Russian 'hard men' come out to play in NZ
Russian 'hard men' come out to play in NZ
By KEITH LYNCH - The Press Last updated 05:00 23/03/2010
Russian rugby players are using Canterbury brawn and brains to prepare for the country's first appearance at the Rugby World Cup.
Russia and Georgia are the latest teams to qualify for next year's tournament in New Zealand, and both will play in Christchurch.
Georgia, who beat Russia to take the Europe 1 position, will play England at AMI Stadium on Sunday, September 18, next year. Russia will play Australia on Saturday, October 1.
A 43-strong touring party from the Siberian city of Krasnayar arrived in Christchurch this month for coaching at the Canterbury Rugby Football Union's international high-performance unit.
Two players who represented Russia against Georgia will join the group for a match against a Canterbury Academy XV at Rugby Park tomorrow at 6.30pm.
The tourists, from the Krasnyi Yar club, compete in a professional league.
Rugby Union of Russia vice-president Yuri Nikolaev, who is the Krasnayar team's head coach, said he hoped to bring the Russian national team to Christchurch for a training camp in January.
"The Russian team is very excited about the opportunity because since 1987 it has been trying to get to the World Cup, but always Romania, Spain or Georgia somehow managed to do it," he said.
Nikolaev said qualifying for the World Cup would be a major boost for rugby in Russia.
"There will be VIP delegations [to New Zealand] from Moscow and a couple of thousand supporters travelling from Russia," he said.
Nikolaev said the team was targeting fellow rugby minnows the United States in New Plymouth for a World Cup win.
High-performance unit manager John Haggart said the Russian team in Christchurch comprised "big, strong athletic men".
"They're obviously out here to learn the New Zealand way of doing things and the finer things of the game," he said.
"They hit hard, they run hard and they're pretty committed."
