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Tue 10 Feb 2015 | 09:17
Belgian rugby club scores over 350 points in bizarre club fixture

42
Comments

If you've ever thought about how many tries could actually be scored in a if one team steps aside and allows the others to do their thing, wonder no more. Royal Kituro in Belgium's top club rugby league has won a match 356-3. Yes, you read that correctly.

As the BBC reported yesterday, the referee for this match failed to turn up on time, so a lot of the visiting players from Soignies left, including their coach, assuming the match would be cancelled. 

The referee did turn up, an hour later, so the match went ahead as the players that stayed there were obligated to play so that they could get 1 league point for a loss, rather than 0 for forfeiting.

The circumstances, which included Sognies playing with just one substitute, didn't stop Royal Kituro digging the knife in, as they proceeded to run in 56 tries and 38 conversions.

With the tries practically uncontested and scored under the posts, we tend to wonder what happened with those other 18 conversions.

Soignies did get one drop goal, but the match was considered a bit of a non-event by them, as they literally stepped aside for many of the tries, as can be seen below.

The club president described the match as catastrophic, but despite the humiliating loss, they do still sit above Kituro on the league standings, in third place by just one point. Their points difference however now sits at minus 264. 

What is the biggest loss you've even been on the wrong side of, or inflicted? Let us know below

credit: kipiktv and the BBC

Posted By: Grant Constable

42 Comments

  • jmehrtens
    3:10 AM 21/02/2015

    I assume that they didn't miss those conversions but just realised that it would take longer to take the conversion than to run up and down to the 10m line for another try.
    (remember at this level there is probably only one game ball and no ball boys)

    I think Biarritz once did that in a Heineken cup game where they needed 14 (?) tries.

    I just wonder why it took them 38 conversions to realize this.

  • reality
    3:42 PM 13/02/2015

    Considering his name is Rugbysens I think it's quite possible he's a native French-speaker.

  • drg
    11:50 AM 13/02/2015

    ...'wonce'?.... How're the head injuries coming along?

  • drg
    11:49 AM 13/02/2015

    touche... That must be my excuse for not scoring often...

  • 10stonenumber10
    11:57 AM 12/02/2015

    That is the reason I play rugby. I've played full 80s as a cross between fullback, scrum half and spare "1 man lift" line out jumper. Just a standard day in 7s, but apparently a rarity in the XV a side game. Worn the opposition shirt a few times until the rest of their team show up... a good chance for my own team to settle the score for all the tackles they have covered. Club rugby is a perfect excuse to tour the pubs and eateries of whatever region you play in too. Back in London, hop on the tube and you are never more than 10 minutes away from a pie and pint.

    If you can't beat them on the field, you can always reclaim a bit of pride with the boat race.

  • stroudos
    6:41 AM 12/02/2015

    I think if my team were in that situation it would be more a case of trying to give try-scoring passes then running the opposite direction, for jug avoidance.

  • stroudos
    6:39 AM 12/02/2015

    "at least try to practice your set pieces or attack moves or something?"

    And demonstrate those moves to your local rivals, who are literally standing around watching your every move?


  • drg
    9:58 PM 11/02/2015

    Not 100% sure I agree... I don't score often, I'd take the opportunity to add a few numbers next to my name...

    But in reality, I think you're right about the referee..

    If I were him, I'd have abandoned the match and awarded Soignies with 0 points for not playing.. lets face it, that was exactly what they were doing. Whether they stood on the pitch not wearing the right kit (hoodies) or whether they said **** it, and went into the club house to have a few drinks (or went home) it all boils down to 'not playing'...

  • nobbs
    4:47 PM 11/02/2015

    The debate is a bit one-sided here.
    I had neutral accounts of what happened at Kituro (I also play in Belgium, for another club). And what I heard was that indeed Soignies didn't try to tackle at all - which is not the right thing to do, even if your coach instructs you to do so. But that at least they tried line-up plays, attempted some drop-goals... all in a spirit of 'touch rugby'. It soon became obvious that they wouldn't play that game but there are civilised ways to solve such problems.

    My point is: what kind of rugby team keeps running again and again to score 56 (!) tries?
    Why not stop after the bonus point, or maybe the first 100 if it flatters your ego, and then at least try to practice your set pieces or attack moves or something?
    At 249-0, instead of sprinting once again, unopposed, towards the tryline, didn't any of them wonder 'what exactly am I doing?'
    The whole thing is grotesque but Kituro played their part in the ridiculousness.

    Last point: some responsibility also lies with the replacement ref: when he saw that one of the teams (Soignies) didn't play at all he should have stopped the farce when he saw that the game wasn't played according to the rules of fair-play (just as one should with an obviously fixed game for instance).

  • drg
    12:51 PM 11/02/2015

    Thank you for the above account of what happened. I posted something above, I'm wondering if any of Kituro made an effort to force the other team to play... 'running into them', 'knocking the ball on, therefore forcing a scrum'...

  • drg
    12:45 PM 11/02/2015

    Can we assume this was a long time ago? I only ask because it seems odd (these days) that a referee would allow full scrums with a player in the front row who was not a 'trained' prop..

  • drg
    12:41 PM 11/02/2015

    ...you're really hot on the maths this week.

  • drg
    12:40 PM 11/02/2015

    Makes you think that if the referee was so late (hours) that the match should be rescheduled.

  • drg
    12:37 PM 11/02/2015

    Hahaha, what an arse, I suspect he'll be stripped of his front row licence for a period of time.

  • reality
    11:25 AM 11/02/2015

    Just read it there. I take back everything!

  • yjauz13
    11:10 AM 11/02/2015

    @RD : I'll keep you updated if a rematch take place. Thanks for the platform. It simply is perfect to be following Rugby with a touch of humor and spice !!

  • mot321
    10:22 AM 11/02/2015

    You don't know which players had left though, it could of been starting players and replacements in key positions, the fact they had position for a drop goal implies they may have attempted that for the first few minutes before deciding it was hopeless

  • stroudos
    9:22 AM 11/02/2015

    See yjauz13 below. Very interesting.

  • stroudos
    9:21 AM 11/02/2015

    Nice one. Thanks for coming on here to clear things up.

    I particularly like this second comment, where you show sympathy for this coach. Clearly he's acted like a total bellend, but it sounds like maybe this was a one-off miscalculation / error of judgement. Hopefully they can chalk it up to experience and move on.

    Hope you get a better game next time your teams meet!

  • rugbydump
    8:26 AM 11/02/2015

    At least we now have a better understanding of what really happened (assuming your account of it is accurate). Thanks for the clarification, and at least fans around the world now know about Soignies and Royal Kituro.. Perhaps a rematch is in order?

  • 3:05 AM 11/02/2015

    This. Is. Not. Rugby. Shame on soignes or whatever the hell your pathetic clubs name is. I've played harder in 2nd team games we were bound to lose. Belgian rugby union should be sanctioning them.

  • yjauz13
    1:45 AM 11/02/2015

    As I mentioned above, this exact person happened to be my coach at Kituro for three seasons.
    Knowing the character very well, I could not feel more sorry for him. I am sure he now realizes how he deeply messed up not only with both his past and present players - but also with every single rugby player & fans on the planet !

  • yjauz13
    1:41 AM 11/02/2015

    I unfortunately took part to this game for Kituro too. I love the game so much, i think this is a disgrace. I am so mad I could not possibly go to bed without answering on my favorite platform RUGBYDUMP
    The minimum I can do is to clarify things now :

    2.50.PM : (- scheduled kickoff is at 3pm -): Both teams were told that the ref was delayed.

    3.00.PM : Kituro made a phone call to the President of the Belgian Referee Commision.

    3.05.PM : A Substitute Ref is called upon. He personally decides to come all the way from his home to replace the missing Ref. The game is Re-Scheduled at - 4PM

    3.15.PM : Despite the confirmation that the sub Referee was on his way- Soignies's Head Coach , who is no one else than Kituro past coach (2010-2014), immediately saw the opportunity and decided to leave with a few players.

    N.B=> It is important to note that ' WE ' , Kituro , suffered a 18-31 lost against Soignies at HOME just one week before (!) as we happened to face them in the Belgian Cup.
    It was a very tough and pleasant game to play.
    Four Soignies ' players were injured in the process , including key players.
    In contrast , Kituro remained with a full fit team, perhaps due to a lack of commitment.. but that's another story...
    Undeniably, WE - Kituro- were given a unique and amazingly soon opportunity to take our revenge on Soignies. As a result , we were all pumped up , with a huge motivation ahead of this game.

    3.40.PM : The SUb Ref arrives and confirms the game will take place.He firmly recommends to Soignies to play despite their protestations.

    4.05.PM : " Worst attitude ever seen on a Rugby pitch " With 18 players on their game sheet, Soignies decides to avoid Kituro's players. They left their pride and self-esteem to the changing room. Having voted not to play,they forgot the values of rugby.

    What caused all this is a wrong calculation and misconduct of one man -> Soignies Head Coach should not have left his team 15' after Scheduled K-O!!!

  • reality
    11:30 PM 10/02/2015

    I was wondering about those things myself. From the description given, it seems like the players assumed the match would be called off, so it doesn't seem like the referee rang and told them he'd be there late - it seems that nobody knew where he was or why he hadn't turned up. And considering that the coach left I'd say either they really didn't know or he's a pretty poor coach.

    I'd like to hear from this Choumai as well.

  • stroudos
    8:53 PM 10/02/2015

    @Choumai

    Couple of other questions - see Reality a bit further down the page...

    Why was the ref late - stuck in traffic, unavoidably delayed or his own fault?

    Were both teams told before the scheduled kickoff time that the ref was delayed? Were the home team aware but "forget" to pass on the information to the visitors?

    Just wondering if there are mitigating circumstances....

  • stroudos
    8:51 PM 10/02/2015

    It's a valid point and you do have to wonder about the whys and wherefores of this situation.

    Why was the ref late - stuck in traffic or is he a useless twat?
    Were both teams told before the scheduled kickoff time that the ref was delayed? Were the home team aware but "forget" to pass on the information to the visitors?

    I think we need someone from one or both clubs to come on here and clarify the situation. There is a "Choumai" somewhere above claiming to have played in this match - maybe he can help...

  • stroudos
    8:42 PM 10/02/2015

    *Ahem* That would make a 136 points margin...

  • welshie69
    6:47 PM 10/02/2015

    Played a game for Guildford youth team (U19s?) and we had 11 players, most of us also being pretty hungover.
    We played anyway and as it was a league game we apparently had to have a full scrum. I, usually a flanker, had to play prop.
    We even attempted a human pryramid as a pre game warm up.
    About 10 minutes in we were the first to score, with a try, which is when we realised we might actually win.
    I got knocked out in the second half but had to play on due to no subs, we manged to get another player out of bed by that point but still had 12 players.

    We ended up winning, and was probably the best win I have played in, although the cocussion was so bad I couldnt move the left side of my face/mouth for the next week so I wouldn't suggest that.

    Did feel bad for the other team though.

  • reality
    6:18 PM 10/02/2015

    Am I the only one who thinks the referee is the one at fault here and not the players?

    If he just doesn't turn up and then your coaches and some of your team go home, then you shouldn't have to play the match, and you certainly shouldn't be penalised for not wanting to play it after half of your squad and coaches have already left. I see their actions as a form of protest against that referee and against the fact that the rules in place force them to play at a massive disadvantage when they're not in the slightest responsible for him not turning up.

    Personally, if there was no sign of the referee half an hour after kick-off, and it's February in Belgium, I would have gone home too. If I didn't, and he then said that we have to play at a huge disadvantage or get penalised in terms of league points, I would have done what the players did.

    This isn't a case of one of those days where you just about scrape together just enough players for a team and you do your best - it's a case of a referee absolutely screwing over the away team and putting them in a lose-lose position because of his own incompetence.

  • stroudos
    5:03 PM 10/02/2015

    In addition to the hoody-wearing second row, there's another similar crime even more heinous than the overall shambolic farce that this is........

    0:28 - there is a prop skipping. I'll just type that again - A PROP SKIPPING.
    Just when you think these people couldn't have less pride / dignity / self-respect...

  • flanker2712
    4:56 PM 10/02/2015

    Choumai,

    If you really were involved (and I have no reason to suspect you were not), can you give a bit of colour? Specifically:

    - Did Soignies "play" like this from the start?
    - Did anyone try to convince them to give it a go?
    - How did your team miss 18 conversions?
    - And most importantly, how many tries did you bag?

  • drg
    4:53 PM 10/02/2015

    Couldn't agree more with your last sentence.

    Years ago we used to have a local derby match on boxing day against a team 2 leagues above us. They used to field their top strength teams (although I'm sure on boxing day nobody was particularly 'top strength'); 1sts were 1sts, 2nds were 2nds etc.. rather than watered down sides, and we used to field ours. Although the majority of the matches through the years we lost, it was always a hugely intense game (mostly clean) and very closely fought, there were even games that we won and drew.

    All in all, it was a huge day for us, we walked ON the pitch, of course wanting to win, but knowing that technically we were already beaten, we had nothing to lose so we played with everything we had. I have to say looking back, that those were some of the best games I've ever played, even the ones we lost, purely because we 'earned' every point and every play that went our way.

  • stroudos
    4:49 PM 10/02/2015

    Did you manage to score a try? ;)

  • drg
    4:47 PM 10/02/2015

    I think a few have raised the point above:

    To me, it seems awfully odd that they'd seek to gain a playing point but be happy to be trounced like this, as someone said, hopefully the points diff will haunt them.

    I've been on the good end of 100+ point victories. I don't think I've ever been on the end of a 100 point loss, but we've had our hidings both at school and at club level.

    Again as others have pointed out (possibly because they have been in similar situations themselves) 16 people is a full team +1 reserve... I myself have been in games where we've borrowed players from the opposition, been in games where we've had our physio and coach kit up to make up numbers... other games where we've just played with 14 or just 15... You're there to play, just get on and play. I can't see why the opposition wouldn't have had a huge amount of respect had they actually tried to play.. but a team that looks like it can't be bothered would have got me on a mission... I'd have tried running into them (forcing a tackle).. 'knocking it on' numerous times to force the scrums... I'm sure our team could have come up with some way to provoke a reaction....





    ...then probably lose the match..

  • guy
    4:04 PM 10/02/2015

    Actually, that was the smartest decision of the day, since they were going to do nothing for 80 minutes on a cold winter afternoon..

  • stroudos
    3:32 PM 10/02/2015

    or the -356 contribution to the points conceded column!

  • stroudos
    3:30 PM 10/02/2015

    Having said that, there's almost nothing more satisfying than desperately scraping a team together, arriving with 14 players at an away ground in the middle of bloody nowhere after a total wild-goose chase, finding the opposition going through insanely disciplined practice drills, shouting and chanting, music blaring from their changing room, while you frantically throw shirts on and pick positions with two minutes to go until kickoff....... then you go and win the game and the post-match drink-up.

  • stroudos
    3:29 PM 10/02/2015

    What a bunch of pricks. 16 players is enough to have a proper crack at a game. And it's not as if they'd have been totally outclassed, if they're above this team in their league.

    These precious bar stewards are a let-down to all of us who play in leagues where player availability is a constant battle.

    I can remember turning up to an away game as one of 11 players before, at least 6 of whom were well over 45 years old. We still gave it a crack, with a 20 stone scrum-half among many others playing out of position. Lost 50-0 but got some good tackling practice in and one hell of a workout.

    At least they lent us a couple of players after 20 minutes (and about 20 points scored).

    Unlike the humourless gits who turned up to a 4th team non-league *friendly* match a few weeks ago, with half of their academy players, average age about 22 (versus about 45 for us!), squad of 22 (v exactly 15, dropping to 14 after 60 mins due to injury), a coach and physio. (Actually a few of our team were quite grateful for the physio!).

    I know that we score 3 points, not sure about theirs, about 60-something I think. Despite a *massive* difference in fitness, I'm pleased to say we were still tackling, chasing and even at times putting some attack of our own together to the final whistle. And we won the post-match drink-up.

    No-one likes losing, but I genuinely feel like you get more value from these backs-to-the-wall, Herculean defensive efforts than you do from an easy win.

  • jonnytuffpants
    12:29 PM 10/02/2015

    Love the fact that they had a pop at a drop goal to avoid being nil'd.

  • gorbachov82
    12:24 PM 10/02/2015

    We had many injured players, including our skipper. Without him we would only have 10 players so he decided to stay on the field next to our post but not to play. We lost with 90-7 but later the opposite team expressed their thanks to us for playing despite the obvious disproportion of strength between the two teams.
    This happened in Bulgaria in 2007.

  • guy
    11:57 AM 10/02/2015

    Actually, it reminds me of this football match:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9k3L1NC2mE

  • guy
    11:05 AM 10/02/2015

    Wow! And a great time was had by none, I guess. The linesmen must have been exhausted.

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