McClement Makes Tournament Debut

Leading Royal Navy referee, Duncan McClement was appointed to a quarterfinal as his opening match in the 2013 FIRA AER U19 tournament. Blue skies and warm autumnal sunshine at Lisbon’s University Stadium for Spain v Romania provided a sharp contrast to the weather currently across the UK and certainly made the referee’s job that little bit easier.

Though Romania were first to open the scoring through fly half Melniciuc it was Span who finished the first half 12 – 3 in front through tries by flanker Usurraga and fly half Fontes, who also converted his own try. With Number 8, Munilla, scoring Spain’s third try early in the second half the game was all but over as contest. However with the customary influx of replacements the referee has to expect the unexpected and therefore it was no surprise that Duncan had to deal with a little bit of over exuberance from replacements Taverne (Spain) and Plai (Romania). Two yellow cards calmed matters and also created a little more space on the pitch, duly exploited by Spain’s right winner De La Rosa, who scored their fourth try.

A comfortable win for Spain who now face tournament favourites Georgia in the Semi Final. The other Semi Final is between hosts Portugal and Belgium. For Duncan a wait to see which games he might get in the later rounds of the tournament, a couple of reports to fill out before sundowners on the Atlantic coast. Who’d be a referee?

By Geraint Ashton Jones

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