News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
By Red Saint
April 10 2009
Interested in Monday night's opponents for the Wanderers? Want to learn about Russian rugby's European hopes? Already bored wiith Easter and trying to avoid the relatives and domestic chores? RedSaint bids for 15 minutes of your life to tell you everything there is to know about Russian champions VVA-Podmoskovye, the most ambitious team from the world's most ambitious union!
April 10 2009
Interested in Monday night's opponents for the Wanderers? Want to learn about Russian rugby's European hopes? Already bored wiith Easter and trying to avoid the relatives and domestic chores? RedSaint bids for 15 minutes of your life to tell you everything there is to know about Russian champions VVA-Podmoskovye, the most ambitious team from the world's most ambitious union!
FriendlyNorthampton Wanderers vs.
Monday, April 13, 2009 - 19:30
A nine-year wait
It's fair to say that this Easter weekend's matches will be a bit special for me. Firstly, the European Challenge Cup quarterfinal against Connacht will mark the first time in nine years, almost exactly to the day, that I will have seen a game live at Franklin's Gardens.
Since that day, I've watched the Saints in the five countries (and Wales) I've since called home on television, but not once have I set foot in FG. Or even Northampton, I think. The last time I was within ten miles of the place, Northampton could not yet be called former European champions, 99% of Munster fans who claim to have supported the team since birth had not even bothered to devote 3 weeks solid of their lives to going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about their win over the All Blacks and/or Neil Back, and Stuart Barnes had yet to store the entire annual calorific intake of North America in the paunch beneath his Sky Sports suit and tie.
Things have changed since that April day in 1999, although the game against Wasps was also a European quarterfinal, it was in the big boys' cup. Since then, I've had to endure 18 months of Saints blackout as the team for some reason took up Worcester 'do they really still believe they're a proper Southwest rugby club' Warriors' rightful place in National League 1 for a year (thanks Loki) and the southern end of FG now boasts an erection so triumphant it is only normally viewable post-midnight on some of those 'extra' channels you get in hotels in the Middle East.
Anyway, the ending of my long exile from FG is just one reason that this will be a special weekend of rugby for me, the second (and the reason I'm coming) is that, for the first time that I can ever remember, I will be wanting both teams involved in a game of rugby to win (normally, it's the complete opposite - see Ireland vs. Wales in the recent Six Nations decider, for example). This is nothing to do with the Connacht game (despite them being the only province to do themselves justice by not being involved in ending the Grand Slam drought, I still want Saints to hammer them); it is because Northampton will on Monday evening host the first ever Russian team to play top-level English opposition - VVA-Podmoskovye.
It's fair to say that this Easter weekend's matches will be a bit special for me. Firstly, the European Challenge Cup quarterfinal against Connacht will mark the first time in nine years, almost exactly to the day, that I will have seen a game live at Franklin's Gardens.
Since that day, I've watched the Saints in the five countries (and Wales) I've since called home on television, but not once have I set foot in FG. Or even Northampton, I think. The last time I was within ten miles of the place, Northampton could not yet be called former European champions, 99% of Munster fans who claim to have supported the team since birth had not even bothered to devote 3 weeks solid of their lives to going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about their win over the All Blacks and/or Neil Back, and Stuart Barnes had yet to store the entire annual calorific intake of North America in the paunch beneath his Sky Sports suit and tie.
Things have changed since that April day in 1999, although the game against Wasps was also a European quarterfinal, it was in the big boys' cup. Since then, I've had to endure 18 months of Saints blackout as the team for some reason took up Worcester 'do they really still believe they're a proper Southwest rugby club' Warriors' rightful place in National League 1 for a year (thanks Loki) and the southern end of FG now boasts an erection so triumphant it is only normally viewable post-midnight on some of those 'extra' channels you get in hotels in the Middle East.
Anyway, the ending of my long exile from FG is just one reason that this will be a special weekend of rugby for me, the second (and the reason I'm coming) is that, for the first time that I can ever remember, I will be wanting both teams involved in a game of rugby to win (normally, it's the complete opposite - see Ireland vs. Wales in the recent Six Nations decider, for example). This is nothing to do with the Connacht game (despite them being the only province to do themselves justice by not being involved in ending the Grand Slam drought, I still want Saints to hammer them); it is because Northampton will on Monday evening host the first ever Russian team to play top-level English opposition - VVA-Podmoskovye.
The good news
Moscow has been my home for over half of my nine years in the wilderness and when the announcement went up on the official site last month that Northampton would be hosting a Russian touring team I was almost as happy as if I'd just read a press release from Twickenham stating:
"The RFU would like to announce that following an internal review process, it has been established that due to over-consumption of Cockburns 1963, foie gras and beluga caviar at a board meeting in 1999, an error was committed in sending London Scottish and Richmond to the bottom of the English rugby pyramid. The intended recipients of the demotion should have been "London" "Irish" and Worcester Warriors. Both these teams have been informed, and will now play their rugby from next season starting at level 9. ENDS."
Once that feeling of euphoria had subsided, it was time to ask myself the question always posed in COYS End of Season Polls: "How much would you pay to watch a match involving Saints?" After a quick trawl through the British Airways, Aeroflot and Transaero (makes Aeroflot look like the Ritz-Carlton with wings) websites, I soon had the answer - or at least the sum before the additions needed to
prepare for the 'unofficial' speeding of my Russian visa renewal process were stuffed into a series of brown envelopes and sweaty handshakes with men wearing nylon suits and sporting "necks" that make Dorian West look like he's a member of the Karen tribe in Burma. Karen Tribeswoman
Sure, I'd have to skimp on the luxuries which colour my life here for a while, no gherkins the size of Bruce's forearms, no sugary bread which disintegrates the second it's touched like Gloucester's defence in a play-off match, no ethanol/anti-freeze cocktails posing as 'democratically-priced' vodka for a week or two, but its not every day you get the chance to see your old life mix with your new one.
Choosing a team
It took me a while to find a team in Russia I felt comfortable supporting. First off, I thought about the Moscow Dragons, the Russian capital's disparate ex-pat club. I thought about this for about two seconds before remembering that if drinking shots of my own urine through my eye while wearing a tutu really did it for me, then I should have stayed living in East Berlin, where that particular market is much more extensively catered for.
So I tried Fili, sponsored by the Khrunichev Space Centre - the makers of the Mir International Space Station. I abandoned them as their stadium is aptly located somewhere in the outer reaches of the Solar System and it is easier (and quicker) to solve pi than it is to find out information and dates about their Second Division fixtures.
Then I tried Slava Moscow, a team born of the old Soviet watch factory. I still watch them more than any other team: champagne and caviar in the clubhouse, a stadium within walking distance from my office, and good, cheap (£1.20) beer are points in their favour. However, since the very first time I went there, when I wore my Saints shirt and the opposition (Novokuznetsk) were playing in gold, black, and green kits, there's always been an underlying desire to see the opposition win and metaphorically stuff the flares the "Hooligans' corner" brings to every game in a place more needing of light.
Choosing a team
It took me a while to find a team in Russia I felt comfortable supporting. First off, I thought about the Moscow Dragons, the Russian capital's disparate ex-pat club. I thought about this for about two seconds before remembering that if drinking shots of my own urine through my eye while wearing a tutu really did it for me, then I should have stayed living in East Berlin, where that particular market is much more extensively catered for.
So I tried Fili, sponsored by the Khrunichev Space Centre - the makers of the Mir International Space Station. I abandoned them as their stadium is aptly located somewhere in the outer reaches of the Solar System and it is easier (and quicker) to solve pi than it is to find out information and dates about their Second Division fixtures.
Then I tried Slava Moscow, a team born of the old Soviet watch factory. I still watch them more than any other team: champagne and caviar in the clubhouse, a stadium within walking distance from my office, and good, cheap (£1.20) beer are points in their favour. However, since the very first time I went there, when I wore my Saints shirt and the opposition (Novokuznetsk) were playing in gold, black, and green kits, there's always been an underlying desire to see the opposition win and metaphorically stuff the flares the "Hooligans' corner" brings to every game in a place more needing of light.
Luckily, I'd never had any trouble supporting the national team since the very first kick-off I saw them take resulted in Sam Norton-Knight get verily seated on his rear in a game against the HSBC Waratahs. My increasing interest in the Bears' medium-of-Welsh-curriculum-esque quest to right historical injustices and qualify for the Rugby World Cup (Russia has for some time been the highest ranked union never to qualify - they were thrown out of qualifying in 2003 for faking the birth certificates of three South African front rowers' grandparents, and their bid to play at France 2007 was ended by farcical decision making in a match against Portugal) has coincided with an increasing number of names in the squad being from one club - VVA - the Russian champions in five of the last six seasons. Since they stuffed the English Counties 35-12 in 2007, they've undisputedly been my Russian team of choice.
Marchenko receiving the Russian Cup from Governor Gromov
The history
VVA was formed in 1967 as part of the Yuri Gagarin Air Forces Academy and has won 15 Russian championships and 12 Russian cups. Well, I say Russian - Red Heat-era Arnold Schwarzenegger reminds me to say I mean Russian and Soviet, and many supporters can still be seen waving the flags of the Soviet Air Forces at VVA home games, played in the military town of Monino, 35 kilometres east of Moscow.
The team is now the undisputed powerhouse in Russian club rugby, VVA has lost just three games in the last three regular seasons. But before the start of its run of titles in 2003, VVA was in danger of falling by the wayside. With its strong ties to the Air Forces, performances fell like Gloucester backs when presented with a game that means something when the military cut funding in 2000. It looked like VVA wouldn't add to their solitary post-Soviet championship (won in 1993) before Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov stepped in, and his government's wide-ranging support for the club ensured financing, a strong local presence through the establishment of the impressive Moscow Region Rugby Centre, and the club's return to the top of the domestic tree.
VVA was formed in 1967 as part of the Yuri Gagarin Air Forces Academy and has won 15 Russian championships and 12 Russian cups. Well, I say Russian - Red Heat-era Arnold Schwarzenegger reminds me to say I mean Russian and Soviet, and many supporters can still be seen waving the flags of the Soviet Air Forces at VVA home games, played in the military town of Monino, 35 kilometres east of Moscow.
The team is now the undisputed powerhouse in Russian club rugby, VVA has lost just three games in the last three regular seasons. But before the start of its run of titles in 2003, VVA was in danger of falling by the wayside. With its strong ties to the Air Forces, performances fell like Gloucester backs when presented with a game that means something when the military cut funding in 2000. It looked like VVA wouldn't add to their solitary post-Soviet championship (won in 1993) before Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov stepped in, and his government's wide-ranging support for the club ensured financing, a strong local presence through the establishment of the impressive Moscow Region Rugby Centre, and the club's return to the top of the domestic tree.
Along with Gromov, other dedicated rugby men have been vital to VVA's success. General Director Rifkat Sattarov has been involved at the club since 1991 and is passionate about bringing VVA, and Russian rugby, to the next level. He is also the national 7s coach and VVA head coach Nikolai Nerush holds the same brief with the full national side, around 80% of which is now comprised of VVA players.
I met up with Sattarov to discuss the upcoming fixture against the Wanderers and VVA's bid for regular European competition over the traditional Muscovite feast of sushi, hookahs, and grotesquely overpriced pisswater which is allegedly imported Western beer...
England, England
Sattarov sees trans-border competition as the way forward for both VVA and Russia. Anyone who has ever flown Aeroflot long-haul will appreciate Sattarov's desire to move away from 15-hour flight times and turn his club's focus to Europe. VVA, as with other Russian sides, have played against French teams in the past, and Ireland was also under consideration, but Sattarov, inspired by the links forged in the English Counties victory sees England as the ideal place with which to strengthen rugby relations. "We want to develop Russo-English rugby ties," he said.
VVA were originally set to play two games on their groundbreaking tour to England this Easter, with the honour of being the first top-level English side to play Russian opponents originally due to have fallen to Worcester "we owe a hell of a lot to Bristol Rovers" Warriors. However, the Warriors cancelled without bothering to tell VVA (most of whose players thought that they were to play Leicester, not unsurprisingly, having never heard of the West Country jonny-cum-latelies), leaving Northampton as the sole fixture and me with another reason to hope all the bleating about the best backline in world rugby history is soon replaced by Brummie accents discussing the best route to take to get to an away league match at Flyde.
Diamond mining
Northampton is a logical place for VVA to begin their Anglo adventure. Sattarov's sister lives in the town and Saints fan-favourite Mr. Steve Diamond shares his time between consultancy roles for the Saints and the Rugby Union of Russia. "The Northampton game is a big thing for Russian rugby," Diamond said between gulps of sushi rolls inexplicably containing Philadelphia cheese. "It's less about winning than it is about development, but
[Northampton Director of Rugby Jim] Mallinder is under no illusions - he knows he will be facing a quality side. VVA are at least mid-National League 1 level, and there are some players who are ready for Guinness Premiership rugby - the first 60 minutes of Russia's recent game against Romania [Russia won 28-19 in world cup qualifying in Bucharest] was GP level."
"Russians are built for rugby; they have amazing discipline and resilience to injury. The chance to train at world-class facilities with coaches the quality of Mallinder and his team will be of great benefit to the players. We'd especially like to work with them on fitness," he said.
Diamond was crucial to the arranging of the game, something I've been for years desperately hoping to see almost as much as Sky News wants to see Gordon Brown burnt in Parliament Square. I asked him if Saints fans are likely to see any of Russia's GP-ready starlets in action in Saints colours in the near future: "The Georgian team we played last month was comprised almost entirely of players based in France. We don't want to follow the Georgian model. One of the great things about Russian rugby is how it grows its own players. There are players good enough to play in England, but we want to keep them here," Diamond said. Russia could, however, look at placing a small number of players on 'European internships' in the future, he added.
Diamond also said he is currently trying to persuade Mallinder to get the Saints to tour Russia in pre-season, something that would be a veritable wet dream for this supporter, but maybe not so appealing for some VVA players: "We'd love to have Nick Johnston spend a week with them," he warned.
12,000 seats
One thing that is vital to securing a 'yes' from Northampton and other professional teams is the availability of training facilities in Russia. Although most of Russia's professional rugby clubs (officially 12, more realistically 6, just like the Magners League) have good and improving facilities, this would presently mean bringing a football club on board. This shouldn't be the case for long, however, as VVA hope to open their own 12,000 seat stadium in the near future. It will boast East and West stands seating 3,500, and North and South stands seating 2,000 each, plus corporate boxes.
The 23-hectare facility will also house indoor and outdoor training facilities and commercial enterprises and has been designed based on the best examples from abroad, possibly including Franklin's. It will also have full under soil heating allowing games to be played in the depths of a Russian winter. Compare and contrast with the outgoing English champions, who have to cancel matches if one of their supporters drops an ice cube from their Magners onto the pitch. Also unlike Wasps, VVA will be used to playing front of five-figure crowds, with games against either of the Krasnoyarsk teams often pulling in 10,000+ spectators.
"We want to accommodate teams from the West," Sattarov said. However, the stadium will be more than just an attractive venue for European sides, it will form a focal point for rugby in the region. "VVA's specialty is that a high percentage of players are home-grown; rugby here starts at seven, and we have very high local content. The stadium will open new possibilities to continue this," Sattarov says. Over 400 school children currently play as part of VVA-sponsored programs, with many more at local universities and in women's teams, as support at grassroots level in the region surges.
The tedium of sevens is for some reason particularly popular, but when you consider Russia is a place with a populace that still pays over £100 for tickets to see the Scorpions, believes that leopard print is the way to make any item of lingerie sexy, and thinks that any drink containing less than 9% alcohol by volume is not alcoholic, it is perhaps an easier logic to follow. This is reflected in Russia's recent withdrawal from bidding to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup in favour of a single-city bid to host the 2013 world sevens tournament. "We built our strength up through sevens, and as we grew stronger we moved to fifteens," Sattarov says, showing a reflection of the game in many parts of Russia.
Europe beckons
Sattarov hopes that VVA's new stadium will host international games much sooner (I sure hope so, I'm not sure I still want to be here in 2013 to see them). VVA, who will be based at Moulton College, will like me be at Franklin's Gardens on April 11 to see the Saints play their European Challenge Cup quarterfinal against Connacht. The players will be there not only to sample firsthand the stadium they will play in on Monday, but to experience a tournament they hope to join in the near future.
"We need competition. It is time for us to move to the international stage and we want to play in the Challenge Cup," Sattarov explains. The as yet unnamed stadium is vital to these plans. "We hope its completion will bring ECC entry," Head Coach Nikolai Nerush told me. "Inquiries have started and we are confident the stadium will help overcome climatic and date concerns, and we can also use Krasnodar [in southern Russia, where Russian football teams play winter European games], if necessary."
The ECC would also secure much needed competitive fixtures and London is just a four-hour flight away, Krasnoyarsk is six. "Our main problem is finding strong competition, but we can't compare ourselves to European teams without it," Nerush said. Russia is addressing this at national level with the Nations Cup in Bucharest (involving France A, Scotland A and others) and the Superpowers Cup will be resumed this autumn, but club-level exposure is also vital for Russia's bid for qualification in 2011 (they now look likely to be in Ireland's group) and the longer-term aim of challenging for a quarterfinal spot by 2019. As part of the RUR's 10-year plan, being spearheaded by former Premier Rugby CEO Howard Thomas, Russia is aiming to have caught up with Georgia in a couple of years, and to be able to compete in a hypothetical Six Nations relegation decider against Italy within 10.
Diamond doesn't think VVA are that amount of time behind their Italian counterparts. Asked how VVA would fare in the ECC, he said: "Today, VVA would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Romanian team; they would look to compete with the Italians and others. Obviously Treviso and others with Heineken experience are some way ahead, but the gap is not huge." How about Connacht? He wouldn't be drawn...
Predictions
So how will VVA fare against the Wanderers on Monday night? For a form guide, Russian sides have regularly beaten French Pro D2 second sides reasonably comfortably of late, but Russia's second best team, Krasnoyarsk's Yenesei-STM got steamrollered 80-0 by Leinster A (N.B. not actually Connacht) recently. A key element will be fitness, so competing for the first 40 minutes must be a big aim.
"The players know Northampton is a strong team, and they understand the difference may be like the sky and the ground, but if you do not play stronger opponents you never gain," Nerush said at a VVA training session I was invited to last week, where it was so bollock-numbingly cold I thought that the fingers holding my pen would drop off and leave me an ability to catch rugby balls like David Dantiacq's.
Club captain Vladimir Marchenko, a stalwart of 20 years who played in Russia's first post-Soviet international match - a victory over the Barbarians in 1992, echoed Nerush. "First, we are coming for the experience, but second, we are coming for the win - we hope to make the most of this rare chance to play an opponent of such high calibre."
Asked about his team's strengths, Nerush noted their speed, and that they like to play a running game. "We aim to move the ball quickly," he said. This is, perhaps, not surprising, the big difference Saints fans will notice immediately is the size difference. If the Georgians dwarfed the Russians in their recent game, imagine how Tonga'uiha will size up. In fact, prop is a problem position for the Russians, strange because there's an entire community of Georgians in Moscow who would do anything for the chance to own a Russian passport, even if it meant donning a Russian number 1 or 3 shirt and singing the Russian anthem in a match against the Lelos.
The other major difference will be the negative side of Nerush's perceived strength. Like most Tier 3 countries, there isn't much of a tactical kicking game, with there being only one actual fly-half in the whole of Russia. While a desire to run the ball from everywhere is admirable, they're not the 1973 Barbarians just yet. That said, Russian back play has come on miles since I first saw them, and there are promising players in the pack to boot.
Ones to watch
The trip to the training session was enlightening - it was my first trip outside the MKAD (Moscow's M25 which separates Moscow City from the Moscow region) in years, and I'd forgotten that some of the region is so muddy, sodden and poverty stricken it looks a flat West Wales. It was also a good opportunity to meet the players on the team bus and to hear their thoughts about the game.
Ones fans should look out for include Alexei Travkin, for the simple reason that put him in a pair of mirrored aviators and he is the spitting image of Falco. Perhaps of more interest to female fans will be number 8 Viktor Gresev, imagine someone who looks like a cross between Budge and Scott Gray. The Petersburger is very, very highly rated and a genuinely nice guy, too. "It will be a great experience," he said.
Vladislav Korshunov shares hooking and propping duties with club captain Marchenko, but it's he who captains the national side. "We're looking forward to playing a good team which plays good rugby," he said. Korshunov has been involved at VVA since he was 13. "Then it was hard to watch international rugby, but now we see a lot of England. However, it is hard to see European club games, and we are happy to be finally getting exposure to these teams."
Viktor GRESEV
I met up with Sattarov to discuss the upcoming fixture against the Wanderers and VVA's bid for regular European competition over the traditional Muscovite feast of sushi, hookahs, and grotesquely overpriced pisswater which is allegedly imported Western beer...
England, England
Sattarov sees trans-border competition as the way forward for both VVA and Russia. Anyone who has ever flown Aeroflot long-haul will appreciate Sattarov's desire to move away from 15-hour flight times and turn his club's focus to Europe. VVA, as with other Russian sides, have played against French teams in the past, and Ireland was also under consideration, but Sattarov, inspired by the links forged in the English Counties victory sees England as the ideal place with which to strengthen rugby relations. "We want to develop Russo-English rugby ties," he said.
VVA were originally set to play two games on their groundbreaking tour to England this Easter, with the honour of being the first top-level English side to play Russian opponents originally due to have fallen to Worcester "we owe a hell of a lot to Bristol Rovers" Warriors. However, the Warriors cancelled without bothering to tell VVA (most of whose players thought that they were to play Leicester, not unsurprisingly, having never heard of the West Country jonny-cum-latelies), leaving Northampton as the sole fixture and me with another reason to hope all the bleating about the best backline in world rugby history is soon replaced by Brummie accents discussing the best route to take to get to an away league match at Flyde.
Diamond mining
Northampton is a logical place for VVA to begin their Anglo adventure. Sattarov's sister lives in the town and Saints fan-favourite Mr. Steve Diamond shares his time between consultancy roles for the Saints and the Rugby Union of Russia. "The Northampton game is a big thing for Russian rugby," Diamond said between gulps of sushi rolls inexplicably containing Philadelphia cheese. "It's less about winning than it is about development, but
[Northampton Director of Rugby Jim] Mallinder is under no illusions - he knows he will be facing a quality side. VVA are at least mid-National League 1 level, and there are some players who are ready for Guinness Premiership rugby - the first 60 minutes of Russia's recent game against Romania [Russia won 28-19 in world cup qualifying in Bucharest] was GP level.""Russians are built for rugby; they have amazing discipline and resilience to injury. The chance to train at world-class facilities with coaches the quality of Mallinder and his team will be of great benefit to the players. We'd especially like to work with them on fitness," he said.
Diamond was crucial to the arranging of the game, something I've been for years desperately hoping to see almost as much as Sky News wants to see Gordon Brown burnt in Parliament Square. I asked him if Saints fans are likely to see any of Russia's GP-ready starlets in action in Saints colours in the near future: "The Georgian team we played last month was comprised almost entirely of players based in France. We don't want to follow the Georgian model. One of the great things about Russian rugby is how it grows its own players. There are players good enough to play in England, but we want to keep them here," Diamond said. Russia could, however, look at placing a small number of players on 'European internships' in the future, he added.
Diamond also said he is currently trying to persuade Mallinder to get the Saints to tour Russia in pre-season, something that would be a veritable wet dream for this supporter, but maybe not so appealing for some VVA players: "We'd love to have Nick Johnston spend a week with them," he warned.
12,000 seats
One thing that is vital to securing a 'yes' from Northampton and other professional teams is the availability of training facilities in Russia. Although most of Russia's professional rugby clubs (officially 12, more realistically 6, just like the Magners League) have good and improving facilities, this would presently mean bringing a football club on board. This shouldn't be the case for long, however, as VVA hope to open their own 12,000 seat stadium in the near future. It will boast East and West stands seating 3,500, and North and South stands seating 2,000 each, plus corporate boxes.
The 23-hectare facility will also house indoor and outdoor training facilities and commercial enterprises and has been designed based on the best examples from abroad, possibly including Franklin's. It will also have full under soil heating allowing games to be played in the depths of a Russian winter. Compare and contrast with the outgoing English champions, who have to cancel matches if one of their supporters drops an ice cube from their Magners onto the pitch. Also unlike Wasps, VVA will be used to playing front of five-figure crowds, with games against either of the Krasnoyarsk teams often pulling in 10,000+ spectators.
"We want to accommodate teams from the West," Sattarov said. However, the stadium will be more than just an attractive venue for European sides, it will form a focal point for rugby in the region. "VVA's specialty is that a high percentage of players are home-grown; rugby here starts at seven, and we have very high local content. The stadium will open new possibilities to continue this," Sattarov says. Over 400 school children currently play as part of VVA-sponsored programs, with many more at local universities and in women's teams, as support at grassroots level in the region surges.
The tedium of sevens is for some reason particularly popular, but when you consider Russia is a place with a populace that still pays over £100 for tickets to see the Scorpions, believes that leopard print is the way to make any item of lingerie sexy, and thinks that any drink containing less than 9% alcohol by volume is not alcoholic, it is perhaps an easier logic to follow. This is reflected in Russia's recent withdrawal from bidding to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup in favour of a single-city bid to host the 2013 world sevens tournament. "We built our strength up through sevens, and as we grew stronger we moved to fifteens," Sattarov says, showing a reflection of the game in many parts of Russia.
Europe beckons
Sattarov hopes that VVA's new stadium will host international games much sooner (I sure hope so, I'm not sure I still want to be here in 2013 to see them). VVA, who will be based at Moulton College, will like me be at Franklin's Gardens on April 11 to see the Saints play their European Challenge Cup quarterfinal against Connacht. The players will be there not only to sample firsthand the stadium they will play in on Monday, but to experience a tournament they hope to join in the near future.
"We need competition. It is time for us to move to the international stage and we want to play in the Challenge Cup," Sattarov explains. The as yet unnamed stadium is vital to these plans. "We hope its completion will bring ECC entry," Head Coach Nikolai Nerush told me. "Inquiries have started and we are confident the stadium will help overcome climatic and date concerns, and we can also use Krasnodar [in southern Russia, where Russian football teams play winter European games], if necessary."
The ECC would also secure much needed competitive fixtures and London is just a four-hour flight away, Krasnoyarsk is six. "Our main problem is finding strong competition, but we can't compare ourselves to European teams without it," Nerush said. Russia is addressing this at national level with the Nations Cup in Bucharest (involving France A, Scotland A and others) and the Superpowers Cup will be resumed this autumn, but club-level exposure is also vital for Russia's bid for qualification in 2011 (they now look likely to be in Ireland's group) and the longer-term aim of challenging for a quarterfinal spot by 2019. As part of the RUR's 10-year plan, being spearheaded by former Premier Rugby CEO Howard Thomas, Russia is aiming to have caught up with Georgia in a couple of years, and to be able to compete in a hypothetical Six Nations relegation decider against Italy within 10.
Diamond doesn't think VVA are that amount of time behind their Italian counterparts. Asked how VVA would fare in the ECC, he said: "Today, VVA would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Romanian team; they would look to compete with the Italians and others. Obviously Treviso and others with Heineken experience are some way ahead, but the gap is not huge." How about Connacht? He wouldn't be drawn...
Predictions
So how will VVA fare against the Wanderers on Monday night? For a form guide, Russian sides have regularly beaten French Pro D2 second sides reasonably comfortably of late, but Russia's second best team, Krasnoyarsk's Yenesei-STM got steamrollered 80-0 by Leinster A (N.B. not actually Connacht) recently. A key element will be fitness, so competing for the first 40 minutes must be a big aim.
"The players know Northampton is a strong team, and they understand the difference may be like the sky and the ground, but if you do not play stronger opponents you never gain," Nerush said at a VVA training session I was invited to last week, where it was so bollock-numbingly cold I thought that the fingers holding my pen would drop off and leave me an ability to catch rugby balls like David Dantiacq's.
Club captain Vladimir Marchenko, a stalwart of 20 years who played in Russia's first post-Soviet international match - a victory over the Barbarians in 1992, echoed Nerush. "First, we are coming for the experience, but second, we are coming for the win - we hope to make the most of this rare chance to play an opponent of such high calibre."
Asked about his team's strengths, Nerush noted their speed, and that they like to play a running game. "We aim to move the ball quickly," he said. This is, perhaps, not surprising, the big difference Saints fans will notice immediately is the size difference. If the Georgians dwarfed the Russians in their recent game, imagine how Tonga'uiha will size up. In fact, prop is a problem position for the Russians, strange because there's an entire community of Georgians in Moscow who would do anything for the chance to own a Russian passport, even if it meant donning a Russian number 1 or 3 shirt and singing the Russian anthem in a match against the Lelos.
The other major difference will be the negative side of Nerush's perceived strength. Like most Tier 3 countries, there isn't much of a tactical kicking game, with there being only one actual fly-half in the whole of Russia. While a desire to run the ball from everywhere is admirable, they're not the 1973 Barbarians just yet. That said, Russian back play has come on miles since I first saw them, and there are promising players in the pack to boot.
Ones to watch
The trip to the training session was enlightening - it was my first trip outside the MKAD (Moscow's M25 which separates Moscow City from the Moscow region) in years, and I'd forgotten that some of the region is so muddy, sodden and poverty stricken it looks a flat West Wales. It was also a good opportunity to meet the players on the team bus and to hear their thoughts about the game.
Ones fans should look out for include Alexei Travkin, for the simple reason that put him in a pair of mirrored aviators and he is the spitting image of Falco. Perhaps of more interest to female fans will be number 8 Viktor Gresev, imagine someone who looks like a cross between Budge and Scott Gray. The Petersburger is very, very highly rated and a genuinely nice guy, too. "It will be a great experience," he said.
Vladislav Korshunov shares hooking and propping duties with club captain Marchenko, but it's he who captains the national side. "We're looking forward to playing a good team which plays good rugby," he said. Korshunov has been involved at VVA since he was 13. "Then it was hard to watch international rugby, but now we see a lot of England. However, it is hard to see European club games, and we are happy to be finally getting exposure to these teams."
Viktor GRESEV
Age: 23
Position: Blindside flanker, number 8
Height: 6 ft 1" (186 cm)
Weight: 16 st 7 lb (105 kg)
Honours: Russia, Russia 7s
Position: Blindside flanker, number 8
Height: 6 ft 1" (186 cm)
Weight: 16 st 7 lb (105 kg)
Honours: Russia, Russia 7s
Vladislav KORSHUNOV
Age: 26
Position: Hooker, tighthead prop
Height: 6 ft (183 cm)
Weight: 15 st 10 lb (100 kg)
Honours: Russia (Captain)
Position: Hooker, tighthead prop
Height: 6 ft (183 cm)
Weight: 15 st 10 lb (100 kg)
Honours: Russia (Captain)
Vladimir MARCHENKO
Age: 37
Position: Hooker, tighthead prop
Height: 5 ft 8" (172 cm)
Weight: 16 st 10 lb (106 kg)
Honours: VVA Captain, Russia
Position: Hooker, tighthead prop
Height: 5 ft 8" (172 cm)
Weight: 16 st 10 lb (106 kg)
Honours: VVA Captain, Russia
Andrei KUZIN
Age: 30
Position: Centre, wing, full-back
Height: 6 ft 3" (190 cm)
Weight: 14 st 7 lb (92 kg)
Honours: Russia, Russia 7s
Position: Centre, wing, full-back
Height: 6 ft 3" (190 cm)
Weight: 14 st 7 lb (92 kg)
Honours: Russia, Russia 7s
Warm welcome
The match will be a useful warm-up for an on-fire Wanderers ahead of the Guinness A League final later this month, and with second team rugby as hard to find for Saints as serious competitors are for VVA, it is a fixture the Saints had no hesitation in accepting.
"We are thankful to Diamond for organising the game, and very happy to be so kindly accepted by Northampton. We know this will be a great test, and it will be difficult, but to reach somewhere you have to start walking," Nerush said.
"I was more than happy for VVA to play at Franklin's Gardens against a Northampton XV," Mallinder said. "Russia is one of the fastest developing rugby nations and with many of their national side playing for VVA, I'm expecting a tough game on Easter Monday. As well as giving VVA the chance to show what they can do in England, it is a great opportunity for our lads to experience a different rugby culture. It will be a great evening for both clubs and I hope that VVA will receive a warm welcome from the Saints supporters."
I'm am sure this is exactly what they will get, and I urge everyone who is at a loose end on Monday night, or who is interested in the growth of the game, to head to the Gardens on Monday night to give the boys from the East a taster of European rugby, which will hopefully be by no means their last...
Further reading
*** A bit out of date now, but you can find a report on Russian rugby in 2005, together with a review of Russia's game against the Waratahs here .
*** The preview and review of Russia's 2007 game against the English Counties can be found here .
*** Is Six the only way? Some information on the European Nations Cup and World Cup qualification is all yours, here .
*** Information on VVA not enough? Information on VVP is right here .
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StumbleuponNews: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: ComeOnYouSaints.com (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 01:00
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:04:14:08:23:22 by Phil..
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009:04:14:08:23:22 by Phil..
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: bigm (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 05:38
this of course will not be the first time a russian side has played at franklins gardens. i remember the national side playing a england a side and the loudest applause of the game was awarded to the russians scoring a try,
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: iconic (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 08:41
Brilliant preview as ever,but a bit short only in the region of 3900 words. Half the number used by the PR machine at Wycombe to announce the arrival of Varndell and co.
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: HjS (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 09:40
Superb preview, Red. Looking forward to this one more than ever now...
You cannot escape the Long Arm of the Lawes
Latest Photos: Saints vs Munster | Wanderers vs Oxford Uni
South Stand / K-Lo / Row P
You cannot escape the Long Arm of the Lawes
Latest Photos: Saints vs Munster | Wanderers vs Oxford Uni
South Stand / K-Lo / Row P
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: Howlin (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 10:01
Interesting stuff Red. Sadly it looks like I will miss this game. Hope to bump into you some time on Saturday.
Saint til I die
Saint til I die
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: Howlin (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 10:02
Oh and thanks to the Eds for including (for clarity) a picture of a Karen tribeswoman. It brought the whole piece alive for me.
Saint til I die
Saint til I die
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: RedSaint (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 12:25
I'm glad to report VVA managed to secure another game after the Worcester cancellation.
They beat fifth region wannabes Gogledd Cyrmu 76-21 last night. There's a report with a bit of spin in the first line that Wasps would be proud of here.
To put that in perspective, Worcester Warriors Development beat the Gogs 74-3 in February, and Sale Jets won 57-19 last month.
Any team that put 76 points on the Welsh is fine by me, and comparing it with the Sale score in particular makes Monday night even more intriguing.
Howlin, it's my aim to get to the Maltshovel pre-match, but that's entirely dependent on transport, I guess less than a 50% chance right now, but we'll see. If not, should hit the Rodber at some time after the final whistle...
They beat fifth region wannabes Gogledd Cyrmu 76-21 last night. There's a report with a bit of spin in the first line that Wasps would be proud of here.
To put that in perspective, Worcester Warriors Development beat the Gogs 74-3 in February, and Sale Jets won 57-19 last month.
Any team that put 76 points on the Welsh is fine by me, and comparing it with the Sale score in particular makes Monday night even more intriguing.
Howlin, it's my aim to get to the Maltshovel pre-match, but that's entirely dependent on transport, I guess less than a 50% chance right now, but we'll see. If not, should hit the Rodber at some time after the final whistle...
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: ChrisG (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 12:29
Interesting stuff Leon.
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: MK Al (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 16:57
Congratulations Red Saint, probably the best preview I've ever read.
I'm Jon In Bermuda's dad - I think you've emailed each other - and he will be back for London Irish if you're still here.
I'm Jon In Bermuda's dad - I think you've emailed each other - and he will be back for London Irish if you're still here.
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: Jon in Brazil (or Maine!) (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 17:31
It's true, he is... and actually, the first game of rugby he ever took me to at Franklin's Gardens was the England 'B' vs USSR game.
And yes, it was England 'B', not England 'A'. I think I've still got the program somewhere!
And yes, it was England 'B', not England 'A'. I think I've still got the program somewhere!
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: tjs10 (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 18:37
Well there will be at least one Tiger in the Gardens on Monday night as this definitely sounds like a game not to be missed!
If only I had a Russian rugby shirt to wear for the occasion. I might have to opt for my russian football shirt instead.
If only I had a Russian rugby shirt to wear for the occasion. I might have to opt for my russian football shirt instead.
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: Phil. (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 20:44
Great stuff, Red.
And can I just give a word of thanks to St Marlowe who took on the publishing duties for this preview.
I got home from work last night (Thurs), saw the preview in the Ed's inbox and thought, "Ohhh, I'll do that in't mornin". Morning arrives and the article is already published and it must have taken David some time, what with all the individual pictures and bits-and-bobs to upload before putting it altogether. I'm guessing at the best part of a couple of hours work so credit where it's due.
Thank you Red for the article and thank you David for putting it all together so well.
And can I just give a word of thanks to St Marlowe who took on the publishing duties for this preview.
I got home from work last night (Thurs), saw the preview in the Ed's inbox and thought, "Ohhh, I'll do that in't mornin". Morning arrives and the article is already published and it must have taken David some time, what with all the individual pictures and bits-and-bobs to upload before putting it altogether. I'm guessing at the best part of a couple of hours work so credit where it's due.
Thank you Red for the article and thank you David for putting it all together so well.
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: smurfomatic (IP Logged)
Date: 10/04/2009 21:32
Jon - just dug that programme out from my collection. Good team - Frank Packman, John Olver, Mick Skinner & Mike Teague, but Dewi Morris, Jason Leonard and Ben Clarke can only make the bench!
Great preview Red, hope to catch up with you at some point over the weekend, drop me a message with your plans.
WestMidsSaint poetry book on sale now
Photo Gallery...Smurf's Swindle rules
Great preview Red, hope to catch up with you at some point over the weekend, drop me a message with your plans.
WestMidsSaint poetry book on sale now
Photo Gallery...Smurf's Swindle rules
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: Eif Jones (IP Logged)
Date: 11/04/2009 00:35
Actually, when I was a young kid back in West Wales, the Llanelli Scarlets went on tour to the then USSR. At the time it was considered a major adventure being the only UK club to have done that. Don't remember where they toured as I suppose it could have been Georgia rather than modern day Russia.
Don't believe its accurate to call Gogledd Cymru the fifth Welsh region, it is an attempt by the WRU to build a side in North Wales good enough to play in the Welsh Championship.
dej
Don't believe its accurate to call Gogledd Cymru the fifth Welsh region, it is an attempt by the WRU to build a side in North Wales good enough to play in the Welsh Championship.
dej
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: Connect (IP Logged)
Date: 12/04/2009 15:32
Great preview, Red!
I can get to the game, getting home may be a problem, must check the bus timetable!!
I can get to the game, getting home may be a problem, must check the bus timetable!!
Re: News: Northampton Wanderers v VVA-Podmoskovye Preview
Posted by: BerniesBestFriend (IP Logged)
Date: 12/04/2009 19:15
Looking forward to it!
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