7SWGPS: Russian women’s national team starts with crystal clear victory

The Russian women’s national rugby sevens squad kicked off with an overwhelming victory at the first stage of the Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Grand Prix Series. The tournament began today at the Central Stadium, Kazan. In their first match, the Russians whitewashed Team Belgium, 54-0.

In her commentary after the game, Marina Petrova, the team captain, stated that the first match turned out really well for the Russian team. “The first cake was not lumpy for the Russian squad. The team made a strong showing. There are some drawbacks in our play but I think that with every match played the team will reach a better teamwork and will get rid of them,” she said.

According to Petrova, when going out on the field to play against teams with a lower ranking, strong teams should have even a bigger motivation to win then when competing against titled rivals. “We should not let our guard down and let our rival think that they have a lower ranking then us. We must respect our opponent and demonstrate the same fierce performance as when we play against stronger teams,” the Russian team captain said.

“At the moment we are focused only on this leg, on this stage. It’s as important for us as the Olympic qualification. We do not save our strength to avoid injuries. The more we try to save strength, the more we get injured,” Marina Petrova said.

When asked about the quality of tournament management, Petrova said: “Everything is organised greatly; the field is perfect – just go out and play.” “I hope that tomorrow there will be more spectators on stands for the final games,” she said.

Other matches of the group stage ended as follows: France – Finland, 51-0; Netherlands – Great Britain 2, 10-19; Spain – Portugal, 12-7; Great Britain 1 – Ukraine, 48-0; Ireland – Italy, 31-0.