The start of the competition in the Conference in the 2024/2024 season
The competition in our group started last weekend when Moldova convincingly defeated Turkey with a score of 43-13. Although the score is high, the game was quite uncertain for the most part. However, in the end, the Moldovans broke up, first of all, we think of their scrum, which dominated and brought a big advantage. The Turks were not bad at all, but they simply collapsed mentally and allowed the Moldovans to blow them away in the end of the match.
Serbia is just starting against Moldova this weekend. This is an ideal opportunity for us to take revenge for last year’s defeat, and we will see if we can take advantage of that opportunity. Do not forget that we are in a series of 3 defeats in official matches, that is, four defeats if we also count the defeat against the French Army last weekend.
Our group is definitely one of the strongest, with very good opponents. There are no weak opponents anymore. All national teams are extremely strong and have the motivation to qualify for the playoffs to complete the Trophy group.
Apart from the match between Serbia and Moldova, there is another match in our group. Turkey will host Bulgaria on Saturday, starting at 1:00 p.m. our time.
Match information
City: Belgrade
Venue FK Železnik
Date: 05.10.2024. .
Kickoff: 14:00h
Weather: 17C, possible rain
Useful information – how to get to the stadium
The stadium has a covered triibina with a roof, and if it rains, you won’t get wet. There is also a parking lot in front of the entrance. The only thing is that you won’t be able to bring in bottles with refreshing drinks, but that’s why you have a cafe inside the stadium. Where you can order refreshing drinks and even several types of coffee.
If you decide to come to the field by car, and you are coming from the direction of the city center, we recommend that you take the Ibar highway, and before the ring road turn onto Avalska Street towards Železnik, where you will eventually reach the field directly. You can also go to Vodovodsko via Žarkovo, pass through the center of Železnik and head towards Avalska Street. We are not sure about the parking, but we assume that there will be enough places.
If you decide to go by public transport, we recommend two lines, 58 and 88, where you will get off at the “MZ Novi Železnik” station, and you will have ten minutes on foot to reach the stadium. If you are coming from the direction of Miljakovec and Rakovica, you can use bus number 54 and get off at the “Avalska” station. There is an option to take bus 23 and 53 to the roundabout at Vidikovac and catch 521, where you will also get off at the “Avalska” station. Keep in mind to follow the daily driving schedule for the weekend. If you have difficulty finding your way around the City Transport website, click here.
Serbian national team squad
- Igor Marinković │ 1998 │ Hanover 78 │ Germany
- Miljan Nikolić │ 1995 │ BRK Red Star │ Serbia
- Dragan Matijević │ 2000 │ Roundhegians Leeds │ England
- Relja Pećanac │ 2001 │ RK Work │ Serbia
- Uroš Jevđenijević │ 2004 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Stanislav Ljubičić │ 1997 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Uros Pucar │ 2004 │ RC Massy │ France
- Kiprijan Đorić │ 2000 │ Donau Wien │ Austria
- Janko Zemun Milinković │ RC Liechtenstein │ Liechtenstein
- Aleksandar Andrić │ 1998 │ RK Partizan │ Serbia
- Velibor Srećković │ 1990 │ RK Partizan │ Serbia
- Igor Gajić │ 2006 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Dragan Kokanović │ 2005 │ FIT Gorilak │ Hungary
- Milan Vesković │ 2006 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Igor Dejanović │ 1988 │ RK Partizan │ Serbia
Finishers:
- Vladimir Đukić │ 1988 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Alen Ćosović │ 1988 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Ivan Rodić │ 1983 │ BRK Red Star │ Serbia
- Uroš Jončić │ 1991 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Mirko Ranković │ 1994 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Dušan Jocić │ 1991 │ Vojvodina │ Serbia
- Danijel Stojanović │ 2004 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
- Predrag Vraneš │ 1986 │ RK Rad │ Serbia
What is the composition of Serbia, as far as the Eagles can do
At first glance, when we look at the composition of Serbia, it seems like the Serbian version of the Bomb Squad, where we have 8 scrum players in the reserves, scrum players who could start without any major problems. What catches our eye is that Danijel Stojanović is on the bench, and he is currently the most dominant young player in Serbia who should be playing, and whose development should be a priority. We wrote in the last article that coach Milović put him in the first line even though he was not trained where he could have been injured, because we deal with rugby at a high level and not folklore. Whether this is a tactical idea or a work of vanity, we will see, but we will also analyze based on the achieved result. Milović still sees a lot of things that the ordinary eye can’t, but we’ll see if that’s the case here. Also, there is no place for Dinamo players from Pancevo in this Serbian team.
We like the fact that many young players will start, who will have a baptism of fire against the powerful Moldovans. We must say that we are looking forward to seeing Kiprijan Đorić and our new favorite player from France, Uroš Pucar, who we believe is the future of our national team, in the third line. The two of them will fly around the field and knock down anyone who gets their hands on them. In the first line, we expect a lot from Igor Marinković, who entered the best years of rugby and who always fights at his best for Serbia. A lot will depend on Matijević and Nikolic in the first line, who are expecting a huge task. Like all skirmishers, who must be extremely mobile and cover a large area.
The line is very young, with the experienced Srećković, Dejanović and Milinković, who will form a pair of playmakers with Andrić. It will be very interesting, because there is not a single change for the line. The young Kokanović and Gajić are in the central positions, while Vesković will also play on the wing alongside Srećković.
Unlike the matches in the previous cycle, we now have experienced players on the bench, each of whom can change the outcome on the field. Time will tell whether, like the Springboks, we will change the rhythm and turn the game in our favor.
The main question is how much we can do in the match against Moldova. We had a rather unsuccessful check against the French Army, who smashed us 64-0. It is particularly interesting that there are not several players who were in the first line-up in the preparatory match. So we ask ourselves, who were we preparing then? Did we expect to lose even more convincingly against the French Army, so we invited foreigners just for that match? It is simply incredible and a very debatable decision to bring players from abroad for the preparatory match who will not perform in the competitive match.
How should Serbia play, where does the biggest danger come from?
Against Moldova, we need to play at a high pace and very precisely. They are a much more physically superior team and we need to force a high rhythm. We need to chase the scrums, use the shot and put pressure on their scrum players to waste in open play as much as possible. We should use every opportunity to score. Every bad move must be left behind immediately. It will be very difficult to secure the ball in the scrum and outside, against the French Army it looked tragic. We hope that the coaching staff managed to fix the statics, because without the ball there is no game.
The Moldovans will certainly make the most of the scrum and use the crossball opportunities on our opener and centre. Our defense must not let up, we must run out to close the space and put pressure on the opponent’s attack. We have to reduce the opportunity for them to slam into us at full speed. We can expect huge pressure from the pier after the car. In the match against Turkey, they attacked dangerously through and through the wings, as well as through the defender, who has an excellent tactical shot.
How to watch the match live?
You can follow the match on the website of the European Rugby Federation. It is usually also streamed on the European Federation’s YouTube account, but it has not been published so far. We advise you to check before the match whether there is a link on YouTube, if not, register and then log in to the site and watch the live match via this link.
