…it’s best to introduce the ball on the left side of the scrum. Never too late to learn that!

We lost against Germany 22-7, after an exciting game. I’ll come back to that game later. If Portugal wins now, we’re in the top 8. Just! But in the top 8.

Starting team: Gina, Karoline, Tonje, Karin, Ingrid R, Kathrine, Åsa.

Subs: Miriam, Ingrid H, Rebecca, Ellen

Try: Gina

Conversion: Karin

Unsurprisingly, it was a close game against Israel. They were leading 14-0 at halftime. We were suffocating in our 22m for most of that time, it’s thanks to a great defense work that we didn’t get more points against us.

We sub’d a few players at halftime which gave new energy to the team. We finally managed to score, a non-converted try, and another one a bit after (converted). We were down by 2 points in the last minute. So we needed a try… and we got it, in the last seconds of the game. It gave us the victory. That was close!

Starting team: Gina, Karoline, Miriam, Karin, Ingrid R, Tonje, Rebekka.

Subs: Silje Elin, Ellen, Åsa, Kathrine

Tries: Åsa, Tonje x2

Conversion: Karin x2

We tried our best against the host nation, but it wasn’t enough. We had decided to change our game plan slightly, with focus on the physical challenge, but they were strong in defense, rushing a well organized line, and we struggled to create momentum in the first half when we had possession.

They scored on 3 occasions. We had more possession and were moving the ball forward. Portugal was quick to reorganize and stopped us again and again.

17-0 against Portugal in Portugal, I’ll take that, it’s a good result – the goal average is important .

Next game is Israel, it will be tough – it was a close game last time we played them.

As in Hungary, we have a late start, so we took a late and relaxed breakfast, had a short meeting where we focus on the game plan for the day. We did a short visualization session.

We’re not now waiting for the bus. The atmosphere is good in the team. There are a lot of smiles, the focused kind of smile. Happy to he here, happy to be together, looking forward to challenge Portugal.

We arrived at the hotel mid-afternoon, a very nice hotel with a pool. Some took a quick dive, we then went to the pitch for 1.5hrs practice. The focus was the tactics for the game against Portugal, which is our first game. It was sunny but not too warm. We also took a quick look at the playing pitch, it looks really good with dense grass. It is also much wider than in Budapest, maybe up to 10m.

Alice went to the managers’ meeting, Karoline for the Captains’ photo shoot, the others players went for a swim!

We had dinner at the hotel (Salmon!) then the jerseys ceremony, and went to bed.

Our first game is at 12:50 local time, 13:50 Norway time.

We had breakfast at the appartment, with nice fresh bread that the staff got from a nearby bakery.

We then had a video session and are now in Lisbon for a few hours on our own.

We’re flying to Lisbon for the 2nd round of the EM and the last tournament of our season.

We were all taking different routes, I flew via Stockholm… it’s the start of the Norwegian holidays, the planes to Southern Europe are quite full! So we all met at an appartment where we are staying tonight, downtown Lisbon, had pasta for diner.

It’s been a nice season. We started in Oslo in February, went to Finland in March, met again in Oslo and in Malmø in April, in Horten, Nancy and Bergen in May. Not to mention that we had 9 of the players with us last year. For a coach, it’s awesome to work with such continuity and depth, and such a great group of players.

About our opponents for the weekend… We’re in the toughest pool: the winners Germany, who seem out of touch; Portugal who probably are very disappointed after the first round – with their 7s place, they have practically lost all chances to make it to the top 2. One of the few scenarios would require them to win the tournament, Germany to finish 2nd, Norway 3rd, Finland 4th, Sweden 5th, Czech Republic 6th and Romania 7th. In that specific order. They have certainly done the math, they have a large player base, they are competitors who will be inspired by the fact that they play on their home ground and by the odds being against them. I also expect them to pick a much more experienced side this time instead of the young, development side they had in Hungary. We play them in the first game, we can expect fury!

As for Israel, we struggled against them in Hungary… Saturday is gonna be a tough day.

On the other hand, we also are competitors, we like being the underdogs, we like proving everyone wrong.

Sort of…

With the Sagene kids in another international tournament, in Götheborg, Sweden.

It’s Monday, early o’clock, we left the hotel at 03:15 to catch our plane back home. Some slept a few hours, some didn’t bother and came straight to the bus from the… banquet, let’s say. We’re tired but happy – it’s been a good weekend, on and off the pitch.

So yesterday ended up with 1 draw (which we lost), one victory and one loss. It’s an ok day 2! The loss against Finland game obviously was our big frustration of the day, but the victory against Turkey allowed us to get our best result in a EM round since 2005 – Trude was a newly capped player back then, it was my first year the coach, and the national team’s first EM. Some noticed I was getting emotional after the win against Turkey – yes I was, I’m happy and proud. This is a solid performance, and we’ve worked hard for this.

Beyond the ranking, the way we played on day 2 is a source of satisfaction and pride. I’ll have to check the videos, but from the sideline it looked like we played a mature game, with great teamwork. Especially in our defense. We are getting routined enough that we can make small adjustments to the defense system at half-time to adapt to the opposition, like for our last game against Sweden. In this game, we were also more patient in attack and utilized depth much better. It’s good that we can improve in the course of a tournament, and it will be useful in two weeks.

Next is Lisbon, we will be in a pool with the winners of this round, Germany, the host nation Portugal, and Israel. Portugal had a bad day yesterday, finished below us in the ranking, at the 7th place – they struggled physically on day 2, they could not keep up with the tempo set by their opponents in the first two games. It will be a challenging team for us in two weeks.

A lot of people in Norwegian rugby contribute to our results – especially the coaches who work with the players at training every week. Thanks to all of you, we hope you take pride in the team’s results and in the player’s performance.

Looking forward to Lisbon!