Serbia starts the competition in Group C of the Conference division.
Dinamo Stadium in Chisinau will be the scene of the first appearance of the Serbian national team in the Conference – Group C. Starting at 12 o’clock our time, we will cross spears with a very good team from Moldova. From this season, the European Rugby Federation launched a new competition system in the lower divisions. We have already dealt with this issue and published an article on the subject, where you can see how it all looks. What we found out afterwards is that the winners of the groups will play a playoff for placement in the Trophy Division. One competition cycle lasts one year, starting in September and should end at the end of May. Although the playoff dates are still unknown. You can see the schedule of matches, the table and the results on our page that follows the competition in the Conference C group.
The coach Mišel Milović successfully started the preparations of the national team
Preparations for the match officially began with training last Saturday. The national team will do several training sessions until Thursday, when they fly to Moldova. Eagles work very well and at a very high level. There are several young players who have participated in past camps and should compete for the squad. We expect that the composition of the Serbian national team will be known by Thursday.
How much can Serbia do in this competition cycle?
That is a question where the answer depends on many variations. If we have the strongest team at our disposal, we can do a lot, but everything depends on the composition of the other national teams. Moldova did not look good against Turkey, they were missing several standard players. It is quite possible that one of them will join the national team in Chisinau.
Our game will depend on a lot of players from abroad who will be available to coach Milović. The big problem is that none of the senior rugby took place in the autumn part of the season. The players from the domestic clubs have not played a single game and it is a big question what kind of shape they are in. After all, we will see on Saturday at the game itself, the good thing is that we only play one game, if we had two tied there would be a lot of problems.
We are always optimists. We believe that we have become a winning team, because we have a streak of 6 matches where we won. The players have gotten used to Milović’s game system and know what is expected of them. We play fast, we like ball in our hands and high tempo. We have become a very disciplined team. We have a modern approach to the game and it is very difficult to play defense against us. Our players are individually of very high quality and can respond to the tasks that are put in front of them.
How to watch the match live?
Finally, the European Rugby Federation realized that people are tired of first logging into the site and then watching the game. Come on, for older generations it’s somehow acceptable, but for young people who are used to watching everything quickly and with one click, it was too tiring and unnecessary. Without further ado, you can watch the match live on the YouTube channel of the European Rugby Federation. Click on the video below which will take you directly to the YouTube channel.
10 key things for the Eagles game
Be agressive on Moldova's lineout
Moldavia has a very heavy scrum that can pack a pretty killer mole. Such a minor is very difficult to stop, especially if it takes place five meters from our tryline. The best way to stop a mole from the opponent’s out is to win the opponent’s out. We simply have to apply good jumping pressure to the tackler who throws the out. The Turks did not exert any pressure, the Moldovan hooker completely relaxed and even threw quite low balls that could have been a safe prey for a hardened jumper. On the other hand, the Moldovans do not have too many actions from outside, so it is quite easy to read the movements of their jumpers.
At the top level, teams decide to defend the jetty without jumping. However, our scrum will certainly not be so heavy that it can match the huge scrum of Moldova in minor. The Turks tried, but without success. It’s a real miracle that no one got a yellow card. The first goal of the match was scored by the Moldovans right from the goalpost after the out, when the referee played a penalty kick for knocking down the goalpost.
Stabilize the scrum
For us it is a matter of to be or not to be. The ball from the scrum must be quick and sure. We must not allow Moldova to push us and suffocate the ball. We are not a level above them to allow ourselves such luxury. Every scrum should be understood as a battle, if we win enough battles we will win a war. When you have a physically weaker scrum, you have to play smart and collectively. Everyone must work as one in order to secure the ball well. All eight players must be very low, with correct body position, to maximize push and stability. The same applies to reserve players, or finishers as they are now popularly called.
Play fast at a high tempo
Serbia has been playing very fast for several seasons now, forcing a high rhythm with fast crosses and a fast flow of the ball. The team is very mobile in all positions. All the teams we met in the past seasons had problems stopping us. No one succeeded. Admittedly, we did not meet the teams that are highly placed in the ranking list, but they are all quality teams. The Turks did not play too fast, it can be said that they ran wild and improvised instead of concentrating on the game plan.. The moment they put together a few good breakthroughs with offloads and accompaniment, that’s when they scored an try.
Our chance is a quick game. We have to take advantage of the fact that Moldova is sluggishly coming back after penalties. You need to use the space and win free or easy meters on the field. If we manage to develop our game, speed will be a huge plus that will force the opponent to work harder defensively but also to tire more. If the opponent is sluggish and slow, then pace and fitness are on our side.
Attack the space around the ruck
Moldovans defend the area around the ruck very poorly. There is usually one or maximum two players. The rest of the players were positioned very wide. Even the Turks did not attack around the ruck, but tried to spread the games further into the space. It’s an opportunity for our experienced scrambling and very fast demi, to pay attention to the space and use it when they get the chance. It usually turns into easy points if you have a good support.
Discipline
If you were to choose the team in Europe that has done the most in terms of discipline, it would be Serbia. If you were to choose the team in Europe that has done the most in terms of discipline, it would be Serbia. A lot of attention, and above all awareness, is aimed at improving the attitude towards the game and formations in attack and defense. When we say discipline, we don’t just mean arguing with the referee and arguing with each other, that’s where we evolved. We mean discipline in defensive settings, discipline in following the game plan, discipline in the game with and without the ball.
Turkey did not respect the principles of discipline even though they have very ready and very high quality players. On the field, they act like a gang of some sub-Saharan outlaws. A team that plays in a structured way and adheres to the game plan would easily walk to the first place in the group. That’s why they are prone to receiving very easy tries from stupid situations.
We must not allow ourselves such glitches, we must be focused and concentrated. We have to think about how we want to play and what our tasks are on the field. It is difficult to implement all ideas on the field, but you should strive for perfection. Much of this depends on physical fitness, which helps us to make and implement the right decision in certain physically demanding situations. We are in a subordinate position here because senior rugby has not yet been played in Serbia this half-season, with a big question mark as to the physical condition of our national team members.
Attack the Moldova ruck
In most rucks, Moldova had one or two players, who secured rucks very easily. The Turks didn’t cause too many problems for them even in the breakdown, although the Moldovan support was quite late. This is our chance, to try if nothing else to tie up more players in the ruck and to slow down the ball from the ruck for them as much as possible. Given that we are a much more mobile team, we can certainly do that. We need to be disciplined and adapt to the referee’s criteria. If we can push through the ruck, or even better get the ball on the breakdown.
Perfect lineout
There is not much philosophy, if we want the ball we must secure lineouts. Ever since Mišel Milović took over Serbia, special emphasis in our game has been placed on the lineout. Most of the tries we accomplished were initially started from the lineout. We have all the preconditions for the team to continue to be at a very high level. We must maintain the level we have reached and progress even more. The Moldovans were very good in the defensive outfield where they gave the Turks a lot of problems. But again, Turkey did not have too many combinations, which ultimately had a negative effect on the result. Our lineout is quite mobile and has many more variations, so it is therefore more difficult to read.
Smart play and taking advantage of opportunities
The match against Moldova will be the most difficult match for us since Bulgaria two years ago when we lost 14-11 in Sofia. It was Milović’s first game in his second term at the head of Serbia. We are now the winning team because we have a streak of 6 games without defeat. First of all, we have become a smarter team, which sticks to the plan and tries to take advantage of as many chances as possible. If we understand our way of playing, it creates a lot of good opportunities and chances, we just need to be focused and concentrated to realize them.
We have become a team that smartly uses penalties, that has very good shooters, that can bring a lot of points. Not only points but also progress on the field. We don’t have to play from our 22 meters like the Turks and lose balls and give opponents the opportunity to shoot from favorable positions. You need to build the game wisely and build the result.You need to build the game wisely and build the result. You need to carefully scout the opponent’s way of playing, exploit and attack his weaknesses. The Moldovans were a bit surprised by the way Turkey plays, but they adapted towards the end of the match and eventually won by a safe 33-14. But they failed to win the bonus point.
The great importance of the captain
In matches under the auspices of the European Rugby Federation, it is very important what kind of captain you have. Even that is of crucial importance. We must mention that the European Rugby Federation delegates the referee and match delegate And that one assistant referee comes from one team and the other from another. The de facto head referee is on his own if he wants to keep the criteria uniform. There the captain has to play a crucial role, he has to speak English first of all. Although, honestly, sometimes the European Rugby Federation delegates a referee who doesn’t understand English, so it’s quite fun to see the communication on the field. Let’s just remember the match between Serbia and Turkey in Starčevo when the referee did not know English.
Let’s take the example of the match between Turkey and Moldova, where the Moldovans had five penalties for offsides on the back foot line in the first half alone. Repeated offenses are not punished with a yellow card. Later in the match, the referee no longer paid attention to the Moldovans who were sometimes almost half a meter offside. The Turkish captain did not play any role there. We can now say that such things do not happen at the World Cup, but there the linesmen have a big role, the head referee has the TMO behind him, and then he can pay attention to some other aspects of the game. At our level, the situation is different, we need to accept that, adapt and accept the criteria.
