Rugby, Luiss Avio returns from Sulmona with an important victory

On Sunday, February 19, in the first away match outside of Lazio, the university team played well and, despite bad refereeing, won 14-7 against the Abruzzo hosts.

Coach Granatelli’s boys started off strong and immediately imposed an intense, fast and organized pace of play. After 8 minutes Luiss Avio takes the lead with a goal by captain Conti who penetrates the opponent’s defense, after a nice action played by hand. The result of 7-0, after Moscardo’s transformation, would have been wider if the guests had made the most of a couple of chances inside the opponent’s 22m area, thanks to phases of conquest (tosche and scrum) that were practically never lost.

In the resumption Sulmona reacted and forced Luiss Avio to defend in their own half; accomplice a “careless” referee, the Abruzzi scored the equalizing goal under the posts and brought the score to 7-7.

The young university players became nervous and could no longer find the game organization they had in the first half; in spite of the tension on the field, the guests showed great team compactness, tough defense and the ability to stick to the game.

In the 65th minute, after strong pressure from the Luiss forwards, the ball arrived in the hands of Riveruzzi who accelerated and carried the ball into the goal for the final 14-7, while Moscardo scored the additional 2 points.

Luiss Avio Rugby brings home a win and 4 points in the standings, the knowledge that everyone’s hard work is paying off and that there is still plenty of room for improvement for a young, quality group.

On Sunday, February 26, the university players will return to the field on the home court of Acqua Acetosa where they will receive Tivoli.