Cyprus 48-7 Luxembourg

Saturday 8 October 2011 saw the start of the European Nations Cup Division 2D fixtures.  Current league leaders Cyprus played host to the visitors Luxembourg in a return fixture from May which had seen Cyprus score 50 unanswered points.

For this fixture Cyprus fielded 6 new caps including the Captain of Pontypridd, Chris Dicomidis and the exciting young talented fly half Alex Zavilis.  11 of the players were under the age of 23, with 10 based in local clubs.  As the referee started the game, it was obviously going to be a long hot afternoon and within 3 minutes Chris Dicomidis went over the line to score a try with his first touch of the ball, a dream start.  A further 4 tries followed throughout the first half featuring numerous bullocking runs from Christo Kasabi.  Free flowing rugby throughout the first half with the back row combination of Dicomidis, Mladenovic and Antoniades linking up well.  However, the big runs of Matt King made the biggest difference, with the visitors struggling to contain his speed and balanced running. With the forwards doing the basics well and Zavilis controlling the game, all went went despite a few silly mistakes and a number of unwanted penalties conceded. Half time score – 31-0.

Following the break, the penalty count continued to raise and despite a 3 further tries being scored,  it became apparent that tiredness began to creep in and as the changes were made, it was an unfortunate mistake in defence that allowed the visitors to score their only try of the game.  The last 20 became a scrappy affair and as the penalty count began to rise it was disappointing that this aspect of the game began to undermine the hard work that had been previously achieved.  The final whistle could not come a minute too soon; final score 48-7.  A exceptional performance from wing Matt King saw him awarded a well deserved Man of the Match Award.  Our next fixture is in Bulgaria on 28 April 2012 with the national side visiting the Pafiakos Stadium on 26 May 2012 against our old rivals Greece – see you there!

Squad as Follows:

1.          Dinu Floredan – Pafos Tigers
2.          Tony Thoma - Pafos Tigers (Captain)
3.          Christo Kasabi - Enfield Ignatians
4.          Andy Spring - Limassol Crusaders
5.          Lawrence Macrides - Chingford
6.          Marko Mladenovic - Limassol Crusaders
7.          George Antoniades - Manchester University
8.          Chris Dicomidis - Pontypridd #
9.          Dimitri Maratheftis - Limassol Crusaders
10.          Alex Zavallis - Stockport #
11.          Andreas Zacharia - Lincoln University
12.          Chris Thoma - Pafos Tigers
13.          Colm O’Cleirigh - Bective Rangers
14.          Matt King - Wilmslow
15.          Marcus Holden - DIOK
16.          Kiki Vatikiotis - Manchester
17.          Sotiris Ioannou - Pafos Tigers #
18.          Dan McFarlane - Limassol Crusaders
19.          Scott Lennox - Limassol Crusaders #
20.          Burhan Torgut - Bromsgrove/UWIC
21.          Nathan Pring - Paphos Tigers #
22.          Jack Bilton - Paphos Tigers #

# – Denotes New Caps

Try’s: Dicomidis, O’Cleirigh, Maratheftis, King (2), Tony Thoma, Antoniades, Chris Thoma

Conversions: Zavallis (4)