Rugby Club Luxembourg (RCL) made it two from two this weekend after hanging on to win a close encounter 19-17 against Aachen (Germany).

Having won one, lost one against Aachen last season, RCL went away expecting another tight game. 

Aachen started off stronger but for most of the match the two teams were fairly evenly matched.

Aachen came dangerously close to scoring on a few occasions in the first half. Ten minutes into the match, the ball was quickly shipped out to Aachen’s winger, who found himself in acres of space, but was stopped short of the try line by fullback Francisco Tolomei.

Not long after, Francisco was forced to make another good one-on-one tackle after Aachen’s out-half collected a clever chip over the top. This time the German player was able to offload to his inside centre who was tackled metres away from the try line by scum-half Simon Horner.

Eventually RCL’s defence cracked and Aachen got their first try of the game. Finding space out wide again, the german winger was able to offload to his fly-half who crashed over the line. The try was successfully converted.

Conceding that try seemed to wake up RCL. They quickly fought their way up into Aachen’s half. After several phases with the forwards, the away side found themselves with an overlap out wide, only to have to go back for a penalty after the ball was knocked on. The penalty was unsuccessful.

The Luxembourgish team quickly found themselves back within range of the posts. Fly-half James Harris chipped over the line and then forced a penalty after the opposition flanker held onto the ball in the ruck. James Harris successfully converted the penalty leaving the score at half-time at 7-3.

RCL take the lead

RCL came out firing in the second-half. Winger Philippe Vimond tackled a German player into touch straight from the kick-off to win the ball back. From the resulting line-out, James Harris managed to break through and offload to centre Yared Katema who cut back inside the full-back and scored under the posts. The try was unsuccessfully converted.

RCL continued to pile on the pressure, keeping the Germans pinned in their own half this time, and were rewarded with two penalties, which were both converted by James Harris.

Aachen came back strongly and scored a try in the corner to bring the score to within a penalty. Taking a penalty quickly on the half-way line, the German winger ran through the retreating defence until Simon Horner brought him down. Aachen quickly shipped the ball out wide were they had a huge overlap and scored in the corner. The try was unsuccessfully converted.

Tense finish

RCL managed to re-extend their lead a few minutes later. The away side’s forwards did well to work their way to within five metres of the try line. Centre James Clarke took a crash ball straight off the ruck. Managing to stay on his feet, he was driven over by flanker Steven Clarke and second-row Pierre Toulet. The try was unsuccessfully converted.

A win for the Luxembourg side seemed a certainty until Aachen scored with three minutes left on the clock. The Aachen centre cut back in and found a huge gap and coasted through for a try. The try was unsuccessfully converted.

With only three minutes left on the clock and a very fragile lead, RCL had to defend ferociously. Aachen just made it into the visitors' twenty-two metre area before being penalised at the break-down. Final score: 19-17 to RCL.

Honourable mentions go to flanker Sean Carroll, who put in some enormous tackles on a much bigger pack, and second-row Pierre Toulet, who was outstanding in the line-out. Man of the match went to fly-half James Harris who kicked well and was immense in defence.