Two late drop-outs, Helsingborg and Linköping, are a very poor show. They should not be allowed to return in a later round.
The North, in Södertälje, went more or less according to plan with Södertälje beating Enköping 21 – 19 to take first place. Not quite as close as it looked though with Enköping scoring 14 points in the last minute. A young Erikslund side put up a good show against those placed 1 and 2. Södertälje led 31 – 0 just after the break but thereafter were under pressure for a final score of 31 – 12. Enköping could easily have lost, but 7 points on the final whistle made it 19 – 7 in their favour. Sandviken gave their usual courageous performance, but still conceded around 150 points. Well done Hans Austa for letting us see the games in the comfort of our own homes.
Linköping dropping out gave a massive three games in the Middle group, which was moved to Norrköping. Trojan started off by beating Hammarby who then lost their other game to Exiles 17 – 5. I am told Exiles were extremely rusty and should have scored many more points against a poor Hammarby. In the final game Exiles came on to form and beat Trojan 37 – 17. Trojan, who won Håckes this year, got most of their points once again from Tobias Borg who is in a rich vein of form and a must for the National team.
In the Southern group, Wexiö and Göteborg proved to be a class better than Vänersborg and Malmö with Wexiö scoring over 40 against both and Göteborg not far behind. In the final it was however Wexiö who came out on top with a comfortable 28 – 12 win over Göteborg.
It´s pretty clear already who the top half a dozen clubs are, but two more rounds are planned before the cut is made from 11 to 8 finalists. Definitely one round too many.