A place in the semifinals was on the line when the Men's 1st XV traveled to Neuchâtel on this supposedly sunny Saturday afternoon. But it was not just the rain that set in right after kickoff that unsettled the Basel team ever so slightly. In a gripping, absorbing first half, both teams spent a lot of time between both 22s. Neuchâtel were the first team to break into the opponents' 22 zone, but could not capitalize. Once Basel had the ball in their hands, things went very quickly and everyone found themselves on the other end of the pitch. Same story there again though - no points despite a promising attack. Shortly before the break, both teams were a player down thanks to rather softly awarded yellow cards. Neuchâtel found space down the right of the posts and scored for a half-time score of 7-0 to the home team.

The second half started with Tristan Keuning in the blood bin and soon another Basel player in the sin bin. Just why the several tip tackles by Neuchâtel did not cause more than penalties remains a mystery. The overall card tally of six yellow cards in the game (nicely shared by both teams) could or even should have been extended. With 20 minutes to go, Sean Boult had to leave the field injured - an unwanted premature end to this NLB derby of national team players where Jonathan Dallet was his Neuchâtel counterpart. Neuchâtel extended their lead to 14-0.

Into the final ten minutes, Basel finally found a better rhythm with 14 players against 15. Hammering down with the forwards to the left, they spun the ball wide for Tristan Keuning who ran in the try close to the posts. Then Neuchâtel started to lose players as well, all down to desperation in defense and the odd bit of cynical play. Yet they still managed to score one more try to start the final 3 minutes at 21-7. More crafty forwards' work was rewarded with a try for Matthew Quinn, again down the right wing (21-14 thanks to Daniel Zinsstag's speedy drop-kick conversion). With some loose change still on the clock and Basel suddenly a man up, the visitors launched one more salvo down the left wing for a change. But the attack ended with a tackle into touch.

While we are left to ponder what could have been with more time or more severe penalties for whatever foul play, we are back to hard work this week. After all, it is a trip to Lugano this Saturday coming up. At least it is against a surprisingly beaten Lugano, who lost away at Alba on Sunday. With RUZ losing their away game in Fribourg as well, the table is suddenly a lot tighter than before. But our men still have all to play for in the final two games of the regular season against Lugano (away) and finally Fribourg (at home on 2 May 2026).