A very good U18s season
One of the better junior half-seasons in recent years. We can be absolutely satisfied with the game shown, but also with the results. Players born in 2004. and 2005 . have been in rugby for a very long time, and have had several serious seasons. Let’s just remember a year and a half ago, when these two years played in the cadet league where 12-a-side rugby matches were played and where there were as many as 6 teams. Of course, you will have quality players when you have invested a lot of money during their education in the younger categories.
The juniors definitely couldn’t play any other format than rugby sevens. And there you have two big reasons. The first is that there are not enough players in the clubs, and the second is because the juniors have already taken their place in the senior teams. And they didn’t take the places of the type, you’re new, you go to the wing, as it was done at the time when the best rugby ever was played. The boys are the bearers of the game in their clubs and make a significant contribution to the game.
And in the tournaments we saw how teams can progress very well. Let’s take the example of Kruševac, which was a team that was always in the lower part of the table in previous competitions. Now she is the only one besides Rad who managed to win the tournament. The already mentioned Rad was quite dominant this half-season, where he secured the title of Champion after three tournaments. BRK Crvena Zvezda is a team that grew during the season, to end up in the upper house. We expected more from Borac from Starčevo, but their team is quite young, so their time is yet to come. Dinamo from Pancevo had a bad junior season, hand on heart, they had a lot of injured players. It should be added that their juniors also took responsibility in the senior team. Celik from Zenica showed an excellent game, they grew from tournament to tournament, always staying in the middle of the table.
Table of the Serbian Championship
| Поз (Pos) | Екипа (Team) | У(GP) | Б(Pts) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  РК Рад | 4 | 38 |
| 2 |  РК Крушевац | 4 | 26 |
| 3 |  РК Челик | 4 | 21 |
| 4 |  БРК Црвена Звезда | 3 | 19 |
| 5 |  РК Борац Старчево | 4 | 14 |
| 6 |  РК Динамо 1954 | 2 | 8 |
Tournament information
Venue: Ada Ciganlija
Date: 12.11.2022. .
Start of the turnament: 11:00h
Referee Marko Žeravica
Referee: Vladimir Radulović
Referee: Aleksandar Lelik
Match comessionnaire: Stevan Ilijašević
Doctor: Maja Veselinović
Temperature Sun, 15C
Statistics: League tables, results and scorer list
TOP 10 list of players
We made a list of 10 players who left the biggest impression on us in the last tournament. RK Čelik players are not on the list. Dinamo players are also not on the list because Dinamo did not participate. We must point out that the list is our subjective impression. There is no ranking in the list, the players are listed randomly. All the players on it deserve to be where they are. All are trained and absolutely ready to make an immediate difference in senior rugby.
Aleksa Jovanović
Position: Flanker, lock, wing
YOB: 2004.
Comparison: Pieter Stephanus du Toit
The man plays in the line at the wing position, but he has grown close to two meters and in our opinion he is an ideal scrum-half for the second and third lines. Because of his great mobility and build, he would be an extremely mobile second or third line player. Which is at the level of modern rugby played in the world. This is his final junior year, he is in full swing and producing results. In the tournament, he stood out on both sides of the court. In the attack, he skillfully uses holes, when he catches a run it is simply impossible to catch him. He was especially active in defense, where he excelled in tackles and positioning.
Nikola Pumpalović
Position: Lock
YOB: 2005.
Comparison: Tomás Lavanini
We paid special attention to him in this tournament. We were particularly interested in his decision-making in attack when he has the ball. Rugby 7s is not a game where a second line player needs to make a special statement, but we were quite surprised. Almost all decisions were correct, when he had a surplus he passed the ball, when he saw space he did not hesitate. Physical predispositions are such that the upper threshold of his progress is very high. A player who is almost 2 meters tall, who has excellent motor skills, who is fast and explosive, who has very good hands, can really improve a lot. Good games led him to start for the first team of Zvezda in the Serbian Cup. In order to be a good and strong second line, a lot of individual work is needed, with a special emphasis on the gym under the supervision of the professional staff.
Nemanja Lazić
Position: Center, flanker
YOB:2004.
Comparison: Stirling Mortlock
Now we can already say that he is a complete player who is ready for senior competition. One of the reasons why Kruševac is in second place in the general ranking. Rugby is a game of levels both in defense and attack. When you fall out of positional play and create a hole in the defense, be sure that Nemanja will read you and attack in that space. Physically, he is extremely strong and can withstand contact on his feet, where he always offers the option of offloading to teammates, which creates a huge advantage when playing at a high tempo. In one of the previous articles, we criticized him for his defensive play, we don’t know if he listened to us, but progress is evident. Now we can sleep with the dream of apostolic peace because we know that the Kruševac Rugby School has given birth to another top rugby player.
Matija Pelva
Position: wing
YOB: 2005.
Comparison: Will Jordan
At the last tournament, we had the opportunity to see for ourselves his lightning speed. Several actions were made just for him, where he received the ball in space and had opportunities at full speed to solve 1v1 situations. This is where his speed, explosiveness of the sidestep, excellent technique in contact at full speed came to the fore. For example, when you are at full speed and a defender approaches you from the left side, you always hold the ball in your right hand and use your left hand as a buffer option. Such a situation gives you an advantage when attacking, because it tests the defensive player who has to remove the buffer and tackle. When everything is happening at full speed it is not something that is easy to do. But that’s exactly what Matija does in defense. It is no coincidence that Rad received only one essay in the last tournament.
Momčilo Kralj
Position: Flyhalf
YOB: 2004.
Comparason Reece Hodge
You know when you see a rooster or pioneer playing intelligently and smartly. So you turn to the other coach and say, if this kid stays he will be a top player in senior rugby. And that’s exactly Momcilo. A playmaker who can play well both as an flayhalf and scrumhalf. For us, his position is the opener, because he reads the game very well, knows how to pull the ball when necessary and has a good shot. He is already standard in senior rugby, where he is already the first opener for Zvezda, and we consider it an excellent decision. He has excellent physical predispositions, he is excellent in contact. In defense, he is at a high level, a very good tackler. A stylish opener whose progress we will be watching with great anticipation.
Jovan Radovanović
Position: wing, fullback
YOB: 2005.
Comparison: Jesse André Kriel
A very fast player, whose main characteristic is that he is unstoppable when he is in a full run. It is very difficult for him to catch up in a sprint. Deftly uses changes of direction in the form of sidesteps, uses a buffer. He has a very good tactical shot, where he is especially dangerous when chasing a kicked ball in the field. He is very good in the air when catching high balls. He is good in contact, excellent in accompaniment. He needs to pay much more attention to his play without the ball and his positioning for the later phases of the attack. He must also be much more active in defense and must work more for the crabs. He had situations in the tournament where he could win a few balls in the ruck.
Danijel Stojanović
Position: flanker, number 8
YOB: 2004.
Comparison: George Smith
We have nothing much more to analyze and talk about Daniel in the junior competition. The man is already at a very high level at the age of 17. He simply doesn’t miss training, trains individually, follows rugby and the result is here. It seemed that he was playing at half strength throughout the tournament, which is not exactly the case, because Rad received only one essay, and that was in the tournament of the week. We must point out that he played in the position of opener in the tournament. We must point out that he played in the position of opener in the tournament.
Veljko Mitić
Position: Lock, flanker
YOB: 2004.
Comparison: Johny Hill
Veljko is living proof that hard work pays off. From a player who was afraid of contact, he came to be at a high level both in defense and in attack. It holds the central part of the defense of Kruševac, where you will have a hard time getting through. We think he needs to work even harder in crabs to materialize good knockdowns. In the attack, a huge improvement can be seen in the escort, where when he gets the ball in the offload, he can create a serious problem for the opposing defense. For us, he is definitely a player we will see off in senior rugby.
Dušan Jovanović
Position: prop
YOB: 2005
Comparason: Joe Moody
There was a great situation in one game, when two pillars made a cross on the wing and created an extra player, where they took twenty meters. Looks like the Rugby 7s competition has made us mobile and modern props. But it is an absolute world trend, where pillars are now actively participating in open play. If we go back to the period when the best rugby ever was played, the posts did not pass the ball, but with the loud instructions of the coach’s nervously trembling voice, they were hammered into the “meat”. From tournament to tournament, Dušan got into our skin and became a pet, whenever we come to a junior tournament, we look for him first with our eyes, when we see him, we feel peace. Every aspect of his game is excellent. Especially contact both in defense and in attack. We put a special emphasis on the cover, where it is quite convincing. Honestly, we can’t wait to see him in senior rugby on the 15th.
Dragan Kokanović
Position: center
YOB: 2005.
Comparason: Robbie Henshaw
An outstanding product of the BRK Crvena Zvezda rugby school. Exceptional physical predispositions, explosiveness and speed make him one of the best players of his generation. He already has plenty of experience in senior rugby, where he has made several appearances. Excellent at reading the game, both offensively and defensively. He is even better in contact, where strength and technique in contact come to the fore. A confident ball carrier who is very capable of breaking through the opponent’s defensive line. He has a good tactical kick, which makes his game complete. We will definitely follow the player in the next season.
