Yeah, I've been out a week. I probably could've spent some time blogging. But, I was spending my time wisely. I was representing USA Rugby and the Houston Sports Authority as the Liaison Officer to the Russian Women's Sevens Team at the IRB's Women's Sevens World Series stop in Houston, TX. Wow, that was a mouthful, but so is Russian. I know the language because I was a linguist in the Marines and Russian was the language the Corps decided it needed me to learn. Thank you, Uncle Sam.
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| PreMatch Team Huddle |
The Russians are an interesting bunch of ruggers. You see, women's rugby in Russia is relatively new. They have not attended a Women's RWC. This was their second EVER 7s tournament. More than half the squad started playing rugby last April. The remaining players has less than four years' experience in the game. But Coach Pavel "Pasha" Baranovsky and Director of Women's Rugby Grigory Malyutin have put together a team of pure athletes from all of the four women's clubs in Russia and taught them nothing but 7s. It is rugby team that has garnered attention.
Last year, after the IRB invited the Rugby Union of Russia to field a women's team in the IRB WSWS, Baranovsky identified 20 female athletes to attend a rugby camp. From this pool, he identified 16-17 players aged 20-27 fit enough and disciplined enough to play his style of 7s - a fast, attacking offense that punches the middle with big players then spins the ball wide to capitalize on speed and a press defense near the breakdown that switches to a slide/arrow as the opponent moves the ball outside. He preaches the gospel of "bend, don't break" on either side of the ball and drills the values of patience, communication, and discipline.
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| Warming up before pool play. |
Captain and Flyhalf Anastasia Mukhar'yamova keeps her team focused and driven. In her beats the heart of the team showing a steely gaze the Russians call "Nastroi na igru" (literally translated, "the spirit of the game", but we know it as "the game face"). Hooker Marin Petrova is the team's unofficial motivator, playing her theme song in the locker room to pump up the team, "
Igrayesh' v rugby" ("You play rugby"). These team leaders are sure tacklers and possess strong lead steps.
Props Anna Prib and Baizat Khamidova bring the wood! These girls hit like trains. Prib loves the grunt work in the ruck and running up the middle to entangle multiple defenders. She is backed up by the quiet hard-hitter, Svetlana Usatykh. Khamidova hits so hard that players on her end of the pitch cannot get the ball moving the other direction fast enough. But that is not Khamidova's
forte. She's got long legs and strength developed from years of goat-herding in the mountains. Her sister, Navrat, outscored her five tries to three in Dubai. Baizat made up for her sister's absence-due-to-injury in Houston by dotting down nine tries over the weekend. Nine tries and 45 points put her at the top of heap for both categories on the weekend. Khamidova's downside is her tackling technique. She has not learned to adjust her contact point for her height and has a tendency to draw the penalty for dangerous tackle (10.4(e)). Coach Baranovsky replaces Khamidova with the always-smiling impact player, Anna Malygina (below with the lollipop).
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| The Russians watch as England tops the US in the cup final. |
In the middle, Baranovsky has his creators, Scrumhalf Nadezda Yarmotskaya and Center Ekaterina Kazakova. Both have speed to spare and seem to enjoy slipping tackles, but with very different styles. Yarmotskaya's small frame ducks and weaves to find space. Then she swerves and side-steps her way around the sweeper (her spot on defense). She's a footballer with no qualms about grubbing the ball ahead then using her speed to win the chase. Kazakova is thunder with the ball, powering through tackles with a leg-pumping high-step and a strong fend. Once she breaks the line, she's hell to catch. Kazakova found in-goal four times on the weekend.
When those two break the line, they often find the Russian flyer, Rusiet Edidzhi, in support. Rusiet is small, but she is all muscle with an attitude. Edidzhi also dotted down four times this weekend, showing brilliant speed each time. Her real value, though came with her ability to tackle players that far outweighed her. The Australians seemed to focus on running the ball at her, betting that, at some point, she would tire. She got madly determined and, somehow, drew a dangerous tackle penalty that Australia quick-tapped for the try that decided Pool C. Rusiet turned into a crowd favorite with her small stature and fierce play.
Baranovsky played his impact players with tactical efficiency. Bringing in speedster Natalya Alexeeva or hinge players Galina Khaet and Ekaterina Bankerova when his team needed a final boost ahead. This wasn't enough to hold off a come-from-behind surge in the final two-minutes by our fabulous US Eagles. But, as I reminded Pasha after the tournament, a Russian loss to the Americans allowed them to take home some hardware and a tie for fourth place in the IRB WSWS standings.
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| Celebrating makes the weekend fun! |
This was an immensely satisfying week for me. I learned a lot about coaching 7s from someone very dedicated to the game. I gained a respect for our USAR staff as I watched them manage the tournament and do their day jobs. They get a lot more done with less than they need to actually get it done with. We can complain about the national office all we want and call the CIPP dues unfair, but these folks work on a shoestring budget to get a great deal done for us.
Every time international teams come to the US, Liaison Officers and other volunteers are needed to make their stay comfortable and organized. The next time the opportunity to volunteer for one of these tournaments or international tests raises its head, get involved. You will not be sorry you did. Sean and Kellie, thank you for this opportunity. It was awesome. I hope you'll consider me for the next shindig!
