The result was much more cruel than the gameplay. Slovak national team lost to Serbia’s side after good performance in the first half due to way too many basic mistakes.
Slovakia’s “junaks” started in a way we know so very well in RKB – by conceding a very easy try right at the beginning. Slovaks were then working hard to maintain possesion, pushed phase by phase to the opponent’s 22, then easily lost the ball and conceded. The half-time score 12-24 was optimistic anyway. The game was still open and the opponent was not as better as the score suggested.
Motivated Slovak team entered the second half with much of the same unfortunately. Easy mistakes were enough for the Serbs to punish otherwise solid team. Slovaks completely blew the beginning of the 2nd half and the high quality pressure in the last minutes were only a weak consolation in otherwise winnable match.
The main strenght of our side was the pack. Weakness was the defence on the wings. We conceded too many knock-ons without pressure and we lost too many of our own lineouts.
This is a pity because after eliminating these basic mistakes one would accept in a club but not in the national team, Slovakia’s side could be much more competitive.
Rugby Klub Bratislava 