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On the eve of the Wales v Tonga International in Cardiff the Rumney Rockets played an International of their own, hosting RC Solothurn from the canton of Bern, in Switzerland. Both teams fielded a mixture of veterans and younger players watched by a small but enthusiastic group of Swiss supporters. From the kick off the Rockets took play up to the Solothurn 25 metre line and following a scrum no8 Chris Jones peeled off and forced his way over for an unconverted try. Solothurn immediately took play into the Rumney half with scrum half Raffael Ducher quick to chase a kick ahead and force a Rumney knock on. From the scrum the Solothurn captain and No 7 Emil Rohrbach broke away and raced  40 metres before being stopped short of the line. The Rockets hooker, Anthony Leach, picked and linked with centres Anthony Jones and Jamie Jones , prop Neill Ritchie, and wing Gareth Dean  who was forced into touch on the Solothurn  25 metre line.  From the line out  flanker Ryan Sutton jinked over for a try , converted by Jamie Jones. Solothurn’s defence kept Rumney on their toes with centre Louis Pacheco and outside half Florian Studeli putting in some big tackles. No 8 Tom Ambuhl also got through a lot of work. The Rockets eight were better organised than the visitors however and more pressure on the Swiss line saw 2nd row Grant Harrington power over for an unconverted try. From the restart Solothurn showed  that they were willing to run the ball whenever possible , fly half Florian Studeli linking well with strong running wing Andreas Keizer. Their forwards however were always under pressure and good work by Rockets Tony Healan and Anthony Johnson saw the ball reach centre Jamie Jones who dived over in the corner for an unconverted try. The Rockets went further ahead with Ryan Clark  ,Gareth Niblett , Grant Harrington , Anthony Johnson , and Gareth Dean all handling before fullback Stuart Burnett crossed in the corner to give the Rockets a 27- 0 half time lead.
The second half saw Rumney pinned on their own line by a spirited Swiss side but good work by Mike Neal  and Ryan Sutton saw the ball move to centre Paul Niblett who took play up field before handing on to Anthony Solomon who ran in from 30 metres to touch down. The Swiss were under pressure but never stopped trying. Jamie Jones got his second try after good work by Mike Neal and Stuart Burnett and Max Rice was held upon the line by desperate defence Solothurn 2nd row Andreas Miescher and prop Dominick Mistreli.
Rockets final try , unconverted , came from No. 8 Chris Jones after a kick and chase saw the ball moved along the line before he sprinted over.
The final score of 42 - 0 to the Rockets was convincing but despite the points total RC Solothurn were always willing to play running rugby and contributed to an entertaining evening’s rugby.
The visitors No.7 and captain Emil Ruhrbach was named Solothurn Man of the Match while the Man of the Match award for the Rockets went No. 8 Chris Jones.
Hopefully a visit to Switzerland can be arranged in the not too distant future.