The Warriors finished the season on a high in Germany by winning the
Schwaben Cup in Ulm, Germany. The tournament was attended by teams from
Germany, Czech Republic and Ireland.
The tournament was a 7 team round-robin event with ‘winner taking all’.
This meant we were looking at six games in two days. The first match was against the pre-tournament favourites and number one seeds, the Heidleberg Lions. It was a tough game against the former Europa Cup winners. Heidleberg got the better
start taking an early lead which the Warriors soon pegged back and the Warriors led
at half time. It was a lead they would keep throughout a close match, winning
the game by a goal.
The final score was 20-19 to the Warriors
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Garrett wins the race to the line to claim a vital score |
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There was only a half hour gap between our second match against the Duisburg Wildchairs and our previous battle with the Lions. The Wildchairs
got an early lead in the first quarter which the Warriors were never quite
able to breach despite a huge effort from the team. The final score in this match was 25-26 to the Wildchairs. |
| Our defence was strong all through |
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Having lost to the Czechs, SK Quadrufit, in a play-off last November the Warriors
were well up for this game and harried the opposition from the start building
up a lead which they wouldn’t give up. The Warriors won the game comfortably
by 5 goals, 27-22
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We chased and harried all weekend |
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When we lined up to play the Outlaws Karlsruhe, we knew that we would be playing one of the ‘weaker’ teams. This meant we could make use of the bench
during this game. With everyone playing on form we won the game easily
by 12 points. This would be the biggest win of the tournament. The
final score: 26-14 |
| Our passes were accutate |
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At this stage we were aware that if we won our remaining games we would
win the tournament. The first of which was against the home team, Ulmer Donauhaie. It was a major obstacle to overcome, however
a determined display saw the Warriors win by 3 goals, 23-20
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We had problems trying to contain him |
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The final match against Munich Rugbears was to prove as close and as hard as the first match, with neither
side giving an inch. Throughout the game the lead see-sawed constantly.
The pace of Tran Trung-Si threatened the Warriors but a strong team effort
saw the Warriors edge out Munich by a single goal to win.
The final score was 22-21 and the Gaelic Warriors had won their first ever tournament after 5 years of trying. |
| Warriors captain, Micheál Ó Flatharta, receiving the Cup |
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Final Standings
| Placings |
Team |
P |
W |
L |
+/- |
Points |
| 1 |
Gaelic Warriors (2) |
6 |
5 |
1 |
+17 |
10 |
| 2 |
Heidelberg Lions (1) |
6 |
5 |
1 |
+37 |
10 |
| 3 |
Ulmer Donauhaie (4) |
6 |
4 |
2 |
+16 |
8 |
| 4 |
Munich Rugbears (6) |
6 |
3 |
3 |
+35 |
6 |
| 5 |
Duisburg Wildchairs (7) |
6 |
2 |
4 |
-35 |
4 |
| 6 |
Outlaws Karlsruhe (5) |
6 |
1 |
5 |
-46 |
2 |
| 7 |
SK Quadrufit (3) |
6 |
0 |
6 |
-24 |
0 |
*Seedings in brackets
The tournament rules stated that if teams were level on points positions
would be decided on the head-to-head between both teams. As the Warriors
beat the Lions in the first game they won the tournament.
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