Ukrainian Rugby Championship Kicks Off 2012 Season

RC Batyary (Lviv) rugby poster

The new season at all levels of rugby in Ukraine starts on 21 April and will run until November with a break during the summer.
The list of this year's teams looks as follows:

The Superliga, or the highest level of Ukrainian rugby, this year comprises 6 teams:

1. RC Credo-63 (Odessa)
2. RC Olymp (Kharkiv)
3. RC Epokha-Politechnic (Kiev)
4. RC Sokil (Lviv)
5. RC Obolon-Universitet (Khmelnytsky)
6. RC TEX-A-C (Kharkiv)

The second-level competition, known as Top League (Vyshcha Liga) includes 9 teams divided in 3 geographic groups:

Western Group
1. RC Batyary (Lviv)
2. RC Rivne (Rivne)
3. RC Roland (Ivano-Frankivsk)

Central Group 
1. RC Argo (Kiev)
2. RC Antares (Kiev)
3. RC Eager (Kiev)

Southern Group
1. RC Polytechnic (Odessa)
2. RC More (Feodosiya)
3. RC Dnipro (Dnipropetrovsk)

There is also a separate competition for U23 age grade teams with 7 participants:
1. RC Polytechnic-2 (Kiev)
2. Combined Sports Schools (Kiev)
3. KIPU (Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University, based in Simferopol)
4. UIPA (Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogical Academy, based in Khakiv)
5. RC Academia (Combined team of students from various universities in Odessa)
6. RC Donbass Tigers (Donetsk)
7. Hirnyk (Krivy Rih)

Rugby is also growing through amateur clubs in other cities, such as Ternopil, Zaporizhzhya and Sevastopol, but unfortunately lack of funds for travel expenses prevents these teams from participating in the nationwide competition this year. Hopefully in the near future local sponsors or government authorities may help them reach the next level and continue expanding rugby across Ukraine.

Source: http://uarugby.org.ua/

Youth Flag Rugby Expands to Two More Cities

Flag rugby in Rivne

Following the successful development of 5-on-5 indoor flag rugby in Odessa schools, similar leagues are starting to take hold in other cities across Ukraine. Last winter we reported about flag rugby in Ivano-Frankivsk, and this spring flag rugby competitions also began in Kharkiv in Rivne.

Flag rugby in Kharkiv

Kharkiv is a city of 1.4 million people and the home of Olymp rugby club, the national champion of Ukraine, so it was natural that the city rugby club should try to expand its fan base and build a pipeline of future players. 12 city schools entered the flag rugby competition for kids aged 11-13. In the future the league may expand to 16 teams.
In the western Ukrainian city of Rivne four teams began competing on 10 April, taking advantage of good weather and actually taking the game outside. Three or four more teams should be joining the league for the next round on 17 April. The Ukrainian Rugby Federation is hoping to continue this momentum and keep building the foundations of youth rugby in many more cities across Ukraine.

Sources:
Vecherniy Kharkov
Rivne Rugby

Ukraine shocks ENC with win over Portugal

Ukraine Cossacks celebrate win over Portugal Wolves

On 17 March 2012 the Ukrainian national rugby team has achieved its first ever victory in the European Nations Cup Division 1A. Portugal was leading 33-32 until the last minute, when Oleg Kosarev demonstrated nerves of steel and kicked a penalty to make it 35-33. Even though this win will not lift Ukraine from the bottom of the table to avoid relegation, the Cossacks have shown other ENC teams that they are a force to be reckoned with in the future. The players said that the support of 3500 fans in the stadium in Odessa made all the difference and pushed them forward against the heavily favoured Portugal.

You can enjoy match highlights or full video below:

New Rugby Club in Zaporizhzhya

The first amateur rugby club has been created in the city of Zaporizhzhya in Southern Ukraine. The team will be called "Kmet", an ancient Slavic term for "warrior" or "horseman". One of the club's leaders, Oleksandr Fanin, said the idea to try rugby came to them by accident. "We were actively trying different sports, and one time we saw a rugby ball in a shop, decided to buy it and try playing. We read the rules of rugby on the internet and are learning the game now," he said.
After several months of casual training, attended by about 17 people on average, the club set an ambitious goal of transforming itself into a professional team.
"We really liked this game. We've established contacts with rugby clubs in Krivyy Rih (Hirnyk) and Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro), who helped us find a coach. We are now being coached by Mykhaylo Smolyak. Unfortunately, in our country it is difficult for sports teams to survive on their own, and that is why we are actively trying to get the attention of local government authorities, who may be able to provide some funding. But even if we cannot find the money immediately, we will do our best to officially join one of the divisions of the Ukrainian rugby championship and test ourselves against other teams in the 2012 season," Fanin said. If the club is unable to fill the roster for a full 15-a-side rugby team, they may at least try to play the Olympic version of rugby sevens, the organizers added.
Zaporizhzhya is a major industrial centre with population of 800,000 and strong sporting traditions in football, basketball, handball and wrestling. Hopefully the new rugby club will find local support and achieve success on the national level in the near future.

Source: Ukrainian Rugby Federation

Youth Flag Rugby Launched in Ivano-Frankivsk

Following the successful model of five-a-side non-contact flag rugby competitions in Odessa schools that has been going for a few years now, a similar programme was recently launched in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
The Ukrainian Rugby Federation leaders have stated on a number of occasions that youth rugby is a high priority for them. Lowering the age of entry into the sport and growing public awareness of rugby will help build a foundation for a successful national team. Non-contact Rugby-5 competitions have been successful in introducing schoolchildren in Odessa to rugby, and the long-term goal is to launch youth rugby in all the regional centers of Ukraine.

Thanks to the support from Ivano-Frankivsk city authorities and the generosity of sponsors, this dream is becoming a reality. More than 100 children aged 10-12 participated in the first "Saint Nicholas Cup" in December. The team representing School No. 19 beat School No. 2 in the final to become the first ever champions of Ivano-Frankivsk flag rugby league. The organizers plan to host another tournament shortly after New Year.

Source:  http://if.rugby5.com.ua/

Ukraine U-20 loses to Lithuania in overtime

The final matches of the European U-20 rugby championship were played on 18 November. Having lost to Moldova in the semifinal, Ukraine faced Lithuania for third place. The first half ended with minimal advantage to the Lithuanians, 3-0, after flyhalf Mantautas Vilimavicius kicked a penalty. In the second half, Ukraine's Ruslan Bezuglyi evened out the score. After more grinding forward play for most of the match, the Lithuanians finally scored a converted try in the 72nd minute. But Ukraine quickly responded with a try of its own by Vitalii Krasnodemskyi, converted by Bezuglyi. The game went into overtime, and Lithuanians broke through the Ukrainian defense in the 92nd minute for an unconverted try. Ukraine was unable to stage a comeback unfortunately. Final score 10-15 to Lithuania. In the first-place match, Poland destroyed Moldova 68-5.

Source: Ukrainian Rugby Federation
Photo by FIRA-AER

Oleg Kosarev - top scorer in Ukrainian rugby in 2011

Playing on the wing for the Kharkiv-based Olimp rugby club, Oleg Kosarev became the leading scorer of Ukraine's Top League in 2011. The 23-year-old Kosarev had accumulated 194 points in 8 matches, including 17 tries, 53 conversions and 1 penalty kick. His closest rival is Mykola Deliyergiyev from Odessa's Kredo-63 club, but he trails by more than 100 points after the same number of matches played - Deliyergiyev had 78 points from 4 tries, 26 conversions and 2 penalty kicks. In third place is Olimp's captain Serhiy Tserkovny. Kharkiv's flyhalf scored 65 points from 7 tries, 12 conversions and 2 drop-goals.


Source: iSport.ua