The NTNUI boys managed to line up a full rugby team for the away game in Oslo. With 15 guys going down, some of the boys had to play in new positions, but good preparations leading up to the game made this a minor detail.

The game kicked off and the Trondheim side soon put pressure on OSI. Steadily marching up the pitch the home team was standing with their backs against the wall. After only 5 minutes the NTNUI forwards gave the backs an overlap close to the line. The flyhalf on the day, Sølve, saw the hole in the line and ran untouched to score under the posts. Unfortunately the conversion was kicked wide. 0-5

NTNUI continued to put pressure and knocked on the OSI goal line at several occasions. However, ferocious defending by the home team and a few basic mistakes from the green side resulted in the score remaining at 0-5 in the first half.

The first half was dominated by lack of discipline and lack of game experience for both teams. Towards the end of the half the lack of fitness also started to kick in. NTNUI lost the dominance of the game and it looked to be a tough second half.

OSI took initiative from the start and put pressure on the NTNUI side. Although the game was played mostly in the midfield, the momentum had shifted and the home team was now looking stronger. After about 15 minutes of the second half, the OSI backs broke the line, swung the ball back to the opposite side and scored a try in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful. 5-5

OSI continued their fight while NTNUI felt the lack of substitutes on their bodies. Fullback, Frank Mbaabu, was replaced by mercenary substitute Zack from Tønsberg due to blood bin. 5 minutes later, our Kenyan star was back on the pitch and ready for more.

Few minutes after the equalizer, OSI got a penalty in front of the posts. The kick was an easy one. 8-5.
NTNUI responded almost immediately with a long attempt when a penalty was awarded in the OSI half. Conor Foster made no mistakes and split the uprights with a well executed kick. 8-8

But the signs were clear. OSI dominated while NTNUI struggled with fatigue in the forwards. The home team also put on some fresh legs in the backline that caused the green defence headache. About 70 minutes into the game the OSI centers broke two tackles at midfield and outsprinted the NTNUI defenders to score under the posts. The conversion was a mere formality. 15-8

Then NTNUI threw in everything they had for the remaining ten minutes. The ball was in the OSI half, but again the red defence held their line. The game was over when the visitors knocked on while trying to find holes in the line after the referee had called last action.

The home team cheered, the green were bruised and beaten...


Although the result was disappointing, the team was pleased with their performance. Five virgins proved that they can make an impact.
* Richard Olsen impressed everybody with his powerful scrumming at loosehead.
* Knut Kavli did a great job at lock and truly seemed to enjoy the opportunity to tackle opponents.
* Johan Ketil Skodje stepped in at outside center and his running was sharp. It actually impressed the OSI coach (who is also student national 7's coach) to such an extent that Johan was asked to join in for the student world cup team.
* Ben Fidler was elected team captain by his teammates and led the team in his virgin game for NTNUI. His family is also worth mentioning as they flew in from England only to watch this game! Thanks you for your support :)
* Marton Teilgård played his first rugby game in 3 years and the first game ever for NTNUI. The hockey playing forward put on a great performance at flanker.


Some memorable moments from the game:
* Trevor taking a knock and basically looking like he usually does on the dance floor at closing time. When telling the referee that we had an injury, the response was "He is on his feet, he is ok!"... I guess that was a debatable conclusion, but Trevor also objected to being injured and finished the game standing up.
* Frank getting blood binned in the middle of second half after having had a permanent nose bleed from first contact. That he actually finished the game without suffering from blood loss is amazing
* The two streakers that got an introduction to rugby the hard way when two NTNUI players put all the disappointment into the tackles with no fear of close encounters with naked male privates. The poor fellows are not expected to streak rugby games again...

Another report and pictures at norgesrugby.no

Team:
1. Richard Olsen (virgin)
2. Eirik Midttun
3. Stein Ove Kristensen
4. Knut Kavli (virgin)
5. Ben Fidler (Captain & virgin)
6. Marton Teilgård (virgin)
7. Trevor Neil
8. Ole Andreas Rydland
9. Ruben Bø
10. Sølve Conradi Olsen
11. Maxime Mussard
12. Conor Foster
13. Johan Ketil Skodje (virgin)
14. Einar Eriksen
15. Frank Mbaabu

16, Zack from Tønsberg (replacing Frank while in blood bin)


Awards:
Best forward: Don't remember

Best back: Johan

Virgins: Knut, Johan, Ben, Marton (Richard will get his later)

Fat winger: Sølve - Playing flyhalf which is wrong person, wrong place and wrong time, but did prove to be the right person at the right place at the right time when he scored the try.

Best OSI player:Arne - for being the only OSI player at the party for the awards :)