Rugby: Lausanne and Hermance face showdown

Six points separate the Swiss A League table leaders from Hermance and Emile Borrer, Lausanne’s injured skipper, reckons the margin is about right. “We caught them at the beginning of the season when they are traditionally never good, but they get better as they go on for some reason,” he said.

Back in September, Lausanne won 29-7 away from home while Hermance were evidently still dreaming about beaches, barbeques and beer. This time however, Hermance are determined not to be caught napping.

“If we can put in one of our best performances we must have a good chance of winning,” said Hermance sporting director, Carter Croft.

“Their fitness outdid us last time and we’d like to think that we’ve caught up on that, so bring on chariots.”

“We’ve wasted a lot of possession this year and have some talented backs with pace and guile on the wing. We’ve got to deny them possession and keep ball in hand instead of giving it away,” Croft said.

Borrer doesn’t sound too bothered. “They play a ten-man game and we don’t expect too much else from them.”

“We’re looking to get the ball out to our backs who are very attacking minded, while our forwards have been making it hard for opponents to get any reasonable ball,” he said.

In the other A League match, CERN visit Geneva PLO, who have so failed to live up to their title of Swiss champions this season, a trend that CERN team manager Beren Evans is hoping to perpetuate.

“They haven’t been showing any form and to see them come a cropper against Bern was a shock for everyone.”

After having the upper hand for much of their own match against Geneva PLO earlier in the season, CERN narrowly lost after kicker Rodrigo Sanchez-Panizza botched five penalties. “We almost beat them last time and so we’re hoping to right the wrongs.”

Geneva’s unexpected decline has every other team in the league anxious to apply salt and Evans feels he has identified a major weakness.

“We will be definitely looking at their pack, especially their front row which is not as beefy as it was before. If we can take their forwards, then the game will be ours,” he said.

Geneva PLO coach, Olivier Achaintre was unavailable for comment.

Elsewhere, Yverdon versus Nyon has been postponed and there is no match scheduled for Zurich Grasshoppers and Bern this weekend.

Meanwhile the Swiss under 20 rugby team is heading to Moldova on Tuesday to play two crucial games with the aim of qualifying for the European Group A, directly under the Six Nations league where the big boys play.

Switzerland face Moldova, while Serbia have Poland to contend with in the semi-final format; winners of the final gain promotion.

Coach Andrew MacKenzie says he’s been blessed with a talented crop of youngsters. He expects them to go far thanks to a “very strong team spirit” plus a tactical blueprint based on “the Wales team of the 1970s and the efficiency of the All-Blacks forwards – very mobile, plenty of support, then move it to the backs when we’ve swallowed up their defence,” he said.

For more information on Swiss rugby visit the national federation website.