The odds for this team to become victorious were low as some of the experienced and international players were not available, hence the team consisted of youth and inexperience. However, the talent available was obvious to see and the ease at which they played was sufficient to cause a Cup upset in the final against Universid de Sevilla, winning by an impressive 30 – 0.

The “blues” journey to the final began on 11th September, playing a hard fought game against recently promoted Spanish 2nd Division Champions, El Monte Ciécias. The game ended with a well deserved win for Belenenses with the score line reflecting the quality of the game 20-14.

The final was a well contested one, with both teams participating to their maximum capacity. However, Beleneses were far superior in territorial and possession but at half time this was not evident in the scoreline as the teams were almost neck and neck. The second half began where the first left off, with the “the blues” dominating through the trio of Valter Jorge, João Mirra and Diogo Mateus, all scoring tries of exceptional level.

With the return of the more experienced and international players soon, the prospect of a good season looks good for Belenenses. The highlight of the tournament goes to the “Man of the Match”, Valter Jorge, of Belenenses, for his stupendous performance in the 2nd half, which opened up the pathway for his team to be victorious at the end. An additional mention must also go to the Spanish players from Universidad of Sevilla, Quevedo and Costigan, who did everything they could for their team by playing with extreme pride and determination.

In the game to determine 3rd and 4th place, team Académica of Coimbra, (Portuguese National Champions 2003/2004) were astonished by team El Monte Ciécias . The game was a hard fought one but was a typical pre-season game, with a lot of tempered situations arising from ill-disciplined play. The only highlight of this game goes to the tries made by the Spanish team players, Carlos Arenas, German Santamaria and Remy Lapasouze. However, Académica can look to take certain positive points away with them as many of the new players gained valuable experience. Plus with the return of the many foreigners and international players eminent, Académica will be certain of being the main candidates to win the Portuguese National Championship once again.

Browns Sports & Leisure Club would like to thank the referees and touch judges of the tournament António Moita, Tiago Ataíde, Nuno Miranda, John Wilson and in particular Paul Cottrell, who was outstanding in the two games in that he refereed. Paul is a referee qualified by the RFU and we sincerely expect to see him in action in future games in the first national division.

11 september

AAC 8 – UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA 13
Scorers: AAC: Luís Sá (5), André Simões (3); UNIV. SEVILLA: Clavijo (5), Selu Ortega (5), Costigan (3)

BELENENSES 20 – EL MONTE CIECIAS 14
Scorers: BELENENSES: Diogo Mateus (5), Ruben Spachuk (5), Sebastião Cunha (5), Miguel Falcão (2+3); EL MONTE CIÉCIAS SCIENCES: António Lampaya (5); Javier Roldan (5+2+2)

12 september

3º/4º PLACE
ACADÉMICA 0 EL MONTE CIÉCIAS –15
Scorers: Carlos Arenas (5), German Santamaria (5), Remy Lapassouze (5)

FINAL
BELENENSES 30 – UNIVERSIDAD OF SEVILLA 0
Scorers: Valter Jorge (5), João Mirra (5), Diogo Mateus (5), Francisco Moreira (2,2,2,3,3,3)

BELENENSES CHAMPIONS OF THE 1st BROWNS RUGBY CHALLENGE CUP!