Suomen Cup 2006?

Cup for what?

Ice Hockey, Salibandy, or one of the many traditional sports of Finland, as the mad mad Swamp football, or who lasts longest in the hottest of hot saunas?

Today, I travelled about 10 km north of Oulu to see the Suomen (Finnish) Cup 2006 for Rugby.



It was a truly glorious day for an outdoor sport. A virtually cloudless sky and a gentle breeze which made the summer temperature of 30 C seem quite comfortable.





The Oulu team were practicing till the very last moment!



The event was organised by an Oulu Team member, Mikko Koljonen, who was unable to play because of an injured shoulder.

There were not many teams - Oulu, Helsinki and the Barbarians, composed of some Finnish Intertnationals from Helsinki Warriors, and a few others.

The event started at exactly 12 noon with the Oulu side playing against Helsinki.

The Oulu side literally walked all over the Helsinki side winning with a comfortable score of 24 points to 5.



After a break. Oulu played against the Barbarians.

Despite the Internationals in the Barbarian side, Oulu were comfortable winners with a score of 26 points to 12.



The coach of the Oulu side, Roger Holden, was happy with the performance oif the Oulu team.

One Oulu player, who has suffered a dislocated shoulder in an earlier event, still wanted to play in ther Suomen Cup. It did not do him much good. The shoulder was badly affected yet again.

The play-off between Helsinki and the Barbarian side was only a formality.

The games were 10-a-side.

It was decided to have a 15-a-side game to end the day, with a mix of the teams.

The organisers made a very informative leaflet about the whole sport of Rugby and its entry into Finland. They hope to bring it out earlier in coming years and distribute it at more places so as to generate an interest in a sport, which the Finns consider to be less dangerous than even football.

Certainly, Rugby is a great sport, and unlike football, has many aspects to it which are truly interesting. To a newcomer, the decisions of the referee and the signals he makes may look quite strange.

For instance, a team is only allowed to pass the Rugby oval ball "backwards"!



Referee for this game was a former Rugby player from Oulu, Erasmus van Niekerk (I hope I got his name correct), who hails from South Africa. He was fair and correct. Not a single decision was queried by any players on the ground!



Oulu Coach Rogen and Referee Erasmus shared a word after the second victory of the afternoon of the Oulu team.

A great afternoon. I must thank my friends of the Oulu Rugby side for inviting me to attend. I certainly hope many more in Oulu take up this exciting sport. They will certainly enjoy the excellent spirit of the Oulu team members.

Well done Oulu!