Is there really NYPD on the opponent’s shirts? Some spectators of Rugby Club Waterland have to blink. But it’s true: it’s the rugby division of the New York Police Department coming to play an exhibition game. “We had to seize this opportunity with both hands,” said team manager Gerjo Slootweg when asked to arrange it.
High American visit for Rugby Club Waterland – NH Nieuws
There is not too much interest in the game. Several dozen people are watching, including relatives of the Americans. Last week the team participated in the World Police and Fire Games, which are held in Rotterdam. “But ‘sevens’ is played there, so a rugby variant with seven men on a complete field,” explains Slootweg.
“There is a lot of running there. So they asked if they could play a practice match with a full field, so with fifteen against fifteen, and in one way or another that question ended up with us.” Slootweg thinks it is special: “International teams come here regularly, but we have never had Americans.”
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The format of the tournament in Rotterdam was actually not very suitable for their team, says captain Louie Duccischi of the New York Police Department Rugby Club in advance. “We definitely noticed that. We have a lot of men who can play better 15 against 15 compared to the variant that played in Rotterdam. But we made the best of it. We may not have won the tournament, but we stole everyone’s heart.”
The Rugby Club Waterland eventually came out on top, it was 32-24.
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