If there was ever a match that pretty much summed up the complete farce that has been Russian rugby in recent times, it was last weekend's important Rugby World Cup qualifier with Romania, played in a random field in the little known village of Nebug.
With Russia's usual ENC home Sochi unavailable due to the Winter Olympics, the RUR shifted venue to an unheated pitch in Krasnodar and immediately suspicion was high that it was an attempt to get the game postponed and get to play Romania later and without their Top 14 players.
So when the game in Krasnodar was inevitably called off in the week beforehand, the RUR then put forward a pitch (pictured above) in a village of Nebug (<4000 population) 156km away, probably hoping the Romanians who had already had booked accommodation to cancel due to the hassle of a tediously long bus ride.
In the context that these were two nations in the world top 20 playing an important World Cup qualifying match, the Nebug venue was possibly the most jaw droppingly pathetic in the history of international rugby. There was no seating for fans, the dead ball area looked dangerously close to a drainage pipe and FRR president Alin Petrache said that there were no basic facilities such as lockers or a changing room. Romania ended up being forced to train and warm up on hotel premises. This really was beyond a joke, an amateur social league team would have had a bigger crowd and better facilities and nations far poorer and with less IRB funding and resources than Russia manage much better.
The Russian tactics to try and get the match postponed failed in the end though as Romania (who went from a 30,000+ UEFA 5 star stadium in Cluj to this game minute venue) were determined for the game to ahead, despite being well within their rights to turn down the game after the venue was changed.
Unfortunately this is just the latest in a long line of incompetence. They still haven't had the initiative to find or create a heated or artificial pitch to allow more choice of winter venue, they have made hardly any progress in growing the game in Sochi where they can play year round and as a result they struggle to pass 1,000 for their home games, and sometimes they aren't even getting their miniscule "home" crowds in Russia at all but Colwyn Bay in November.
They have made next to no progress since the World Cup in crowds (despite certain members of the RUR taking any opportunity for a fantasy land interview about how great the future for Russian rugby was) and the Sevens World Cup was roundly panned for it's pitiful attendances.
There dreadfulness doesn't stop there, they provide the most astonishingly lamentable coverage of their games with efforts such as THIS. In the ENC every nation bar Russia has decent TV coverage of their matches and some passionate home support, the Russians meanwhile have no fans and coverage that is worse than what could filmed on a camera phone. It makes a mockery of the tournament and makes it look resoundingly amateur, no kid watching that would want to play rugby. And that's just when they show the game at all, the USA were ticked off that their fans didn't get any coverage whatsoever of their match with Russia, supposedly at "home" in Barnet.
Running Russian rugby is not the simplest of any nation, but the lack of any initiative or ideas from the RUR is turning them into an embarrassment. If the RUR continue to give the tournament such an amateur image and mess their competitors about, then FIRA really ought to be warning them and handing out sanctions.
When Romania in the end did take to the Nebug field, they exposed the other side of Russia's post World Cup failings, the on field side. The Bears where thrashed 34-3, the latest among such other recent results as 40-13 vs Japan, 28-7 vs USA (2013), 46-0 vs Georgia, 35-3 vs Canada, 25-0 vs Romania (2012). How far backwards they've gone since the World Cup debut (where they impressed many with their attacking flair) has been staggering. Russia have not once come merely within 7 points of a top 18 ranked side since the World Cup and not even been competitive, despite the scoreline only reading 40 points, Japan spent most of that match in Russia's 22 botching chances, it could have easily been 60 or 70 points.
To put into context how bad they've been, this is the same side that pushed out Romania for the 2nd European qualifying spot in the last World Cup and didn't lose in the ENC to Romania for 5 consecutive years between 2006-10. In 2011 they had respectable defeats to Georgia and USA, and led Canada for an hour in the Churchill Cup, now they are getting thumped by all. On the bright side for them they are still in the running for the World Cup, however that shouldn't gloss over their failings as that is mainly due to some abject effort by the Iberians.
It's time for some serious change at the RUR, they are currently a shambles in many ways and both their fans, the tournament and their opponents all deserve better.
So when the game in Krasnodar was inevitably called off in the week beforehand, the RUR then put forward a pitch (pictured above) in a village of Nebug (<4000 population) 156km away, probably hoping the Romanians who had already had booked accommodation to cancel due to the hassle of a tediously long bus ride.
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| Romania were forced to train on their hotel site |
In the context that these were two nations in the world top 20 playing an important World Cup qualifying match, the Nebug venue was possibly the most jaw droppingly pathetic in the history of international rugby. There was no seating for fans, the dead ball area looked dangerously close to a drainage pipe and FRR president Alin Petrache said that there were no basic facilities such as lockers or a changing room. Romania ended up being forced to train and warm up on hotel premises. This really was beyond a joke, an amateur social league team would have had a bigger crowd and better facilities and nations far poorer and with less IRB funding and resources than Russia manage much better.
The Russian tactics to try and get the match postponed failed in the end though as Romania (who went from a 30,000+ UEFA 5 star stadium in Cluj to this game minute venue) were determined for the game to ahead, despite being well within their rights to turn down the game after the venue was changed.
Unfortunately this is just the latest in a long line of incompetence. They still haven't had the initiative to find or create a heated or artificial pitch to allow more choice of winter venue, they have made hardly any progress in growing the game in Sochi where they can play year round and as a result they struggle to pass 1,000 for their home games, and sometimes they aren't even getting their miniscule "home" crowds in Russia at all but Colwyn Bay in November.
They have made next to no progress since the World Cup in crowds (despite certain members of the RUR taking any opportunity for a fantasy land interview about how great the future for Russian rugby was) and the Sevens World Cup was roundly panned for it's pitiful attendances.
There dreadfulness doesn't stop there, they provide the most astonishingly lamentable coverage of their games with efforts such as THIS. In the ENC every nation bar Russia has decent TV coverage of their matches and some passionate home support, the Russians meanwhile have no fans and coverage that is worse than what could filmed on a camera phone. It makes a mockery of the tournament and makes it look resoundingly amateur, no kid watching that would want to play rugby. And that's just when they show the game at all, the USA were ticked off that their fans didn't get any coverage whatsoever of their match with Russia, supposedly at "home" in Barnet.
Running Russian rugby is not the simplest of any nation, but the lack of any initiative or ideas from the RUR is turning them into an embarrassment. If the RUR continue to give the tournament such an amateur image and mess their competitors about, then FIRA really ought to be warning them and handing out sanctions.
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| Russia latest 34-3 defeat to Romania was one of a long string of poor performances |
When Romania in the end did take to the Nebug field, they exposed the other side of Russia's post World Cup failings, the on field side. The Bears where thrashed 34-3, the latest among such other recent results as 40-13 vs Japan, 28-7 vs USA (2013), 46-0 vs Georgia, 35-3 vs Canada, 25-0 vs Romania (2012). How far backwards they've gone since the World Cup debut (where they impressed many with their attacking flair) has been staggering. Russia have not once come merely within 7 points of a top 18 ranked side since the World Cup and not even been competitive, despite the scoreline only reading 40 points, Japan spent most of that match in Russia's 22 botching chances, it could have easily been 60 or 70 points.
To put into context how bad they've been, this is the same side that pushed out Romania for the 2nd European qualifying spot in the last World Cup and didn't lose in the ENC to Romania for 5 consecutive years between 2006-10. In 2011 they had respectable defeats to Georgia and USA, and led Canada for an hour in the Churchill Cup, now they are getting thumped by all. On the bright side for them they are still in the running for the World Cup, however that shouldn't gloss over their failings as that is mainly due to some abject effort by the Iberians.
It's time for some serious change at the RUR, they are currently a shambles in many ways and both their fans, the tournament and their opponents all deserve better.
*it was an attempt to get the game postponed and get to play Romania later and without their Top 14 players.*
ReplyDeleteand what date would you choose for a rescheduled game if you were a RUR official?
*180km away*
where did you get this number?
*and nations far poorer and with less IRB funding and resources than Russia manage much better.*
how many of these far poorer nations are being forced to play home games in a time when 98% of their territory has below freezing weather and covered by snow?
Full of (often bigoted) inaccuracies posing as fact.
ReplyDelete"the RUR shifted venue ... to get the game postponed and get to play Romania later and without their Top 14 players."
Suspicion among the uninvolved and the uneducated.
1) Which heated pitch was available and willing to accommodate rugby? You do realize even Moscow football clubs are forced to play in Krasnodar in European competition?
2) As this is a Rugby World Cup qualification year, the game – whatever the circumstances – would have had to have been played within this release window – by March 22, 2014. In other words, it would be impossible to make the game take place without Top 14 players.
3) Unlike embittered bloggers, the FRR (a Union themselves fully versed with venue switching/cancelling due to cold/snow) understood the situation and worked WITH the RUR to find a playable venue.
"So when the game in Krasnodar was inevitably called off ... village of Nebug (<4000 population) 180km away, probably hoping the Romanians who had already had booked accommodation to cancel due to the hassle of a tediously long bus ride."
1) It was called off as temperatures were more than double figures below zero for more than 14 days straight. Although gameday temperatures were 5C, a large amount of frozen soil does not unfreeze that quickly.
2) Nebug is less than 150km from Krasnodar. The bus ride is under 2 hours from Krasnodar, less time than it likely takes to get to most Twickenham internationals from anywhere in London. The Romanians arrived on Thursday. Professional sportsmen can recover from 2-hour bus rides within a 48-hour period.
3) Romanians playing in the Top 14 or Romanian League will make bus rides of this distance for most away games.
4) Host unions arrange for and pay for accommodation. It is one of the reasons the PIs cannot afford to host tests.
" Romania ended up being forced to train and warm up on hotel premises."
1) Where do you think the Russians warmed up?
2) Go to Twitter. Look up Atlanta 7s. See what happens when snow forces athletes to have to train in a hotel. Go, educate yourself.
"An amateur social league team would have had a bigger crowd"
The Rugby Union of Russia stated on Twitter that it got a bigger crowd than in Sochi.
An amateur social league team would not be being placed to play outside of its season in a 'village' thousands of kilometers away from its fan base.
Also, for reference, just how many spectators do you think an amateur social league team attracts?
"The Russian tactics to try and get the match postponed failed in the end though as Romania (who went from a 30,000+ UEFA 5 star stadium in Cluj to this game minute venue) were determined for the game to ahead, despite being well within their rights to turn down the game after the venue was changed."
On the contrary, the RUR did everything possible to get the match played BECAUSE failure to schedule it before the end of March would have resulted in forfeit. You will note the situation on the field was the same for both sets of players and that the field was sanctioned as meeting all necessary requirements for hosting international rugby.
With more space, I could pull nearly every sentence in this apart. But I'll leave it here:
"the USA were ticked off that their fans didn't get any coverage whatsoever of their match with Russia, supposedly at "home" in Barnet."
1) Neither team was a home team.
2) The USA were to supply video coverage through their video analyst. They messed up through a public argument with Saracens over broadband connection.
3) Nigel Melville admitted this on Twitter, as did Eagles in an open letter. As did Saracens. Any other understanding of this is either willful ignorance, or difficulties with English comprehension.
Just for the record, I have no time for the RUR, but this rant of inaccuracy and rabid froth is as shambolic as you claim their organization to be.
That said, nice to see some online Tier 2 coverage. Keep it up.
There are 156km between the Krasnodar Airport and Nebug. Due to the state of the roads and the numerous police roadblocks (caused by the Sochi Olympics), the Romanian team spent about 4 hours in a bus to cover that distance. In total, Romania needed 12 hours to get from Bucharest to Nebug.
ReplyDeleteWhat a ridiculous nonsense! You don't need you're silly logic or useless facts to accept that RUR are evil and deserve to be kicked out of international rugby.
ReplyDelete"Suspicion among the uninvolved and the uneducated"
ReplyDelete- I don't consider FRR president Alin Petrache who runs Romanian rugby as 'uninvolved'.
"Which heated pitch was available and willing to accommodate rugby?"
- Not Krasnodar, which is why suspicion came from them putting the match there. This is a recurring issue that won't go away. The RUR should prioritise getting an artificial of heated pitch ASAP, especially the former which would have still been playable at 6 degrees after the overnight freeze.
"As this is a Rugby World Cup qualification year, the game – whatever the circumstances – would have had to have been played within this release window"
- Source for that info? During the last qualification campaign Germany played Russia on 2 May.
"The bus ride is under 2 hours from Krasnodar, less time than it likely takes to get to most Twickenham internationals from anywhere in London. The Romanians arrived on Thursday. Professional sportsmen can recover from 2-hour bus rides within a 48-hour period."
- Lynn Howells described it as 'a very long trip' and 'a marathon' so I reckon it was more than 2 hours.
"Go to Twitter. Look up Atlanta 7s. See what happens when snow forces athletes to have to train in a hotel. Go, educate yourself."
- It wasn't snowing in Nebug (https://twitter.com/russiarugby/status/431795163292127233), the Romanians complained of inadequate basic facilities.
"The Rugby Union of Russia stated on Twitter that it got a bigger crowd than in Sochi."
- Link? I looked and couldn't that on their page, and if true that just shows how bad the RUR have been in Sochi.
"On the contrary, the RUR did everything possible to get the match played BECAUSE failure to schedule it before the end of March would have resulted in forfeit."
- Well that's the direct opposite of what Petrache has been saying. And again what's your source it would have been a forfeit? There were two games in the last RWC qualification round played outside the window, Romania's game with Spain was postponed and as a result Romania had to play without their Top 14 players, Ovidiu Tonita played for Perpignan the same day.
"Neither team was a home team."
- It was home in the effect it was their fixture that they were incapable of hosting. Virtually every team from the World Cup has a decent standard of TV coverage, Russia's is consistently awful. It's so bad that people have said in regards to the pathetic stream vs Spain in 2013, "at least it didn't break".
"this rant of inaccuracy and rabid froth is as shambolic as you claim their organization to be"
- Perhaps you would like to back up your claims of 'inaccuracy' with some links and sources? Your view seems to be remarkably different to the one Petrache described, so you are in turn claiming he is lying. Go on, back your claims up.
"and what date would you choose for a rescheduled game if you were a RUR official?" - well from the RUR's point of view outside the window would have been beneficial to them.
ReplyDelete"where did you get this number?" - I googled distance between Krasnodar and Tuapse as Nebug is such an irrelevant place there is next to no information on it on Google. Wasn't that far off though.
"how many of these far poorer nations are being forced to play home games in a time when 98% of their territory has below freezing weather and covered by snow?" - RUR knows this but hasn't taken actions. If Russia complain about time of year they have to play they msut move the the A5N
*well from the RUR's point of view outside the window would have been beneficial to them.*
ReplyDeletedifferent RUR officials claimed several times in their press releases that, according to RWC qualification rules, ENC 1A must be completed by no later than March 22. Rescheduling this game outside the release window would've been impossible in these circumstances.
*I googled distance between Krasnodar and Tuapse as Nebug is such an irrelevant place there is next to no information on it on Google. Wasn't that far off though.*
straight line from Krasnodar Airport to Nebug is less than 100 kms: http://maps.yandex.ru/-/CVfNJ20f
driving distance from Krasnodar Airport to Nebug is 150 kms: http://yhoo.it/1jKuGks
Both distances satisfy ENC regulations, which state "Matches must be held max 150Km around town with International airport."
*If Russia complain about time of year they have to play they msut move the the A5N.*
Even such poorly managed union as RUR understands that ARFU tournaments provides much lesser competition and development potentials than ENC. If other unions are unhappy with Russia's presence in FIRA-AER they should unite and make everything possible to deny RUR a FIRA-AER membership.