It took just five minutes for the Red Lions to cross the line. A clever kick in behind from Fintan Lawlor forced a defensive scramble, allowing Luxembourg to regain possession before captain Hugo Bertani powered over for the opening score. Lawlor added the extras: 7-0 quickly became 12-0 as the fly-half sliced through a gap in midfield and glided under the posts moments later.
Luxembourg’s kicking game was a major early weapon – contestable kicks and strong chases repeatedly turned Estonia and kept them deep in their own territory.
By the ninth minute, the scoreboard continued to tick. A sweeping backline move released William Verrinder on the left wing, who finished theatrically in the corner for 17-0. Only minutes later, Lawlor again manipulated the defence to send Verrinder across for his second, extending the lead to 22-0.
Whenever Estonia gained possession, Luxembourg’s defence hunted with purpose. Good line speed and aggressive turnovers denied the visitors any attacking foothold.
The forwards then made their mark. From a lineout 15m out, a perfectly controlled maul barged its way to the line – 29-0.
Estonia’s tackling effort continued to be stretched as Adrian Mendez dazzled with footwork to weave past defenders for 36–0. Another clinical lineout routine saw Guillaume Kimmel crash over in the corner, followed by a pinpoint conversion from Lawlor: 43-0.
After just 30 minutes, Luxembourg showed no signs of slowing as the clinical Bertani claimed his second, pushing the score to 48-0. Mendez soon claimed his brace after fine support play, before Lawlor capped a brilliant first-half showing by stepping past multiple defenders to bring the score to 60-0 at the break.
The crowd, boosted by a spirited halftime performance from the St George’s female junior teams, hardly had time to settle before the tries resumed. Alex Piquet blasted through the middle, swatting aside three defenders for a good try.
Sustained pressure continued to yield points. A perfectly weighted kick from Cas Yandall allowed Stuart Logier to dot down: 74-0. Logier soon turned provider, chasing another Yandall kick down and offloading to Oscar Whiteman – 79-0.
The forwards returned to centre stage as hooker Julian Clavien crashed over following a lineout drive from the 22: 86-0.
The home side’s persistence never faded, even as the Estonian side battled on bravely through several enforced substitutions.
A late yellow card against Estonia opened the door once more, and debutant Melvil Ruppert made it a dream start by tapping and going quickly to score Luxembourg’s final try: 93-0.
Luxembourg pushed hard for the century mark in the dying seconds, but a dropped opportunity near the line denied them a triple-figure tally. Still, the final whistle confirmed one of the most dominant performances in Red Lions history.
Luxembourg now face their biggest challenge of the season on 18 April where they will face Latvia in a battle for promotion to the Rugby Trophy.
