Serbia has the opportunity to complete the year without defeat
It sounds a bit unusual for our concepts, but it is true. We have the opportunity to end the year without defeat and to stand out at the top of the table of Conference 2 before the final game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The atmosphere is positive in the team, which is always a sign of a good result. After a convincing performance against Montenegro, appetites have increased and we expect good news from Trabzon. It would be ideal if Serbia had 10 points already on Saturday. That would be the most desirable situation for us, where we could calmly see off the other results in our group.
How Turkish national team play?
We had the opportunity to meet with them twice in the two previous cycles. We recorded two victories, but we cannot say that we were successful. It’s already far away in the year 2019 where we won 30-15, while last year we won 37-14. These are good results, but they tell us that we must not relax too much and that we must do the job to the end. On the other hand, we played these matches at home, and now we are visiting them for the first time.
Turkey recorded a defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the start of the competition 25-13. If we compare their team with the one that played against us in Starčevo 2021, only 7 of the same players appeared in both games. Which tells us that they changed almost the entire team. They have a lot of young players who are gathering valuable international experience. When we see their composition, we can judge how the game will look like.
As we announced last week, the Turks are playing unusual, dare we say chaotic, because we have not had the opportunity to see such a way of playing in the rugby 15 format, except when you are chasing victory in the last seconds. They play from a penalty in their own 22 meters instead of winning the space with a kick out. It’s like they play 7s all the time. Their offense is not at a high level, and you should definitely look for a chance there. If they put pressure on their outfield, they would certainly win most of the balls.
Turkey has an extremely physically fit team, which is very fast and strong in contact. A moment of inattention is enough, which the Turks can use through their explosive players Technique is not their strong point, so they will certainly make a lot of mistakes, if there is no pressure on their attacking line, they will easily transfer the pass from one wing to the other. They have a mobile scrum, which is able to cover a large part of the field. Their line is fast and explosive, special attention should be paid to the wings. We must never leave enough space for them. They know how to take advantage of every situation.
They have one coordinated action that they repeat several times in the game. Namely, after the ruck, the scrum players rush and look for the ball, Demi jumps over them and passes to the opener. Then the first center looks for the ball, but the opener passes either to the second center or to the defender who is in a full run. In this way, they won a lot of ground against Bosnia and Herzegovina. When they stop a player in the penetration, a fast ball goes to the wing. They based their entire game on different variations of this action. Sometimes the opener pulls alone, sometimes the ball goes to the first center who often uses a tactical shot.
Match information
Home town, Country: Trabzon, Turkey
Venue: Vakifkebir Stadion
Date 15.10.2022. .
Kickoff: 11.00h CET, Serbian time
Weather: Cloudy, 15C
How to watch the game live?
We’re already saying it over and over again, but it’s not out of place to remind you that you can always watch every match under the auspices of the European Rugby Federation live. That is, on the website, enter the competition section, find Conference 2 South, then find the match between Turkey and Serbia. In order to be able to watch the match, you must register your account on the site, and then log in with your username and password. If it is complicated for you to find the link for the match between Serbia and Montenegro, you can click here. If the page freezes after logging in, don’t say out loud that the stream isn’t working and give up. Its year 2022 ,restart the page in the browser and the stream will work.
How to play against Turkey?
Pretty simple. In defense we have to apply pressure and run out quickly and close the space. Aggressiveness in defense is the key. We also have to cover the space behind our defensive line well, as they often use a short shot to get past the defensive line. An organized and disciplined defense can decide this game early on. When we shut down their fast game, we more or less shut down the entire game.
Our big opportunity is in statics, especially in actions from the car. Do not forget that most of the essays against Montenegro were from built actions after the lineouts. But here we have to be patient and smart. The Turks don’t defend the lineout well, they defend the maul very poor, and we have to make the most of that. As well as putting pressure on their outside, our jumper must always jump and go to the ball. We can freely count on their uncertain lineout.
Our best opportunity and chance is a game plan and patience. If we follow Milović’s game system and impose a strong and fast pace, the Turks will not be able to defend. Against Montenegro, we kept a high tempo of the game, but we also made a lot of mistakes, which is understandable to some extent when you play a game with a high score. Now we have to be concentrated, follow the game plan and go towards the goal, which is a three-point difference, i.e. victory with a bonus point.
Rugby Serbia National Team
Compared to the match in Belgrade, we will have two changes in the first line-up. Boris Martić and Žulijen Matijašević will not be in the squad against Turkey. Which means that Vladimir Đukić will return to the prop position, Boško Jovanović will start on the hooker. Instead of Matijašević, Antoan Jovović will start in the second center position. In total, we will have five new players compared to the match with Montenegro, but all five will start the game from the bench. Since the creation of the site, we have wanted to use the word curiosity in the right way, and now that opportunity has finally arrived. It is curious that the list includes players from 6 clubs in Serbia. That is, it would be 7, because Stefan Simović is a member of RK Dorćol who plays for RK Partizan. The debutants are Stefan Simović and Stefan Ivković.
Serbian nation team squad
- Vladimir Đukić – RK Rad (Serbia)
- Boško Jovanović – ESSS Rugby (France)
- Predrag Vraneš -RK Rad (Serbia)
- Aleksandar Krstić – RK Partizan (Serbia)
- Relja Pećanac – RK Rad (Serbia)
- Aleksandar Mađanović – BRK Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)
- Alen Ćosović – RK Rad (Serbia)
- Predrag Keglić – BRK Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)
- Aljoša Avramović – RK Partizan (Serbia)
- Nikola Stanković – RK Rad (Serbia)
- Velibor Srećković – RK Partizan (Serbia) – Captain
- Aleksandar Đorđević – BRK Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)
- Antoin Jovović – Merignac Rugby (France)
- Kaspar Strugar – Henley Hawks (England)
- Igor Dejanović – RK Partizan (Serbia)
- Ivan Rodić – BRK Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)
- Uroš Jončić – RK Rad (Serbia)
- Stefan Ivković – RK Kruševac (Serbia)
- Nemanja Stošić – RK Rad (Serbia)
- Ivan Voštić – RK Dinamo 1954 (Serbia)
- Rajko Janković –RK Vojvodina (Serbia)
- Stefan Simović – RK Partizan (Serbia)
- Stevan Nikolić – RK Rad (Serbia)
Headcoach: Michel Milović
Coach: Marko Janković
Coach: Marko Žeravica
Coach: Ljubomir Bukvić
Team manager: Miroljub Bukvić
We wish the Serbian national team good luck and an injury-free match.
