Now here is the thing: We are going! Attila guys, Paolo and others. We need to hear who wants to go. This will go through Stefan O and me (Magnus E). Keep coming to Solnahallen. Well what we need is to hear if you want to go. Post on web page, mail, phone or anything to us.

Trainings Wednesdays at Solna Hallen 19.30, running and some ball handling

Kotte

Dax för Årsmöte!

När?
23 Nov

Tid?
18.30

Var?
Stockholm International School
Johannesgatan 18

Endast betalande medlemmar har rösträtt.

/Magnus Warrén
Ordförande

Saints/Attila play the first of 2 games against Göteborg on Saturday in Bromma. Kickoff is at 13.00 so come down and support.

The next game is played in Göteborg next weekend.

Kotte

Saints/Attila team went to Norrköping on a mini tour!

We meet a really inspired Trojan, young and big boys.
The weather was really strange after 5 min it started raining and hailing.
We scorde the 1 try but Trojan came back straight away.
half time it was 7-14 to us! Trojan scores right away but misses the kick!
We playing not to our standard but we keep it tight and in the end of the game we put down 2 more tries:-)
It is our 3 win in a row and next weekend we are meeting Södertälje and the next one Uppsala. We need to win these game to go to qualifacation for the Elitseries next year.

Kotte

Clichés and Shakespearian quotes are not the way to start this résumé.

This has been our, so far, toughest tournament; previously unknown opposition and many inexperienced Red Saints. Far too many experienced players that have missed training, and all this leading to a team, lacking fitness, previous match-experience and confidence. In many areas and aspects we had hope and glory, but all too often we had as many moments of lack of concentration, dereliction of duty, no communication, and to a certain degree – chaos. When we were good, we were inspirational – but when we were not, we were an easy target. I feel that in all of our matches each individual did his best; but it is not individuals who win matches. It is the best team that wins, and not the best group of individuals. Did we tackle well? – 90%. Did we pass and distribute well? – 90%. Did we communicate well? – 50%. Did we use all our training techniques? – 75%. A 76% average does not produce the best results. The answer to this is – more match experience, the highest possible (100%) turn-out at training and better communication.

As tournaments go, this was not the best organized. Poor information, hard, dry and badly laid-out pitches, questionable morals when putting together pooled teams (we have never, nor will ever, be guilty of this).

Keeping alert at a tournament is of great importance, so it is vital to be on the go as much as possible. Considering the amount of games we played, and those I refereed, I was more active than the team – not a good combination.

However! (And here comes the only cliché) when the going gets tough – the tough gets going! When we entered our last match, out of fifteen men we had five men injured, and despite their desire to play, it would not have been right to ask them to do so. As a man of rugby (36 years experience) where do our Red Saints squad get their bravery? Richard, Guy and myself had to rethink our whole strategy with the totally imbalanced number of forwards – backs – and new team members. For us as trainers, parents that were watching, and most of all the men on the pitch, this was the last straw! Everything was against us! After talking to our only available team of would-be victims, these brave few took up their positions for the task ahead. What I am about to tell you, you would not believe, if you were not there. The match started – and every single Red Saint man seemed to be possessed with a lion’s heart. They had a look in their eyes of “who dares wins” (the motto of the most elite fighting force in the world, The British Special Air Service), but this is a new S.A.S. – “SAINTS ARE SAINTS”.

It was as if somebody turned on a light in these men, and not only those ten men out there in the front-line, but our wounded and frustrated five casualties on the side-line as well. Finally everything started to work. Like a new engine, after miss-firing early on, all of a sudden everything started to work. The forwards and the backs started to fight together against the enemy. These few, these brave few, an inspiration – to each other – to the crowd – and to their fallen brothers in arms. Wounded men limped and scurried away to fetch their boots and their gum-shields. “Put me on, put me on! I might only manage a few minutes, but I swear I’ll give 100%!”. By half-time five tries had been fought for and won. Adrenalin, testosterone – and a huge portion of estrogen from the moms, was flowing like the Niagara Falls. Past mistakes and injuries were now put aside! The second half!! With sweat running, blood dripping, limbs aching and recent injuries hurting, our warrior Saints re-entered the killing-field. Once again dubious and un-announced new players from the opposition came and left the battle ground. It did not matter. Our Saints were ready to take on anything, everything and everybody. This was to be our finest moment, everything worked. Our loose-play was fantastic, the support was 100%, the handling was something from the All-Blacks, the communication was something from the English, the bravery and tackling was from the Scottish – the best result – Sweden’s one and only Bromma Red Saints U15. Every man on that pitch did himself, his team-mates, his club, his parents and the game of rugby proud. I don’t think Cecilia was the only one to have a lump in her throat and to shed a tear when the final whistle blew; 75 – 0. This is what happens, when “the right stuff” do “the right stuff”!

Thank you all for a wonderful, fantastic weekend. A very special thank you to all you parents who were, for all the support, help, massages, bandaging, fetching water, packing, carring and driving back and forth. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Sincerely yours,

Nigel J.P. Matthews

We will have a team in the SM 7´s in October.
Training will be on Bromma Wednesdays starting 13 Th of August.
Coaches will be Per Melander and Magnus Emilsson.
Contact Peter Svensson or Magnus Emilsson if you are interested.

/Kotte

Our performance at this tournament was similar to the weather; at times miserable, at times blowing hot and cold, at times really hot!

After a reshuffle of the original schedule, (to please the usual group of moaners) we as Red Saints fear no-one, obviously unlike some others. We opened the account with Söderlund (a mixture of Erikslund and Södertälje), this mixture allowing them a full squad plus substitutes. This was well fought, and despite our non-existing substitutes, our ten men stayed on that pitch for the full twenty-four minutes, took and gave hell, to produce a 15-15 result.

Frölunda with a full troop of nineteen players, and six years of experience, offered a formidable force. After the first bruising battle with Söderlund and an all too long two-hour break, we found ourselves mentally and physically lacking in our approach to this match. Frölunda ran in try after try, we never regrouped, and a crushing 10-55 was the result.

Our last match on Saturday was against Trojan, a team that we have crushed twice already this season. However with their sixteen man squad, our ten men fought a hard fight; again, after a two-hour wait. But this time the lads had sat for half an hour self-analising themselves as a team (a tough, hard lesson in life), and looking slightly nervous our boys came out, and did perform a well, only to lose 20-25.

SUNDAY – Vänersborg came out fighting, still licking their wounds I feel after being beaten by us already this season, and their well-drilled team did not want to suffer a repeat performance. Our Red Saints held up well, result 20-25; a bitter disappointment to our brave lads.

Our final match was against Enköping. Our constantly growing team of heroes knew what to do. From the first to the final whistle, we on the sideline were a witness to poetry in motion. A thoroughly deserved 30-15, VICTORY!

In short: Played 5, Won 1, Lost 3 (2 of which with 1 try), Drawn 1.

FINAL SUMMARY: This was our first long-distance tournament, a new experience for many, and definitely for us as a team. So now we know how it feels to travel long distances, sleep and eat in unfamiliar surroundings and have to play matches, so next time this will not come as a shock. We will insure in the future, that all times we will travel with all our players. The Red Saints U15-team needs and will come first. We now have a fifteen-man squad and when all are assembled we have an unbeatable team. We entered this season an unknown quantity/quality, we have established our name and place in Sweden Rugby; four tournaments – two silver medals – pride intact – and a great future ahead. The team spirit and behavior of our lads, on and off the pitch, is second to none, as all who were at Gothenburg can bare witness. Let us all, players, parents and coaches look forward to even bigger and better tournaments and gatherings in the second half of this season, and indeed, the seasons to come.

On a separate note, huge thank you to Cecilia, for a problem-free, excellently organised trip; accommodation, food, Liseberg and bus – TOP JOB! A huge thank you to all those who made Saturday night a party to remember (hope to see even more parents next time). On a final note, thank you to our brave Red Saints team, who make all this possible.

Nigel and Richard

Our three U17 players teamed up with Trojan and Hammerby to form “Piraterna”.

After just one  hours practice together they took on Exiles giving them a good match, going down by only 3 tries. The next match was a tough one against Vänersborg, but the “will” was still there and good tackles were put in.  A come-back in the last minute earned a great draw against Wexiö in the last match on Saturday, unfortunately missing a conversion for a win.

At 11.00 on Sunday it was up against Vänersborg again, our players strengthening the Wexiö side. Vänersborg, the eventual winners of the U17 were held out until long into the first half. This match was followed immediately, by joining Piraterna again to give Exiles a tough match, just going down by two tries.

The last match was against Wexio winning by 2 tries and thereby taking out 3rd place. Not only that but Piraterna won the Fair Play prize also.

Guy Taylor

Any artist will tell you; ”to create a masterpiece, you must have the right raw materials” and boy, do we have them! Due to dedication at training all of our Red Saints are developing beyond all hopes and expectations. Arriving at Brommaplan on a tournament day, always fills me with a great sense of excitement, wondering what treasure-chest of memories is today going to bring us all. I pity any and all teams that turn up to tournament, over-confident or lacking confident, and then face our lads. The pure determination, the never-say-die attitude is just beyond all criticism. We opened our account against Exiles (and if we continue at our present rate, they will exile!). The first, all important, five to ten minutes (as anyone who was witness will agree) we had a fifty-fifty situation. Neither side was able to break through. Then digging deeper than they have ever done before, and with a succession of lucky breaks, they started to move ahead. Sure we made some vital errors, but fancy handling picked up over seven years can and will take its toll. Sometimes luck is with you and sometimes not. Our lads continued to fight, and would not give up. We left that pitch wiser and stronger. Everyone I spoke to said the same thing, “This Red Saints team, they can take it, and give it. They really have a great future!”

After lunch we re-grouped with new vigor, and with pride intact. Enköping did not know what hit them. These Red Saints hit them with hard tackles and even harder desire to win. Despite the oppositions constant ability to high-tackle (even from off-side positions) and other forms of questionable play and behavior, the lads came through victorious, and pure-playing clean winners; 30-0.

Erikslund, (a once thorn-in-our-side team) came up against the constantly new and improving Red Saints. Maybe due to the heat, the early good start against them, or our on-going lack of match experience, we had a last conflict of brilliance and simple errors. The consequence of this was four unnecessary tries against us. But eight well deserved, hard-worked-for, team-effort tries in our favour, a fine and well-earned result 40-20.

Scotsmen are not famous for being passionate, ask my wife! (But we are the best lovers in the world.) Rugby is my passion, and the passion our lads give and show, gives us as trainers and parents all the reasons to continue on this path. To encourage, insist and leave no achievement out of our reach! The lads, the trainers and the parents together will succeed!

Best Regards,

Nigel Matthews