The giant with Springbok genes

Just 15 and already 198cm, Connor Jensen is ripping up record books and rugby fields across Scandinavia

The evidence is piling up that Danish rugby union, in line with a recently-launched youth initiative by the governing body, is coming on leaps and bounds. The DRU is currently attempting to grow the game from the bottom of the pyramid in a bid to have a competitive national team heading into the 2020s, but judging by the evidence of the talent on display in the Øresunds Cup on October 5, they might not have to wait that long.

Leading CSR/Hundested to victory in the Swedish-Danish under-16s cup was the 15-year-old Rønnede resident Connor Jensen, a 198cm-tall (that’s six foot six, if you’re metrically-disinclined) prop of Danish and South African parentage.

Despite being a latecomer to the game, Jensen is making quite a name for himself at CSR in Amager, Copenhagen – so much so that he has just been called up to an under-18 core group training session in Rönneby, Sweden for the most promising youngsters from the whole of Scandinavia and Germany.  

The Øresunds Cup (Øresundsturneringen), which is a pan-Scandinavian a bit more tournament open to teams from both Zealand and Scania, is contested over a series of single-day tournaments, from which the top two qualify for a championship game, which this year took place in Hundested in northern Zealand.

There had been little between CSR/Hundested, who are on the verge of completing an unbeaten campaign in their domestic league, and Malmö over the season. After a 12-12 draw in their opening game in Sweden, the honours were shared as they both won in each other’s backyard.

Come championship day, the Swedes got off to a flier and bossed the first half to comfortably lead at the break. But CSR/Hundested are not unbeaten in the Danish league this year due to luck, and they fought back in the second half to triumph 21-19.

CSR/Hundested will be seeking to add the domestic title on October 26 in Lindø on the island of Fune where they face a championship decider against Aarhus RK.

Their achievements are all the more impressive considering the clubs are located 56km apart and only get together twice a month to train at the regional gatherings for the under-18s national team.

For more information on the two clubs, visit www.hundestedrugby.dk and www.csr-nanok.dk

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