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Munich went to Bonn on the weekend and
claimed the title of German Champions. It was a great day for the club,
thanks to everyone who has put in effort this year on and off the field. It
really was a club effort to get this success. We'll have to try doubly hard
next year as we're now the team to beat!
On Saturday morning the Munich team was the first to arrive on the playing fields. It was a serene setting with the odd jogger running along the path along the Rhein, with a bit of mist and chill still hanging in the air. As the last teams filed onto the fields, the Muenchners were finishing the tent construction and started to warm up. The sun was shining, but the grounds were hard, unforgiving, wet and slippery. We needed to concentrate if we wanted to come away with the coveted DM trophy that the club had been waiting for.
Munich had their famously slow start again against the Colonia team. The attack was undisciplined, the drives did not click, and the defence was quiet and still not fully awake. Colonia scored their first touchdown by executing a good switch after a confusion between the middles. We were glad that half time came, where we could calm the nerves down a little. That had the desired effect and with an improved second half, the Muencheners had won their first match against their most consistent rivals convincingly with 6-2.
Frankfurt, with a heavily depleted side, provided some training where we ran up a score in the double figures. The next match against the Ruthen school kids would prove to be a test of fitness and team work. The kids were very swift, and with 4-5 boys on the field we had to pay attention to make sure they did not have the space to run. Compared to what we saw in the Bavarian Open a month ago, this was a much improved and more dangerous outfit led by the teacher Lars. In the end there were no problems, with Munich winning 7-2.
When Berlin beat Colonia convincingly in the pool game (of course, with the help of our players Randy and Karim!), it became clear that we would have to play Berlin twice - once in the remaining pool game, once in the final. In the pool game, trainer Keith Ball got creative and turned the team inside out - basically centres to the wing and vice versa. This would provide a rare opportunity for the girls and newer players to play a tournament in the middle positions, where much of the action takes place. After a slightly nervous start and with some tips from the wingers, our new centres and links took to the task with aplomb. With a final score of 6-1, we seriously considered keeping this as our permanent configuration! Well done!
For the final we went back to our tried and true combinations with a hard driving centre attack, and a defence that knew each other and was by now talking fluently in the same language again. Berlin played very well - when they got close enough to our try line, with the ball in the hands of Rob, Jordi or Randy, they looked very dangerous. Fortunately we held onto the ball for long enough and defended tightly enough to keep them to just one touchdown (which Karim scored! Well done!). The second half Munich attack looked like that of a true champion team, and with the 14 best players of the day, we expected nothing less!
When the final whistle was blown, the feeling was a mixture of elation and relief for many team members. The Deutsche Meisterschaft trophy is Munich's at last!
A word about the tournament organisation. A group of proactive volunteers from Munich (with good contacts) managed to relocate and organise the German Championships to Bonn at the last minute. While there are many that contributed, we have to especially thank Bob and Kate for their efforts, otherwise we might not have had a tournament at all. Well done.
The scores on Saturday:
League Stage
Muc vs Colonia 6-2
Muc vs Frankfurt 12-1
Muc vs Ruthen 7-2
Muc vs Berlin 6-1
The Final
Muc vs Berlin 5-1
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