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
