11th March, 2006
IX Europe Reading Kangaroos Triumph against les Francais
by Adam Bennett

The stage is set in the South of France for the IX-Europe Reading Kangaroos' pre-season opener, lining up against the best the French have to offer in the exciting sport of Australian Rules Football. Although only professionally established in the Antipodean down-under, the sport is gaining rapid popularity all over the world, and the lads from Reading under the guidance of Aussie Coach Brent Barton, are trail-blazing around the world, playing fixtures in France, Denmark and America, as well as the domestic season in the UK.

The match took place in Stade Joseph Raynal, in the village of Villelongue-de-la-Salanque, just a few miles to the East of Perpignan. Hosted by a local rugby club, the game was intended to promote the sport in France and develop closer relations between the footy communities in these two old rivals. With a crowd of 700 looking on and screaming for Les Bleues, the venue and atmosphere were an ideal opportunity for both teams to show what the sport was all about.

After a coin toss officiated over by the town Mayor, the game kicked of with a strong, but swirling wind behind the Roos. This made marks (a clean catch resulting in an unopposed kick) difficult to come by, but the Roos made good use of the wind to build a commanding first quarter lead, 28-6.

Against the wind in the second quarter, the ball was kept a lot lower, and solid defence across the park gave few opportunities to the French to score from. The Roo's centre of Barton, Shutz, Hambour and Whiteaker cut out many attacks before they had a chance to gain momentum, but the French, gaining confidence as the match progressed, used the wind to claw back some scores.

With the wind once more at their backs in the third quarter, sitting on a 15-point lead, the long journey before the game and the much smaller squad size began to tell on the legs of the Roos, as the French continued to roll fresh legs on and off the pitch. Scoring opportunities were few and further between, but the Roos did manage two unanswered goals to give themselves a buffer before heading into the wind in the fourth quarter....

....which turned into a battle to even get the ball into the opposition half. With fatigue setting in, the Roos were struggling to keep up with the runs of the fresher French replacements, but some heroic tackling prevented the opposition from capitalising on some good opportunities. With the points gap being narrowed and the time ticking down, the gap was down to 3 points (a goal is worth 6) before the Roos slotted a kick home in the dying minutes to give a much more comfortable buffer. The French, despite some desperation attacking, were unable to penetrate the well-organised back line of the Roos and the match ended 75-66.

Although much closer than was comfortable, the Roos battled hard through a long journey and against a much fresher opposition to grind out the win. The match was an enormous success and won great support from the watching crowd, as well as the local authorities, who have thrown more support behind the organizers in their bid to get a French team ready for the next International Cup in Australia in 2008.

The Roos would like to offer heartfelt thanks to IX-Europe in their support for the club. Without the support of organisations such as IX, it is much more difficult to run clubs such as the Roos, and we really appreciate this backing. This season the Roos are looking to develop the game in Reading, attracting more people to play and find out more about the sport.