Bad Reichenhall 29 (5) – 38 (6) Vorarlberg

They say rugby is a game for 15 players. Well, apparently nobody told Vorarlberg!

Our away trip to Bad Reichenhall started with a long bus journey from Vorarlberg and a squad that seemed to be shrinking faster than the beer supply on the way home.

During the week, we had a solid squad of 17 players ready for battle. Unfortunately, the flu decided to launch a more successful attack on Vorarlberg than most rugby teams manage. Five players were taken out before we'd even left home, leaving us with just 12 brave souls + a wife on the bus.

Apparently, the flu has a better tackle success rate than our opposition!

But we had an ace up our sleeve! Our injured star flanker Sinner was planning to come along as a spectator. After some convincing during the journey, we managed to turn our biggest fan into our 13th player. He joined the squad just 20 minutes before kick-off. Who needs a proper warm-up anyway?

Against all odds, we started strong and crossed the try line first! Despite being two men short, we battled our way to a 19–12 lead at half-time.

But apparently playing with 13 men was still too easy.

Just before the break, we lost Laszlo, our winger-turned-flanker, who had bravely swapped the comfort of the backline for the dark arts of the forwards.

Unfortunately, Laszlo committed the ultimate club offence: breaking our number one rule — "Don't get injured!"

The disciplinary committee will review his case once he's recovered.

So, for the entire second half, we were down to 12 men against 15.

Our tactical masterplan? Pods, pods, and more pods. Every now and then, we even remembered that rugby can be played out wide!

With tired legs, empty lungs, and absolutely nobody left on the bench, the boys dug deep and kept fighting. Six tries later, with our number 10 Yannick slotting 4 out of 6 conversions, we somehow walked away with a 38–29 victory!

A massive shout-out to all 13 players who gave everything, especially the 12 warriors who fought through the second half. An absolutely heroic team performance, proving that you don't always need a full squad when you've got heart, determination, and a healthy amount of stubbornness!

Special thanks also to our three travelling supporters, who made the long journey with us and stepped up as our water carriers, kicking-tee specialists, and moral support. Without you, we'd probably still be looking for the tee somewhere in Bavaria!

Thanks to Bad Reichenhall for the hard-fought match and hospitality!

13 players. 12 finishers. 6 tries. 1 massive away win.

And after that performance, we definitely earned a few beers on the long bus ride home!

Aufzeichnung vom Spiel