Victory over St. Pauli in the first Hamburg derby!

“22-12 final EXILES”. This is how our live-ticking representative Shane announced what all Exiles, have been waiting for. Our lads made it and won the first Hamburg derby, against a valiant and experienced St. Pauli squad. Hard work of those last weeks paid, and combined with an absolute commitment from all players, our team managed to secure the win, in this re-opening of the Regionalliga Nord.

Dominant in open-play, particularly in the first-half time, the Hamburg Exiles started the game pumped-up from the very beginning, constantly increasing the pressure in both defensive and offensive phases. Discipline was present there too, like a sixteenth player on the field, as only a few penalties were given away. One would have noticed though some difficulties in the scrum against a strong St. Pauli pack and too many handling errors, leading to knock-on situations and over-complicating the game. Some points of improvement for the games to come.

Awards of the game go to: Tony, man of the match, for being absolutely everywhere on the pitch, outstanding in defense and for opening the score with the first Exiles try. Thomas, dick of the day, for mixing up the Pauli try-line with their 5-meters-line (we’ll get you a software update for the next game mate). Special mention to Franz, for delivering a solid performance in his first time as a scrum-half and to our backs Ginas and Lenny, for scoring one try each.

To be continued next weekend for the second Hamburg derby against HRC. See you all at training. Come on Exiles!