The decision on the Serbian Champion has been postponed until the matchday 14 .
As we mentioned in the article announcing the autumn season, it could easily have happened that already at the first match we have an almost clear picture of who will be the champion of Serbia. If Partizan won, they would have two wins over Rado and a pole position to complete the remaining games and win the fifth title in a row. However, the Građevinari eventually triumphed and postponed the decision until the matchday 14 ,when in the so-called “final” match it will be decided who will take home the trophy. What a match it will be, the crown of the season!
| Поз (Pos) | Екипа (Team) | У(GP) | П(W) | И(L) | Н(D) | ПФ(PF) | ПА(PA) | ПД(PD) | БП(BP) | Б(Pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  RK Rad | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 528 | 101 | 427 | 9 | 41 |
| 2 |  RK Partizan | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 398 | 141 | 257 | 6 | 26 |
| 3 |  RK Dinamo 1954 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 178 | 361 | -183 | 5 | 17 |
| 4 |  RK Torpedo Mlava | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 76 | 577 | -501 | 3 | -1 |
Even game in the first half
The derby match definitely lived up to the expectations of rugby fans. What we had the opportunity to see was a very high-quality and uncertain game in the first half with a lot of nice moves. A hard-fought match played at a high tempo, which we are happy to see again in senior rugby. Hard and strong games produce top rugby players and motivate players to train harder.
The match opened with a high tempo of play on both sides. Work was excellent in open play, Partizan was more effective. Already at 15th minute of the match, the black and whites attacked strongly in Radov’s 22 meters, where the ball came to Aljoša Avramović on the wing, who used his speed, went around the defender and scored an try for 5-0. Not long after, there was an incomprehensible drop in Partizan’s game, when Nemanja Stošić applied pressure from a blocked shot, picked up the debris and scored an try. Uroš Babić was confident in the transformation for 7-5.
In 26th 1 minute, a bad pass by Partizan caused Rad to pick up the dropped ball and put pressure in the opponent’s 22 meters. Then Partizan wins the ball, and soon loses it, that is, it is won by Miladin Živanov who forms a ruck, from which Uroš Jončić lifts the ball and scores an essay. Babić is confident in the kicking for 21-5. And then Partizan’s scrum enters the scene in the 31st minute ,where he creates an advantage for a penalty with an excellent push, but Stefan Đorđević does a great job assisting Borislav Radić who scores a try and reduces the score to 21-10. Partizan’s rush was crowned in the 36th minute, when Miloš Ljubičić first reacted excellently in the ruck and won a penalty which Avramović quickly executes, then passes to Rajko Trifunović, who returns the pass to Avramović, who again sends the ball to Trifunović with a grab, who scores a try for 21-15.
Rad shifted into fifth gear in the second half
The beginning of the second half was marked by the blue and whites, who continued at a high pace. Partizan seemed tired and slow, unlike the first part. Then at 49th minute, the ball reaches Danijela Stojanović, who performs the move of the match, where he scores an try under the posts with a great penetration. Babić is again safe in the conversion for 28-15. In those moments, the Građevinari took the total initiative, after one of the actions in the 22 meters of Partizan, Srđan Božić took advantage of the opponent’s poor positioning around the ruck, as a demi he raised the ball and scored a try for 33-15.
Partizan got rid of the pressure and began to play more openly. There were opportunities on both sides. Until the 75th minutes, no change in results was seen. After one attack, the ball comes out of Partizan’s ruck, with quick hands the ball reaches Stanković who was unstoppable in a sprint where he scores an try under the posts. Babić increased the score to an unattainable 40-15 with a safe kick. Not long after the referee awarded a penalty against Partizan, Babić was knocked down from the penalty for 43-15. However, that was not the end of the game. In the last attack, Partizan managed to score the fourth try through Vukašin Medic and win a bonus point. The final score of the match was 43-20.
Match information:
Date: 04.09.2022.
Temperature: Sunny, 23C
Match kickoff: 17:00h
Repriza: Sportuzivo
Referee: Mihailo Marjanović
Assistant referee: Marko Žeravica
Asistant refferee: Match information:ladimir Radulović
Match commissaire: Stevan Ilijašević
Serbian Championship: Lear more.
RK Rad: Vladimir Đukić, Milan Trujkić, Predrag Vraneš, Vojin Karanović, Uroš Jevđenijević, Boris Milojković, Danijel Stojanović 5, Relja Pećanac, Srđan Božić 5, Miladin Živanov, Nikola Stašić, Uroš Jončić 5, Nemanja Stošić 5, Nikola Stanković 10, Uroš Babić 13, Alen Ćosović, Stanislav Ljubičić.
RK Partizan: Miloš Joksimović, Vid Pejović, Aleksandar Ljubičić, Ivan Nicić, Đorđe Preradojević, Vukašin Medić 5, Nikola Nenadović, Stefan Đorđević, Borislav Radić 5, Stefan Nikolic, Aljoša Avramović 5, Miloš Ljubičić, Velibor Srećković, Rajko Trifunović 5, Igor Dejanović, Ivan Spasenović, Miloš Tamburić, Lazar Grubić, Uroš Popović, Aleksandar Krstić, Boban Janković.
7 takeaways
High tempo of the game
We honestly did not expect such a high tempo of the game. Given that this is the first match for both teams, we were expecting more contact play throughout the match. However, we were very wrong. Both teams insisted on fast rugby, which had a considerable effect on the high quality. We had the opportunity to see, for our standards, very fast rucks, good penetrations, clearing rucks, but also very high-quality and solid defenses. If the beginning of the season brought us this kind of rugby, then our expectations for the other games are also greatly increased.
Excellent Nemanja Stošić
Man of the match for us, without any doubt. He simply excelled in everything, even though he is only 20 years old, we can safely say that he is growing and developing into a very good player. In defense, he did a masterful job, where he successfully stopped Partizan’s central line. He won a few balls. Among other things, he picked up a scrap after a blocked Partizan shot and scored an try. He was deadly in attack, forcing a high tempo, with more than good decision-making. We can say, the best game he played this season.
Aljoša Avramović's factor
What a game from Aljoša in the first half. Blast from the player. He scored the first try of the game in a masterful way, where he ran over the opponent. Whenever he had the ball he was a great danger for Rad. Extremely effective in attack. He created the third goal for the partisans, when he took a quick penalty and exchanged passes with Rajko Trifunović, where he assisted me for the try with a grabber kick. In defense, he was exceptional and up to the task, ideally covering space. A very disciplined player, who profits from that discipline. In the second half, he was reassigned to the position of demi, where we think that Partizan lost sharpness on the wings with that move. Because Trifunović and Avramović are an extremely good pair of wings.
Partizan's dominant scrum
For a long time, Partizan did not have such a dominant static scrum, where it made a big difference. Play from the scrum, penalties won, black and white were up to the task. They scored the second try in the game from the scrum, when the number 8 passed to scrumhalf who scored the try, we already described it earlier in the text. What surprised us was that Partizan did not profit from a dominant scrum. When you get a penalty after a scrum, you’re usually looking for another scrum, where if the opposition doesn’t defend, they can be without a yellow card player. It is a very important item in such matches, which had to be used. When you win a penalty after a scrum and shoot out to win space, you have to win that out in order to capitalize on the advantage in the scrum. However, it did not go so smoothly, so the dominant scrum was squandered.
Presentation of Danijel Stojanović
We have been talking for a long time about how we have very high-quality players in the younger categories. And that quality is also very good in senior rugby. When an educated player trains well and works on an individual level, then we get a player who at the age of 17 provides excellent games. We got that from Daniel at the derby. Very strong and confident in contact, especially when in penetration. In rucks he showed class with good support and cleaning technique. In defense, he was excellent and steadfast, where he successfully closed all the holes in his team’s defense. We are very grateful that we had the opportunity to witness such a performance, and that is why we believe that Daniel has presented himself in the full light in senior rugby.
A high price for Partizan's mistakes in the first half
Mistakes are an integral part of both life and sports. Sometimes we pay dearly for them, sometimes we get away with it and pass as if they never happened. In the first half, Partizan received 14 points from two of their “cheap” mistakes, which had a significant impact on the course of the game. First, a bad selection of the shot affected its blocking, where the waste was picked up by a Rad player who scored an easy essay. When you have a penalty close to your essay, you always try to get out of your 22 safely and with a safe shot in games like this. Instead, Partizan quickly executed a penalty, where the unsupported player lost the ball, and in the continuation of the action, he also received an try.. If it weren’t for these two situations, who knows what the game would look like.
Discipline
A regular column of our analyses. Both teams were extremely undisciplined, especially in the story with the referee. Although the referee handed out cards and played counter penalties, we think he could have done it five times more. But what is most important and what we repeat non-stop, discipline wins games, when you retreat behind the offside line, when instead of talking to the referee and opposing players you encourage your players, when you set a positive example for others, then you are ripe for a positive result. This is how the referee is to blame for everything, we look each other in the eye and lie, simply when you fall into this mode of thinking, you cannot win the game. And let’s not talk about the fact that such behavior is not in the spirit of rugby, but in the spirit of some other sport where this type of behavior is more acceptable. It must not be acceptable with us and we have to tear it off and get it back on track.
