The Tigers travelled to Limassol to play their "home" fixture in front of a small but enthusiastic group of supporters.
With 6 players playing out of position and some in those positions for the first time this was a big ask for the Tigers but right from the outset it was obvious that the lads were all up for it forcing the Crusaders to give away repeated penalties, George Agathocleous was in good form with the boot and slotted four. The Crusaders' responded with 3 tries, 2 just before half time and the first from a tap free kick which caught the defence well and truly napping giving the Crusaders a 17-12 lead at the break.
The Crusaders half time "chat" did the trick for them, they stopped giving away the penalties and after 5 minutes ran in the first of four second half tries. The game was far from one sided with the Tigers showing they are a team, working well in defence and giving each other moral support. Chris Thoma came off with an ankle injury mid way through the half, the Tigers playing out the game with 14 men.
Stand off Jack Bilton was under great pressure in attack and not given a lot of room but tackled every thing in sight in defence as did "man of the match" centre Nathan Pring. Wingers Kos and Ryan Riddler both got the ball in attack and once they find that "finishing touch" will be seen scoring many tries. George crashed over late on for a try taking the usual 3 defenders with him!
Limassol are now a force to be reckoned with and the Tigers performance was a credit to themselves and coach Nick Bilton who was heard saying to the team "we are building lads" Keep it up You Tigers!
Paphos Tigers Rugby Football club
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