good day for Exiles. Exiles second team now look forward to Uppsala with strong competition for places in a squad coming together well under the new coaching structure. Well done to all the boys who played, they showed heart and skill ultimately only missing out on silverware by 2 points in what was the first real run out of the season.