Copenhagen RLFC on Saturday last week, emphatically won their first ever Pan Scandinavian League home game, sweeping aside Gothenburg-based club Kungsbacka Broncos 76-4.
Two rounds into the six-round season, which will see the three clubs play each other home and away, it is already looking like a two-horse race between Copenhagen and Skåne Crusaders, who narrowly beat Copenhagen 18-16 in the opening game in Sweden on March 31.
The game was this country’s first ever competitive rugby league fixture, but if the home side had any nerves on what was a bright but chilly Saturday afternoon, they weren’t evident in the opening exchanges at the home ground of the Speed rugby union club in Amager, and it wasn’t long – just four minutes – before they were celebrating their first try through Bobby Gernon.
Within another ten minutes, they had scored two more – through Cameron Woods and Ungureana Andrei – as Copenhagen cut holes in the Swedish defence at will, toying with an opposition clearly lacking in experience.
By the time the Swedes got on the score-sheet, it was all over, although it was a try that boded well for the future, underlining that when given the chance, the Broncos have the pace and strength to deliver. But trailing 42-4 at half-time, nobody was giving them a chance to bounce back on this occasion.
Playing in black, the dominance of the home side was at times reminiscent of a New Zealand national side, albeit with the name of a sponsor, the Black Swan, emblazoned across their shirts.
Territorially though, the Swedes had a better second half than first, giving Copenhagen a chance to attack from distance – a particular area of their play that they have been working on in training under the watchful eye of national team coach Nigel Kitching.
In the end, the 76-4 score-line could prove to be significant, as a home win against the Crusaders on April 20 will probably see the championship decided on points difference. Copenhagen’s final game is then away at the Broncos on April 27.
