Dubious refereeing decisions affect outcome as Luxembourg lose to Sweden

In front of over 1,000 fans, Luxembourg faced off against a nation ranked 30th in the world. The Swedes, stepping onto the pitch, didn’t quite look the part of a near-professional outfit – their kit bag had been lost in transit. Fortunately, their Sevens coach, based in Amsterdam, was able to drive down with a local club’s kit.

The game started with both teams trying to gain field position and opting to put boot to ball. It was the Swedes that came out on top after winning numerous penalties and slowly working their way into the Luxembourg 22. After a few phases near the try line, the powerful Swedish forwards broke through. The kicker converted and the Scandinavians led 0-7.

It wasn't long until the referee had his first difficult decision to make: the ever-sharp Lucas Schmitt was picked up at the base of the scrum and the Swedish hooker was not a million miles away from piledriving him head first into the ground – luckily for him, he managed to avoid dropping Schmitt on his head. Considering what was to follow later in the match, he was fortunate to only receive a yellow card. From the resulting penalty Fintan Lawlor shortened the lead to 3-7.

The turning point came after 16 minutes, the ball box kicked by Lucas Schmitt was met with a good chase but when the ball bounced it was caught by a Swede; Stuart Logier, perhaps surprised that the ball carrier turned 180°, didn't have the time to lower his body. He wrapped his arms around him, but there was a clear head on head collision and with a lot of time to think about it, the referee opted for red. In today's game, it was probably the correct decision but it's definitely worth a debate. Luxembourg were now faced with an uphill battle.

Sweden was once again making ground through penalties and had an opportunity to score after having spread the ball. Fintan Lawlor attempted an interception on the five metre line. The debate remains: did it touch his hands or just his head when the ball was knocked on? It's a very close call and could have gone either way. Ultimately, the referee reached to his pocket and sent the young man to the sin bin.

Facing only 13 men on the pitch from the resulting scrum, Sweden simply spread the ball out wide and due to a lack of numbers Luxembourg had no reply. 3-14. Nevertheless, this did not drown out James Kent's men's motivation, and shortly afterwards the gap was once again narrowed. In Lawlor's absence, Gauthier Bares stepped up with equal finesse. 6-14.

Despite showing lots of character in defence, Luxembourg conceded two tries, as the Swedes made the most of the numerical advantage and took the score to 6-24 at half-time.

A half of 'two halves'

What was said in the changing room must have been inspiring, as the Red Lions came out roaring. Shortly after, they reaped the benefits and scored their first try of the game. Fintan Lawlor spotted space in behind the onrushing defence, chipping the ball over. Unable to gather his own kick – due to the unreliable bounce of a rugby ball – Tony Drennan was stampeding onto it and able to bulldoze his way over the line. Lawlor converted, bringing hope back to the men in red. 13-24 and the crowd was on the up.

With their chests perked up, we saw glimpses of the quality that the squad possesses and a beautiful set-piece move saw backs and forwards combine to spread the ball out wide to Christian Olsen, who grubbered the ball through. It was slightly over-hit and the Swedish defender was able to dot the ball down in his own area. Unfortunately, it was shortly after this that the enormous effort the Luxembourgish team had put in to stay in contention with a strong Swedish side began to wane.

The floodgates opened after lots of phase play by the Swedish and within 15 minutes the team had conceded five tries. Lots of tackles were missed and the Swedes made ground at will. Having gone down to 14 men in the first-half, it was understandable, and the team has done themselves proud. Playing with numerical disadvantage is extremely difficult, especially against a team ranked 23 places above them.

Luxembourg should have had a try awarded in the final moments of the game: Tony Drennan was denied a second due to a double-movement where his torso did not move and he only stretched out his arm to score. However, it was the Red Lions who finished on a high, when the ball fell to Yared Ketema from a very questionable Swedish kick and he was able to force his way over from close range.

Despite the tough loss, Luxembourg showed resilience. With lessons learned, they’ll look to bounce back against Poland on April 5 at Stade de Luxembourg. Be there to support them!

Watch the full match report in Luxembourgish below