Day 1 - European Championship Series Leg 2
BelSevens
This first day of the European Championship started well. Our BelSevens faced the Turkish team in their first match of the tournament at 10 AM. A relaxed and ready-to-perform group headed to the warm-up. The weather was beautiful, the focus was there, and they motivated each other by listening to the anthem "On met la patate" by Average Rob.
After putting on their jerseys, they headed to the field. The first whistle blew, and they were off. They immediately took control of the match and quickly scored one, two, three, even four tries thanks to Cécile Blondiau (2x), Emilie Musch, and Hanne Swiers.
At halftime, the score was 24-0. They just needed to maintain control during the second half and not let go. That said, Blondiau scored a fifth try, which Margaux Stévins converted, and the match ended at 29-0, with a hat-trick by Blondiau and a clean sheet on our side.
On paper, this second match against Italy would be closer. The group rested well between the two matches and the players were back in top shape for the warm-up. Aware that they needed to be reactive from the first whistle, they put a lot of intensity into this warm-up.
The match started a bit disorganized before Belgium took control with a beautiful try by Hanne Swiers. Then, tries by Margaux Lalli and Cécile Blondiau quickly followed. They controlled the second half with an additional try by Emilie Musch to seal the match.
A beautiful day ends. Rest tonight because tomorrow at 9:30 AM, they will face Spain, a very strong team that will be at the Olympics, but whom they beat during the first leg in Croatia two weeks ago.
MenSevens
The MenSevens tournament began with a crucial match against Portugal, a game that was key for placement in the quarter-finals. A difficult start marked the first half, during which we struggled. Fortunately, a try from Gaspard Lalli brought the score to 7-10 in favor of Portugal.
Just after the second half began, Portugal scored two more tries. Our MenSevens thus faced a challenging task to try to come back in the match. They did not give up and gave it their all to try to turn the tide. Unfortunately, the match ended in a 21-24 defeat to Portugal.
Next, we faced the Irish. This team, which will also be at the Olympics in a month and plays in the World Series, was expected to be a formidable opponent for our Belgians. Every match has to be played, and this was evident in the MenSevens' mentality in the locker room and during the warm-up. "We have nothing to lose," "let’s surprise them," "let’s achieve something great" were phrases heard from their camp.
A very good start to the match allowed us to equalize at 7-7. Ireland then increased the pressure, bringing the score to 19-7 by the end of the first half. Barely having time to catch their breath, the Irish accelerated in the second half to ultimately win 43-7.
A tough first day for our MenSevens, though against Portugal they came close to winning, and against Ireland they still showed some promising moments.
On Saturday, June 29 at 9:30 AM, our BelSevens will face Spain, while our MenSevens will play again at 1:06 PM against Croatia.
