Finland (12 – 24) Norway – ENC 2012/14 – Match Report

Norway Shrugs Off Red Card Setback to Beat Battling Finns

Norway shrugged off the disappointment of a red card before half time to beat a battling Finnish side in the western city of Turku last weekend.

Norway started confidently, absorbing concerted pressure from a large Finnish pack with a combination of determined tackling around the breakdown and hard work in the rucks to deny the Finns quick ball.

As the first half progressed, the away side slowly built up pressure of their own, winger Kristoffer Borsheim eventually kicking Norway into a 3-0 lead after about quarter of an hour.

Kim-Robin Petterson then crashed over for Norway’s first try after captain Rob Gannon chose to kick a penalty to the corner rather than for the posts after another Finnish infringement.

Not long after that, scrum-half Nico Barral took advantage of strong running from man-of-the-match Axel Wilhelmsen to dart over for a trademark try and give the French scrum-half a deserved score on his debut.

A moment of madness by Barral then reduced Norway to 14 men just before half time, the referee issuing a straight red card for a kick to a Finnish player lying on the ground.

Norway used the half-time break to regroup ahead of what was inevitably going to be a big defensive effort for the next 40 minutes.

A try from a bouncing ball gave the Finns some hope soon after the break, before a yellow card of their own and Norway’s third try of the afternoon, scored by fullback Alex Diessner, largely extinguished their hopes of a comeback.

A full eight substitutions gave Norway a much-needed energy boost as full time approached, the resilient defensive effort having taken its toll on the tiring legs of the Norwegians.

Despite conceding a second try from a powerful forward drive as the final whistle approached, Finland left themselves too much to do and Norway clung on for a deserved and much-needed confidence boost.

The team’s attention now turns to Bislett Stadion in Oslo this weekend, where the Norwegians will take on Luxembourg.

Norway will be aiming to avenge a 15-8 defeat they suffered away late last year and after such a resilient effort in Finland last weekend the side will be confident they can head into the winter break with another victory.

Rugby Match Finland vs. Norway

Score Details

T	Finland	Score	Norway
14:00		Kick-off
18′		0-3	[11]
21′		0-8	[4]
29′		0-13	[9]
35′		0-16	[11]
38′			[9] RC
43′	[14]	5-16
49′		5-19	[11]
61′	YC [14]		Missed Penalty
62′		5-24	[15]
73′	[12]	10-24
–	[10]	12-24
		End
	[ 12 ]	Final	[ 24 ]

Referee

Bevan (SE)

Commissioner

Nielsen (DK)

Date

12 October 2013 – 14:00

Location

Paavo Nurmi Stadium, Turku, Finland

Squad

Finland		Norway
Olli-Pekka Tuomaala78′ Semu Salmivali Janne Heinänen78′ Andras Devenyi Dawie Walt v d41′ Mikael Ahola41′ Aaro Katainen61′ Petri Virrankoski Joakim Grader Andrew Myrie Matt Jordan Thomas Finell Antti Lammi Crispin Mäenpää68′ Ilkka Tuomaala – Mauno Konttila61’→7 Aleksi Laitinen78’→1 Tatu Rantakoko78’→3 Kalle Salminen41’→5 Stephen Whittaker41’→6 Elias Korhonen Pyves Guiban Joonas Nevakivi68’→14		Even Ellingsen77′ Andreas Fyri64′ Michal Urbanski77′ Kim Robin Pettersen Axel Wilhelmsen Alastair Reed41′ Pascal Raclin71′ Frederik Skovly Nicolas Barral Rob Gannon Kristoffer Borsheim55′ Dave Noonan Simen Hammer78′ Erlend Laukvik74′ Alex Diessner – Alexander Rønning77’→3 Marcin Gadzinski77’→1 David Hume64’→2 Shelton Davis41’→6 Thomas Bichard Breaud74’→14 Kristian Elgheim78’→13 Sondre Gundersen71’→7 Andre Slaata55’→11