Pale Serbia convincingly defeated
We didn’t play at our signature level. We were too disorganized and archaic with no clear structure in the game. The static was at a devastating level. We can say that we were lucky that the opponent lost the ball in the first part of the match, otherwise the score would have been higher than the already convincing 64-0. Otherwise, the French played with one less player from the second half, because one of their players received a red card for an unsportsmanlike move. What was very strange was that the referee didn’t even give a yellow card, during the match, we only learned through the loudspeaker that the player’s yellow card was changed to a red one. A very strange situation, but we repeat again, it is a friendly match, the incident happened and the decision is absolutely right.
Preparatory match before the start of the Conference against Moldova
For a long time, Serbia did not play any preparatory match before the official competition. Finally, an opportunity arose against the French Army, which is a great experience for us to play against such a team. However, we don’t think it’s a good idea to play a warm-up game 7 days before an official match against an opponent you lose 64-0 to. This can have a rather negative effect on the confidence of the team. Rugby is a level sport, and when there are such differences in the quality of the teams, it is not really desirable to even play a match. Because what can you learn from a game where someone beats you by more than 60 points. If the answer is that we need to toughen up, get beaten to learn something and the like, that’s for rugby prison. We will just say that until the 52nd minute we did not set foot in the opponent’s 22 meters.

However, if we were to take some positive things out of the match, it is definitely the experience we got playing against a very organized team. This will especially mean to our young players, who should emulate that level, and who, in our opinion, have the potential to play at a high level if quality and organized work is done with them. And in the right way.
Too many mistakes in the first half and a fighting Serbia in defense
The players were highly motivated, because they had excellent conditions for playing a match against a very high-quality opponent. And the beginning of the match did not show that there would be such a difference in the end. We had the opportunity to see how strong the French are in contact, but they also made a lot of mistakes. However, in the 6th minute, after the penalty they received from the scrum, they shot at the goal and took the lead with a score of 3-0. The first essay was long awaited. Almost 12 minutes, when the French had a scrum in our 5 meters, expertly pushed it where the stopper picked up the ball and scored an essay from the break. Demi opponent was safe in the shot for 10-0.

And then in the 25th minute, perhaps the most beautiful essay of the match. The French had an out ten meters from our essay. They made a fake on the first jumper, the second jumper squeezed in front of our jumper who was static defensively, won the ball easily. The second line player who came in for the ball did not make a mole, but passed to the tackler who started to cut towards the line of the field, pop pass to the scrum player who cut to the opposite side and scored a try. Phenomenal. We can include that action in our portfolio if we have it at all.
The French again, after receiving a penalty in the scrum, shoot out and win the field smartly. They win the out easily, because the resistance we have is that the player jumps by himself, like rugby in the 80s when there was no lift. The French form a mole with which they push the ball into the essay. The shooter is again accurate for 24-0. In 39. minute everything happened the same as at 22. . Absolutely the same action, an even worse reaction from our jumpers, but this time the French stopper didn’t walk to the goal, but brought in our two players. Literally mirrored action. Again a successful transformation for 31-0, as was the score at the end of the half.

In the second part, Serbia was sliding towards disaster
It wasn’t too long before we received a new essay. After a throw-in in our 22 meters, in the 41st minute, the French formed a pier and scored an essay without any major problems. Our defense was non-existent. After a successful shot, the score was 38-0. And then came the best action of the day, when the French player kicked the ball from the penalty spot to a winger who scored a try. Even though it all happened in front of the judge, he overruled a really great try.
Immediately in the next attack, the French Army scored an essay, and technically we see they held the strings in their hands. In the 52nd minute of the match, we managed to enter the opponent’s 22 meters for the first time. That’s how big the difference was. But at the end of the match, we started to have a bit more possession of the ball. We were very slow where we played without any idea, and you could say game plan. However, in those moments when we attacked, we in the audience were as happy and delighted as when the cold storage workers finally pay for the redemption of the raspberry. In the end, the match ended with a big 64-0 for the opponent. We had the impression that the guests reduced the gas a little, so as not to humiliate us to the end.
Serbian national team: Dušan Jovanović, Alen Ćosović, Danijel Stojanović, Mirko Ranković, Dušan Jocić, Stanislav Ljubičić, Stefan Ivković, Predrag Keglić, Janko Zemun Milinković, Igor Gajić, Velibor Srećković, Žulijen Matijašević, Aleksandar Đorđević, Antoan Jovović, Igor Dejanović, Vladimir Đukić, Petar Pavlović, Predrag Vraneš, Ivan Rodić, Aleksandar Andrić, Relja Pećanac, Uroš Jevđenijević, Nebojša Stošić, Kiprijan Đorić, Dragan Kokanović, Slobodan Ivković, Dragan Matijević, Uroš Jončić, Miljan Nikolić, Vladimir Janićijević.
4 takeaways
A good scrum is played for the long term
You can’t make a good scrum for two or three training sessions and expect it to withstand the pressure of an experienced scrum like the French Army. We started the match with Danijel Stojanović, who has not played the first line since the U14 pioneers, and as such is untrained for that position. And that can be very dangerous for player safety. Due to the force of circumstances, Danijel took up the position of hooker. Also, Alen Ćosović also performed in the position of the counter, which is not his natural position and which he does not even play in his club. The second pillar was Dušan Jovanović, who left the game after 5 minutes because the scrum was not stable, other pillars came in who also did not provide a scrum. Imagine you have a young player in whom you need to invest time in matches like this, in order to gain the necessary experience, and you kick him out after 5 minutes, so how do you think that affects his confidence? Especially when your changes do not stabilize your scrum. Maybe it’s not up to the first line at all? The scrum only slightly stabilized when Vladimir Đukić and Predrag Vraneš played in the first line on the posts. What do you think when you throw a player out because of a mistake, how do the other teammates react to it, how does the audience in the stadium react to it, how does the hungry people who came to watch him react to it and how does the player who should be there in the next ones react to it cycles. Is this how we build the cult of the national team?

There are no Dynamo players while they are called players who do not train rugby 15 or do not train rugby at all
We are sorry, but this is a huge impression for us. Why are there no Dinamo players in the Serbian national team? We understand that some players are injured, but a bunch of them are not, and imagine they play and train rugby 15. It is impossible that in this team of Serbia, which is blown away by the French soldiers at home, there is no place for Dramičanin, Milevski, Pal, Adžić or Gavrilović. Is there no one who follows rugby in Serbia? Why are players who do not train more rugby, who do not play rugby 15, called up? Someone who doesn’t train and who doesn’t play rugby 15, gets the opportunity to play for the Serbian national team before the children, in which we invest significant resources for years. Well of course there will be a bad relationship when things like this happen.
Farewell to Žulijen Matijašević
The national team of Serbia and the rugby community in general can be happy and grateful that they had Žulijen Matijašević in their ranks. A player who played for the national team for more than 8 years, who played some fantastic matches. A player who is a leader on the field and has always accepted roles that put him in front of him. A very nice gesture by the Rugby Union of Serbia, which perhaps paid tribute in the best way to one of the best players in the last 20 years who played for the national team.

Excellent school for young players, but missed preparation before Moldova
You are preparing for a competition and you play a game where someone beats you 64-0 at home. It’s anything but a successful check or warmup. But we still have to end the article with something positive. And it is an opportunity for the youth to play the game at a high level, as we said earlier in the text, to play a match against a structured team that is very strong in statics. We will see how well our team will manage to recover mentally for the match against Moldova. You need to find a motive to move on, which is very difficult after a performance like this.