7SWGPS 2018: Cheering spectators will keep us going in Kazan, Russian team’s head coach says
On September 1-2 the Central Stadium of Kazan hosts the Rugby Europe Women’s Sevens Grand Prix Series. The current European champions from Russia have already started training for the domestic leg. On August 20 the team with head coach Andrey Kuzin in charge got together at the training camp in Novogorsk, Russia.
As the head coach announces, the team arrive in Tatarstan’s capital city on August 30. “We are already familiar with the venue, no extra training is scheduled. The agenda is as usual: we arrive in a place one day ahead of a competition and only have a training session held by the captain,” Kuzin notes. He also underlines that the venue will unlikely become a serious advantage for the Russians. “We play at this pitch only three days a year, so there is no particular advantage for us in this respect. Our home stands can become our strong point. If enough spectators are active to cheer us, it will be easier for the team to achieve the desired result”, he adds.
The Russians lost to the hosting side in the final game of the first leg of the Series, which took place in Marcoussis, France. Now they must seal victory in Kazan to defend their title. “It was the audience who made the French push forward in that final match. They played at home, and it was not simple for us as the opponents had a well-knit team. Lately Team France has gained momentum, and ended in the second place for the World Cup this season. Maybe our girls lacked good luck. I can’t blame them – they had a great desire to win. You know our sport – the ball bounces off a couple times, the referee overlooks foul play, as a result the match is lost. In Kazan we want to demonstrate a beautiful performance and win at home to bounce back for the defeat in France”, Andrey Kuzin underlines.