Great rugby on Ada Ciganlija pitch
We can be very satisfied with what we had the opportunity to see on Sunday at Ada Ciganlija. The U14s impressed us quite a bit with their games. Although this was the first tournament, we can see that the clubs have done a great job in the pre-season. It is particularly interesting that several clubs figure for the highest ranking. Uncertain and very interesting matches are played, which ultimately provides a motivation for training.
We believe that it is very important when you have four teams playing uncertain matches in one age category. Before, it was always that two or one team stood out and made a big difference. Not so in U14s. Maybe someone will say that the quality is not high, so the teams are at some top level. But it’s not like that, the quality of the team is very high for this age, where we saw even 15 phases in some attacks. Which means that both offense and defense are excellent.
What is the rules of competition
The U14s play rugby 10 tournaments, where five players play in the scrum and five players in the line. Pushing up to one meter is allowed in the scrum. Lifting in the lineout is allowed. There are no restrictions in the rules for rucks and mole. It is played on a field 35 meters wide and 60 meters long. A shot is allowed in any part of the field. Virtually all rules can be applied in relation to senior rugby. Please note that we think the U14s have outgrown this field and should play on a larger field to use more space instead of contact.
In the spring part of the season, the Cup is played in the younger categories, and in the fall, the Championship. A series of four tournaments is played. After completing all the tournaments, the team that wins the most points wins the Serbian Cup. At the tournament, each team is allowed to play 50 minutes of rugby, regardless of the number of games.
What you need to know about the clubs competing in the U14s competition
Five clubs from Serbia and one from Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the first tournament. Namely, RK Čelik has an invitation to participate in all competitions of younger categories in Serbia, albeit out of competition. It would be great if there were two competitions that would be scored from these tournaments, one together with Čelik and one without, only with domestic clubs, where Čelik would also have the opportunity to win the cup as the best team.
We must point out that we expected much more from all the teams in terms of numbers. We hoped that this winter would be used in the best way and that the teams would solidly fill their ranks. We cannot say that the situation is bad, on the contrary. But we expected much more, because if you have a very high-quality generation, you need to work on improving it and having as many children as possible in training. Nothing will happen by itself, you have to work a lot and struggle to get results.
BRK Crvena Zvezda │ A team whose quality belongs to the upper house of teams and which can fight for the very top of the table. They may not be the biggest team if we look at the height and weight of the players, but they make up for it very well with speed and collective play. A team that progresses from tournament to tournament. As the season draws to a close, the Zvezda games will be at a very high level. Perhaps we were most delighted by the collective defense, which had a rather serious task of dealing with physically superior teams. When you are a U14s player it is not an easy task.
RK Dorćol 1998 │ A team trying to catch up with the best. It can be very difficult and tiring if you have a limited number of players in your squad. Dorćolci are still a young team with only a few senior players in the U14s competition. It is definitely an aggravating circumstance, but the guys who are physically on par with the other teams are not far behind in terms of quality. This team will definitely show its best in the near future.
RK Dinamo 1954 │ The team that worked the most during the winter. They strengthened their line-up with a few new guys who came after school presentations. But they managed to bring back the former best player of the team, who did not forget rugby, but became even better. Although they were with only 11 players in this tournament, they certainly lacked another 7-8 players who could definitely contribute. A team that has depth in terms of quality both in the line and in the scrum.
RK Rad │ The team that showed the most in defense in the previous tournament. But he was quite undisciplined in the attack, so perhaps the expected result was missing. For a long time we have not seen such a good collective defense of a team, which manages to stop the opponent’s attacks and which maintains stability and impenetrability during several phases of the opponent’s attacks. A mature team that already has the experience of winning competitions and that will definitely show its best in the next tournaments.
RK Torpedo Mlava │ The team that needs to catch up with the other teams. What they lack the most is experience and collective play. They can gain experience very easily, if nothing they can always play test matches with any team. Physically, they are exceptional and can absolutely match any team, we even think they have the potential to be dominant. There is no over-arching philosophy, you have to train regularly and hard if you want to make a result.
RK Čelik │ A team from Bosnia and Herzegovina that has maintained the level of work in the junior categories over the years. The players look great technically and physically. A lot of guys have been training for many years and playing at a really high level. We were quite impressed by the fact that players change direction and angles before making contact, which makes them harder targets to knock down. A team that still needs to learn and gain experience and that will certainly represent the future of rugby in Zenica.
A very exciting group stage
A total of 6 teams registered for the draw before the start of the tournament. It was decided to make two groups of three teams each, who would play each other in the group. After that, the two groups would cross, where the first-placed teams would play for first place, the second-placed for third and the third-placed for fifth place. Each team would play 3 games. Each game lasted 16 minutes, ie each half was 8 minutes.
It was quite interesting in the A group. In the first match, Dinamo was convincing against Dorćol with a score of 45-5. But that’s why the derby match between Dinamo and Zvezda was one of the matches of the day. First, Dinamo took a 10-0 lead. And then until the end of the game, there was a gunfight between Nemanja Adžić and Jovan Rakić. First, Rakić brought Zvezda a 10-10 tie with his points. Dinamo took the lead again 15-10, and Zvezda tied again 15-15. At the very end of the match, Adžić was unstoppable and scored the winning goal. In the third match, Zvezda was convincing against Dorćol and won 45-5.
In the B group, the competition started with a match between Rad and Torpedo. Rad celebrated 45-0. and then the real hit came. Rad and Čelik met. The first part of the match saw an exceptional fight. In the end, Uroš Vukašinović scored an try for the lead. In the second part of the match, Eric Zovko equalized, and after a great fight, Vukašinović again laid the ball for 10-5 and the victory of Rad. In the third match, Celik was convincing against Torpedo and won 60-5.
The fight for placement met expectations
We couldn’t wait to see the match between Dorćol and Torpedo, where we expected a great fight. In the end, we did not get what we expected because Torpedo played an excellent game and in the end convincingly defeated Dorćolce 45-10. we believe that this is not a realistic result and that both teams are closer to each other in terms of quality.
In the match for third place, it was quite interesting. Zvezda was exceptional in defense and managed to resist Celik. However, the first part of the match ended with a score of 5-0 for the team from Zenica, as Edin Suljić scored an try. And in the second part of the match we saw a lot of excitement. First, Husein Direk made it 10-0, but Zvezda countered through Andrej Markov and reduced it to 10-5. Čelik took the lead again through Emir Softić 15-5. After that, Sergej Savić scores an essay and brings the game back to a tie. In the end, Dorijan Jonjić decided with an try at the end of the match and secured third place for his team.
The final was a real final, where we got everything we wanted. Great rugby, suspense and a great fight. In the first five minutes, Dinamo made the difference 10-0 through Nemanja Adžić. By the end of the first part of the match, Danilo Rakić reduced the lead to 10-5 with a great breakthrough. Right at the beginning of the second part of the match, Uroš Vukašinović scored an essay and brought uncertainty to the match. And then already in the next attack, the magic of the first line was seen in the performance of the Grozdić brothers. First, an excellent breakthrough was made by Lazar, who was excellently sent off by Filip, which was rewarded with an offload and an try. Dinamo led 15-10. After a great fight, the match was decided by Stefan Marquez, who achieved a final result of 20-10 with an excellent breakthrough.
Match information:
Venue: Ada Ciganlija
Date: 26.03.2023.
Start of the turnament: 11:00h
Referee: Relja Bulajić
Referee: Ivan Rodić
Match comessionnaire: Stevan Ilijašević
Doctor: Srđan Nikolić
Weather forecast Sun, 17C
Spectaters: 120
Results:
Group A:
RK Dorćol 1998 – RK Dinamo 1954 5-45
RK Dinamo 1954 – BRK Red Star 20-15
BRK Crvena Zvezda – RK Dorcol 1998 45-5
Group B
RK Torpedo Mlava – RK Rad 0-45
RK Rad – RK Čelik 10-5
RK Čelik – RK Torpedo Mlava 60-5
Finals:
5th place: RK Dorćol 1998 – RK Torpedo Mlava 10-45
3rd place: BRK Crvena Zvezda – RK Čelik 10-20
1st place: RK Dinamo 1954 – RK Rad 20-10
TOP 10 players
We did not rank the players who is the best, simply these ten players left an impression on us and we want to mention and single them out. However, we want to single out when someone stands out, when someone trains hard and when it shows on the field. We did not take into account the players of Čelik, but we seriously plan to include them for the next tournament and strengthen the already serious competition.
Lazar Grozdić
Position: Prop
YOB: 2008
Club: RK Dinamo 1954
Comparason: Martín Leandro Castrogiovanni
Lazar continues to improve in all segments of the game. We were most impressed by his footwork and positioning in contact, where he gets the most out of the current situation with a tendency to advance and conquer space. He excels in open play, which he showed in several situations during the tournament. He is extremely dangerous when he is in penetration, he is able to throw his teammate offload very often, as we had the opportunity to see in the final match.
David Salih
Position: Center
YOB: 2008
Club: RK Dorćol 1998
Comparason: Gaël Fickou
Excellent on both sides of the court. He positions himself well on the field, which allows him to find holes in the opposition’s defense more easily. He is the bearer of the Dorćol game and a lot of things depend on him. A very fast and explosive player who, when he gets the right ball, can very quickly catapult into free space and cause the opponent quite a bit of trouble.
Lazar Bajić
Position: Prop
YOB: 2009
Club: RK Rad
Comparason: Bakkies Botha
Lazar is one of the most dominant ball carriers in the pioneer age category. He changes direction before contact and enters contact at various angles, which gives him an initial advantage. He makes a long presentation that allows his team to quickly flow the ball from the ruck. An excellent defensive player who is always dominant in contact. Excellent positioning in attack and defense. Productive in statics, both in the scrum and in the out, where Rad is one of the few teams that pull up jumpers.
Jovan Rakić
Flyhalf
YOB: 2008
Club: BRK Crvena Zvezda
Comparason: Conrad Smith
A player who plays as an opener, but can actually play in all positions in the line. He’s got good hands, he’s quick, he’s got a good overview of the game, he’s very penetrating. A player who can keep up with the fast pace of the game. Which is very important because Zvezda played the fastest rugby in the tournament. In defense, he is stable and steady. It can be extremely dangerous in ruck. His attacking arsenal is huge, he has that killer instinct where they look for a hole in the defense that he attacks.
Stefan Markez
Position: Center
YOB: 2008
Club: RK Dinamo 1954
Comparason: Huw Jones
A definite revelation of this tournament for us. A versatile player who can cover center and wing positions in the team. Physically very strong and fast, very dangerous in penetration. Which he showed as it was his breakthrough essay that put an end to the tournament winner. What is extremely interesting to us is that his ceiling for progress is immeasurable, and we believe that we are yet to see the best of him.
Uroš Vukašinović
Position: fullback
YOB: 2008
Club: RK Rad
Comparason: Shane Williams
Hell of a player. We didn’t have a chance to watch the whole tournament and watch all his games, but it seems to us that he didn’t have a single missed shot. It’s not often that someone has such a good overview of the game in defense and an eye for anticipating the opponent’s attacks. Extremely quick and strong in contact. It has a wide range of weapons in attack. From the quick change of direction to the strength in contact, he has an excellent tactical shot, so very often you have no way to defend his attack.
Andrej Markov
Position: Center, Wing
YOB: 2008
Club: BRK Crvena Zvezda
Comparason: Damian Penaud
Andreja is characterized by explosiveness and speed. The specialty of this season is winning the ball in contact, where he had several steals. Excellent in defense, he positions himself well. Great tackler. However, we will always look at his game from the perspective of depth and strong penetrations that characterize him. Very good as an support, like the entire Zvezda team.
Aleksa Radojković
Flyhalf
YOB: 2008
Club: RK Torpedo Mlava
Comparason: Sonny Bill Williams
One of the most physically fit players in Serbia. Excellent on both sides of the court. Defensively, he is strong in tackles and rucks. It can be seen that he lacks experience in order to improve his game. In attack, he is aggressive, fast and strong. Very durable in contact, where he can withstand an opponent’s knockdown on his feet. Although he is the leader of the Torpedo team, we believe that he needs to manage the game more and talk to his players on the field.
Nemanja Adžić
Position: Lock, center
YOB: 2008
Club: RK Dinamo 1954
Comparason: Michael Hooper
It may have been a long time scrolling through the list, but it was even longer our wait to see Nemanja Adžić on the rugby fields again. And we waited, he delivered what we expected, even more than that. Apart from being extremely efficient and penetrating, we must emphasize that he was not selfish. He is extremely active in both attack and defense, which is ultimately reflected in the results. Dinamo has grown into a very complete team, and with the mature and motivated Adzić, the sky is the limit.
Aleksandar Lazarevic
Position: Center
YOB: 2009
Club: RK Rad
Comparason: Jamie Roberts
We don’t know if you watched Alexander in the tournament, but he is like a knockdown machine. The game against Celik can be a real master’s thesis written from the point of view of defense. It may seem to you that we are writing too romantically, but it is really not like that. This way of defending was fantastic. And when you have such players in the U14s competition, it is a huge capital. Aleksandar is also excellent in attack, where he is distinguished by penetrations and accompaniment. But the defense is still what makes his game stand out.
