Last Saturday, the Dénia Barbarians received the University of Alicante Rugby at the Tio Luis Rugby field at the Dénia Sports Center. Those from La Marina, in need of victories and to show that they belong to this 1st Division, received what is one of their direct competitors from now on to the end of the league, whom they finally defeated 39-15.
With this background, Denia came out on top from the beginning of the match, but it was UA that opened the scoring in the 2nd minute with the conversion of a penalty shot into the woods (0-3). Perhaps this was a cold shower for the locals, but perhaps it was necessary to wake up and go for the game, so in the 5th minute they would score the first try at the hands of Elliott, without converting (5-3). Just 4 minutes later Alex Pardo scored again and together with the transformation this time achieved by Joel (12-3), it allowed him to put points on the scoreboard.
The UA looked surprised when, in the 17th minute, Alex Pardo scored again (17-3). The Alicante team looked overwhelmed and could not get close to the local 22 zone. Time went by and this time Andresito managed to score again and Joel converted again (24-3). It seemed that with this score the break would be reached, but Joel attempted a penalty shot and increased the lead to 27-3.
At half-time, the Barbarians made several changes to give the team freshness. It took several minutes to square the lines, time that the UA took advantage of to score a try due to a lack of local marking (27-8). But it didn't take long for Dénia to get back on track and Othmane, after a good gallop, scored a new heeled try (32-8).
The locals were dominant in the game and with the offensive bonus assured, they did not want to take many risks and keep players. Five minutes from the end, Franco scored another try, which, together with Joel's transformation, increased the lead (39-8). The Alicantinos continued fighting and with time practically up they achieved their prize by scoring a new try, which with their transformation left the final score at 39-15.
With this result, the Barbarians regain 6th position in the league, one point behind UA. Next weekend will be a rest day, so Dénia has 2 weeks to prepare for the next confrontation against the always complicated Valencia, a match that will be played in the capital of Turia.
School
For its part, the Rugby School day focused on a new Rugby Trobada in which the youngest members of the Club participated. The Women's section beat Elche and also highlights the good performance of Dario D'Elia, M16 Barbarians player, who played again with the Valencian M16 National Team in their trip to face and beat the Castilla y Leon National Team in the Spanish Championship of Selections.
The M16 achieved a hard-fought victory against a rival that never gave up. The first half was very even and at halftime the home advantage was 12-10 in a match where the two teams fought in the open field to gain meters and be forceful in defense. In the second half the Valencian team applied themselves more, turning the score around and adjusting their defense without letting Castilla y León add another point. In the end, Valencia won by 12-24, which allows them to continue fighting to be among the top three in the final classification.
It is time for Rugby to have its place in Spain. The French Basque country and the French Catalan country have Rugby teams. Why not on the other side of the Pyrenees? There is only Football F1 Rallies Tennis basketball handball and category why not Rugny???