On a brilliant day, on a perfect pitch, Cyprus Mail

On a brilliant day, on a perfect pitch, at the British Military ground at Episkopi, ,in front of a substantial crowd of knowledgeable supporters, Cyprus took on the mighty Slovakians

On a brilliant day, on a perfect pitch, at the British Military ground at Episkopi, ,in front of a substantial crowd of knowledgeable supporters, Cyprus took on the mighty Slovakians (Pop. 5.5 million) and trounced them 33-7. This result takes Cyprus to the top of their division on points difference, being undefeated this season, with only the Bosnians to beat in the final game of this season.

Paul Shanks, the national coach, brought a very well prepared team to the field and after a faltering start the national side went on to pile up a reservoir of points that left the Slovaks floundering.

Loukis Pattihis, the Cyprus Federation president said’ This, is without fear of contradiction, the most successful international team ever produced by Cyprus and it is truly remarkable, when considering our parlous financial position. I am so proud of these young men who give up so much to play for their country, they pay their own traveling expenses, sacrificing work time, and recognized more in Europe than they are here: last year, following our performance in the European Nations Sevens Cup, the coach of Wales, the eventual winners, and the Six Nations Champions, made a special point of congratulating the young players of Cyprus on their standard of play’.

This was the first game that Cyprus played under the sponsorship of SportsDirect. Com, a major sports equipment supplier, now based on the island and the European agents for ‘Umbro’, ‘Addidas’ and 'Nike'; interestingly, the company is owned by Mike Ashley, the chairman of Newcastle United F.C.

After the early fright by Slovakia the national side settled down to run in tries by Kyle Oelofse, who was responsible for preventing the Slovaks from scoring again with a bone-crunching tackle just short of the Cypriot goal line; unfortunately he suffered a broken foot and may miss the next game. Zacharia scored our next try under the posts and the very reliable Marcus Holden had no trouble in converting. Ten minutes later, following terrific pressure from the well organized Cyprus pack, there was a turnover resulting in gorgeous George Agathocleous powering through to score under the post, once again converted by Holden. Half-time; Cyprus 27-slovakia 7.

Second half; Cyprus slowed a little but managed to run in two tries, both from the elusive Luke Peters, the second coming from a perfectly weighted pass from the Bective Rangers flying centre, Colm O’Cleirigh.

There was tremendous support for Cyprus from the Diplomatic Corp, the Ambassadors of Ireland and Belgium, and the High Commissioner for Australia, all stalwart supporters of the game, which was in such contrast to our own government’s feeble effort; not a single member of the Cyprus Sports Authority, or any member of the administration could find time to support their national team; perhaps they think rugby players don’t vote.

Loukis Pattihis, paid tribute to the British Military, and particularly Colonel Pickford and his staff who made the event possible, when he was interviewed post-match by LTV’s Akis Sarcorophou. The match was also covered by Cyprus Sports T.V. and both companies will be showing the game this week.