U18 Nati muss sich im Eröffnungsspiel der U18 EM gegen Ukraine knapp geschlagen geben

Lisbon, March 19, 2016 - in its opening match of the Rugby Europe U18 Trophy, Switzerland lost narrowly to the Ukraine by 15 points to 11.

During the opening 40 minutes, the young Swiss selection traded penalties with the Ukrainian boys, each side testing the waters cautionously against its opposition. Fullback Louis Pharaony converted both Swiss kicks, making the halftime score 3-6 for Switzerland.

In the second half, the Ukraine came out strong. This effort paid off after just a few minutes when flanker Rostyslav Kutran touched down behind the line for their first try, converted by number 10, making the score 10-6 to Ukraine.

This lead to a bit of frustration by Switzerland, which was compounded when second-rower Rudolph Keanu was sent off for 10 minutes with a yellow card in the 45th minute. Down to 14 men, the Swiss faught hard but could not hold off the Ukrainian attack, which was rewarded with another try two minutes into their numerical advantage, making the score 15-6 after 47 minutes of play.

Thanks to their strong will and a number of tactical substitutions, the Swiss clawed their way back into the game. Their efforts were finally rewarded when, at the 67th minutes ukraine suffered a yellow card of its won, and Switzerland earned a try for its side one minute later, when flanker Billy Roch touched down at the 68th minute, making the final score 15-11.

Next, Switzerland will face Luxembourg on Wednesday, March 23, at 18:00 CET (17:00 Local time in Lisbon). You can follow the game live on Wednesday on www.rugbyeurope.tv

Watch the Replay of the Match Ukraine-Switzerland HERE

Find the Match Sheet below as PDF.