Over 10,000 in Russia too, but those at planet punt monkey keep saying the teams have moved over to union and there's only about 1,000 RL players left :lol:
http://www.lecourrierderussie.ru/fr/magazine/?artId=2391
Lokomotiv draws XIII Russian
Perhaps you do not know it, but Rugby with XIII goes well to Russia, often even better than his/her cousin with XV. Russia is classified, by the international federation, with the 7th European rank, and a championship semi-professional succeeded in being established. Admittedly, there are only 10.000 players in Russia, but Rugby with XIII progresses gently.
The club headlight of Rugby with XIII Russian (called League Rugby in Russia as in Great Britain), it is Lokomotiv of Moscow. The Greens and Reds which evolve/move at the Loujniki stage, are champion of Russia in title, at the head of the championship 2007 (one plays in spring and in summer) and qualified for the final of the Cut of Russia which will dispute next on June 28 against Imperia de Penza.
Out of cut of Europe, the Railwaymen of Moscow fell on stronger than them losing some vis-a-vis the English from the Lions from Swinton. There are eight clubs in the Russian championship. In addition to Lokomotiv, two other clubs are area of Moscow, the RC Vereïa which plays the stage of Naro-Fominsk and RC Cosmos.
Kazan is different the large city of XIII Russian with two clubs: Energuia and especially Strela, one of the clubs founders of XIII modern Russian. The championship is supplemented by Imperia de Penza, Nevskaïa Zastava de Saint-Pétersbourg and Kristall of Rostov-on-the-Gift.
In fact, Rugby with XIII A a long history in Russia. It had been imported into the USSR before the second world war, on ideological criteria: the XIII had been born in England from a scission with the XV. The clubs of Rugby of the north of England, resulting from the working mediums, did not accept the strict rules of amateurism dictated by the clubs of the south, whose members were easy students and aristocrats. In light, the proles of north, wanted a little pocket money to play, whereas the noble ones of the south, in did not need. But after 1945, the XIII fell down in the lapse of memory in Soviet Union, until a round of an English club of Yorkshire, Dewsbury in 1973. In the Eighties, XIII A thus remakes surface.
Today, Russia is the major nation of the XIII in the ex-USSR, contrary to the XV where it is Georgia. It takes part in all the international competitions. Currently are held the eliminating heats for the world cup which will take place in 2008 in Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea-News-Guinea. Russia will not qualify itself there, but it carries out a honourable course in eliminatory phase. With the first turn, it drew aside the Netherlands 44-10, Serbia 40-12 and Georgia beaten by fixed price.
With the following turn, it is much more delicate, the Bears (it is the name of the national team) had to return their claws against stronger than them: Ireland 50-12 and Lebanon 22-8. Do not laugh, the team of Lebanon is very strong, for the simple one and good reason which it is only made up the Australian ones of Lebanese origin!
But Russia multiplies the international contacts to progress. Thus, less than 16 years will take part in the championship of Europe at the end of June in Serbia and the Academics lost little in championship of Europe recently 17-16 vis-a-vis in France, one of the best nations of the world. What to be thirteen-optimist!!!
Bruno Cadene
