Luxembourg's senior rugby XV defeated Austria in Vienna on Saturday 24 October 2015 by 34-6, to retain their place at the top of Division 2C of the European Nations Cup.

Backed by 50 or so noisy Luxembourg fans from Vienna's student community, the Luxembourg team started somewhat tentatively. Unable to play with any real continuity, they took the lead through an early Scott Browne penalty.  This however was quickly negated by an Austrian penalty after Philippe Vimond was somewhat unlucky to be penalised for contesting the ball at a breakdown.

Austria then took the lead with a second penalty, conceded after Luxembourg failed to exit their half after a restart.  A second Browne penalty however levelled the score, before the same player backed up an excellent break by Christopher Rossa, taking the final pass to score the first try. Browne converted his own try and Luxembourg led 6-13 at half time.

The second half however saw a far more cohesive Luxembourg performance. The team played most of the match in Austria's half of the field, and were able to cross for a second try when Jean-Baptiste Vert peeled off a maul and dived over. Browne again adding the conversion.

A third Luxembourg try followed, this time coming from a scrum where the Austrians pushed them backwards. With the scrum in trouble temporarily, quick-thinking number 8 Thomas Kremmer picked up and drove hard to the left. He then linked up with Rossa, slipping a quick pass to the winger, who did very well to stay infield despite a couple of Austrian tackles. Rossa dived over in the corner, and Browne's consistency with the boot continued as he converted again.

With time running out, Luxembourg had several opportunities to score a fourth try, and grab a vital bonus point. They were unable to execute on a few occasions, failing to hit their lineout jumper, and also panicking at a scrum close to the Austrian line. In the final minute however, they kicked a penalty into the corner to set up a lineout.  Vert caught the ball cleanly, and the Luxembourg pack drove the Austrians back over their own line. The ball was grounded by Christian Olsen and Browne added the conversion to complete a flawless day with the boot. The team were then free to celebrate with their raucous support.

Luxembourg now face Serbia at Stade Josy Barthel on 14 November 2015, with kick-off set for 16:00.

 

Photo by Rugby Club Luxembourg