Gibraltar Select
Royal Marines
Gibraltar Captain Freddie Cruz spoke after about the dogged performance of his side, who needed to dig deep against the dogged Marines side, having survived an early scare. Cruz said: “The game turned into a bit of a dog-fight, with the Marines playing to their strengths and trying to play route one rugby.”
“Considering we would have ideally liked more time to prepare, I was really impressed by just how well our defence held up, and it’s a massive complement to our lads that they failed to score a try.”
“If anything, the game was a reminder to us that we need to work harder, train more and get spot on for next month’s trip to a side that share plenty of similarities.
Nevertheless, the win was vital for keeping momentum going, and will be a massive boost to the lads with the ability to grind out a result when admittedly not playing our best free-flowing rugby.”
Cruz will lead the team next month in Montenegro in what looks to represent a wonderful opportunity for Gibraltar to test themselves, with the ‘Wolves’ currently in the 3rd Division of the European Nations Cup. He added: “I’ve watched a few of the Wolves’ games and think they will try and utilise their forwards and try to out-power us, but I think our lads have the potential to out-class them.
I speak on behalf of the entire squad, and indeed the country, when I say that I’m looking forward to sharing Gibraltar to a wider audience and can’t wait to lead the boys out on November 5th.”
The Tivat Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Montenegro in the past, beating Estonia there 29-27 in their first ever international last year, and bettering that by beating Belarus 45-19 there in May. Next month’s test on bonfire night could secure Gibraltar’s quest to gain international recognition; fingers crossed those aspirations don’t go up in smoke on November 5th in Montenegro.
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Photos courtesy of Stefano Plantone