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Even if Belgium’s Brussels Devils end up losing the fifth-place match in the 2023 UEFA Super Cup on Saturday in Amsterdam, it will prove on the pitch that progress has been clear since last season despite minimal preparations for the tournament. Sebastian Jones and Julian Massimi’s men. They sowed doubt and chaos among the Portuguese Lusitaños team throughout the match (29-29), and they finally surrendered only during double overtime (46-29) after leading the discussions for 80 minutes. We forgot about the cards of the previous version, as our cards collected nearly two hundred points in two matches. However, the Belgian technical staff had to make a significant rotation in the team for this final match of the European 2023 edition.
Successive winners of Bohemia Warrius and Delta in the semi-finals of the standings, the Belgians and Portuguese met at the Dutch National Rugby Center in Amsterdam with fifth place in their sights. On paper and with their national squad’s exploits at the World Cup, it was clear that expectations were in L’Ositain’s favour. Without knots, the Brussels Devils controlled the pace of the match from the beginning of the match by opening the scoring with an offside kick from Hugo Ruel (0-7). After the immediate Portuguese response, Victor Bazgrat opened the scoring for the second time just before the 20th minute (7-12). The game turned into a reactionary action as the Portuguese responded immediately but the Brussels Devils maintained control of the game as they had good taste to return to the locker room with a five-point lead. Victor Andre fired the oval into the net after a brilliant cross from Henri Decoyne (12-17).
A good omen for the future of Belgian rugby
The intensity of the match did not change in the second half as the Brussels Devils took off when Robin Vermeersch found himself at the end of a good series of shots from the attackers (12-24). He wrote that the two teams will not give up a single step since Lusitano returned to the tournament for the fourth time by planting two attempts (24-24). It was Valerie Duliot’s wise strike that inspired Victor Andre, who scored his second try of the afternoon (24-29). No doubt exhausted by the many efforts he put in over the course of sixty minutes, the Belgian XV was forced to concede another equaliser, sending both teams through to extra time. Extra time sounded the death knell for the Belgians’ hopes. Twenty minutes is undoubtedly too long for the Brussels Devils (46-29) but that does not detract from the enticing rugby they produced at the Batavian ground in this classification match as the staff were able to measure the progress made in two months and certainly in comparison to the late edition. . This bodes well for the Black Devils coaches who will be able to utilize this group of rising talent in the future.
