It was an emotional farewell to the Honour Division for La Vila, with players from all sections of the club including juniors, ladies and veterans forming a guard of honour as the team ran out onto their home pitch for the last time this season.
The Cajasol Ciencias team came out first to a tremendous reception from the crowd, before the “Joneses” were welcomed by a human tunnel made up of club players. It was a generous act of support and appreciation by the club members, who stood united like a family through the turbulent season, and it brought strong emotions to the surface.
With regards to the match itself, the Alicantinos bravely fought against the superior Andulusian forwards with courage and skill, a task made more difficult by the absence of key players including Paco Martínez, Neil Chivers and Juan Aristemuño due to injury, and star player Edu Sorribes not involved due to disciplinary action.
La Vila hooker Rubén Delgado gave an inspired performance scoring two of the home side’s four tries, with Argentinian prop German Haeffeli and young Vilero Juan David Quintero also getting on the score sheet.
Five consecutive years of top level rugby at the Villajoyosa stadium was brought to an end with hardfought, narrow victory for the away team, who played effective rugby and finished the game confidently, particularly after the introduction of scrum half Carlos Arenas.
The final score was 28-35, with Cajasol gaining four points for the win and La Vila receiving two well-earned bonus points (offensive and defensive). In spite of the final result, it was a special day for all involved at the club, who were all together on the pitch for a brief moment in a fantastic show of solidarity.
This day and the memories made will be strong in the minds of the Vila players when they take to the field at the Getxo Artea ground next week for their last match in the Honour Division.
Team Line Up LA VILA R.C.
Haeffeli, Delgado, Sanz “Pepín”, Lacoste, Tilford, Villalba, Guillem Carrión (Cap), Metral, Jiménez, Quirelli, Quintero, L. Poggi, Lamboglia, Agudo, Gómez “Yustin”. Subs: González, G. Fernández, Marín, Valero and P. Muñoz.
President Jason Craig also released the following statement regarding the recent withdrawal by La Vila from the “Copa Del Rey”:
As president of La Vila Rugby Club, it is with deep regret that I have to inform you that the club is unable to compete in the second leg of the semi-final of the Copa del Rey due to insufficient funding.
If we had known that we would be unable to compete in the return leg of the semi-final, we would not have played the first leg, preventing VRAC coming to La Vila. We had made reservations and planned the trip, but due to a change in procedure the bank would not provide us with the necessary monies. The situation has been further exacerbated by the withdrawal of grants and other aid that was included in our original budget.
It should be noted that it was never the intention of the club to play in the cup this season, therefore the cup fixtures were not included in our budget, as stated at the meeting of the FER before the season began. However, FER regulation states that to compete in the Honor Division you also have to compete in the “Copa del Rey”.
We did not want this to happen, and it is unpleasant. Unfortunately, the reality is that the club do not have the economic resources to fulfil this match. Previously, some members of the Board have personally invested in the club, but they are no longer able to cover additional expenses. Going forward, we are working to finish the current season, and approach the next in the best possible condition.
We deeply regret the situation and those affected. We understand the disappointment of having an opponent abruptly withdraw from a semi-final of the “Copa del Rey”, especially for the fans who would have come to enjoy the tie.
La Vila Rugby Club would like to offer our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause to the Spanish Federation of Rugby, VRAC Cheese Entrepreneurs and the fans.
I am available to answer any further questions as needed.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/38783/
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