In a spirited debute at international scene, Serbia couldn’t brake firm Italian defence, as the hosts took a convincing 26-0 win at Lignano Sabbiadoro. It was Italy’s experience that prevailed against Serbian girls that have just couple of months of club competition under their belt. 

„I’m very happy with our performance on the field,“ said Italian rugby league's vice president Tiziano Franchini. „On our last training sessions we worked especially on defence and it showed today on the result. Over all we saw team improvement, girls are getting more experience and they are learning fast about the game. Also I want to point out that this is our first game on the home soil and we got our first win“

Erica Neri had a brace, while Italian playmaker Rosaluna Gavagna added a try along with three conversations. Serbian ladies didn’t score in its international inaugural match, but team management is very happy of the performance.

„I'm extremely proud of the effort and determination shown by the Serbian girls. We had no pressure of expectation regarding the score, and the girls really proved their strong character, This was the first ever full 13-a-side test for all of the Serbian girls, and the only way is up from here. Most of the team members are aged 18 or under, so that tells us a lot regarding how much room there is for progress“, said Serbian coach Željko Delić.

It was a double header at Lignano, as Serbian champions Red Star defeated Lignano Sharks 30-22 in 2nd round of regional Balkan Super League.