Rugby: Hermance face tough test against Swiss champs

Perhaps the most intriguing match this weekend sees Hermance – currently placed second in the Swiss A League – take a short bus ride across the canton to face the title holders Geneva Plan-les-Ouates who haven’t had everything their own way this season.

PLO coach, Olivier Achaintre, expects a difficult game “for many reasons,” he said.

“They’re a good team and we haven’t had good preparation, we didn't play last weekend's cup match as well [Lugano forfeited].

“So we are heading into unknown territory. That’s makes it complicated,” he said. “Having said that, we have trained well and managed to put some positive things in place,” Achaintre added.

Hermance technical director, Carter Croft told Swisster: “We haven’t shown very good form [aside from a 70 point cup bashing of Albaladejo] but if we win this game we’re guaranteed a semi-final in the play-offs.”

“I think Geneva are fairly well organized, have a good coach and it’s going to be a tough battle,” Croft said.

“Let’s see how professional we are and if we can win a bit of ball, we can do some damage,” he forecast.

This season’s top predators, Stade Lausanne entertain Yverdon on Saturday.

When asked if he was looking forward to a war of attrition that provides the staple fare for any fixture with such gritty opponents who rely on a hefty and experienced pack, Lausanne coach, Andy Whitlow told Swisster: “I am, but I don’t think our scrum is.”

“They [Yverdon] are going to play their usual game and we are going to have to take it and then and wait till they run out of steam,” he revealed.

Last weekend, CERN took care of a visiting Bern in the cup, racking up 31 points in the process.

This time, although Bern are on the road again, CERN team manager, Beren Evans expects a closer encounter.

“They’ve gone away knowing exactly what they have to work on and it’s going to be more tricky for us this time, but it’s important we win the bonus point,” said Evans who also had some changes to announce.

“A few of the players who were there last week won’t be there this time which is a bit of a shame, but we have a new fly half, David Thomas, an ex-Rosslyn Park player. He’s got some experience."

“We’ve also picked up Basque centre, Mikail Cadet. They’ve both looked very good in training," he said.

Sunday features the third episode in a row of the Grasshoppers versus Nyon saga and with one win apiece in Nyon, the sides are now set to play the match in Zurich, where the home side should prove a menacing proposition.

Zurich skipper, Josh Bjornson bravely predicted a 25-7 victory for his squad. “The team was looking fantastic in training this week and we’re super motivated.”

“We really know the opposition by the time you get to the third game – though it’s nice to have some variety as well,” he told Swisster.