Krasnoyarsk Yenisei won the Russian Rugby Cup for the tenth time. In a tough clash with their compatriots from Krasny Yar, Alexander Pervukhin’s accusations turned out to be stronger. This match had almost everything, including fights. The losers simply did not succeed.
The anniversary, the 150th Krasnoyarsk derby in the Russian Cup final – it’s hard to find anything cooler. Regardless of the outcome of the match, the trophy would go to Krasnoyarsk for the 20th time. The only question was which bank of the Yenisei – the left or the right.
Despite the fact that the match was played far from Krasnoyarsk, fans of both teams flocked to Moscow’s VTB Arena. Among them were those who have been supporting their pets for many years both at home and on trips far away. However, a screening of the final was organised in the cinema in the Siberian city. Not to mention the broadcast on the federal channel.
But watching it at the stadium is a special pleasure. Especially when everything is organized like a big party. By the way, people came to the stands. According to the Russian Rugby Federation, a record attendance was set: more than 11 thousand people.
The match itself held everyone’s attention until the last seconds. From the first teams there was a struggle for the initiative, the rivals rushed to attack and already in the fourth minute Krasny Yar had the opportunity to score points. But the team’s main kicker, Jason Taumalolo, missed the mark from, frankly, the most inconvenient position.
Five minutes later, Krasny Yar was left without its main striker: Guga Khantadze was seriously injured in a clash with Yenisei centre-back Denis Simplikevich. Khantadze was unable to leave the field on his own: he was carried off on a stretcher.
And after another 20 minutes, the score was opened: “Enisey” in a classic manner got into the opponent’s scoreboard with a maul, where Francois Esterhuizen, who had recently become Russian, put the ball in – a try! The opportunity to score more points was not taken by Ramil Gaisin, who missed.
“Enisey-STM” against “Krasny Yar”
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
Literally five minutes later, Yenisei made another beautiful collective attack and again scored a try, and once again forgave the opponent. Krasny Yar broke the deadlock just four minutes before the end of the first half, when Taumalolo converted a free kick.
At the end of the first half, an incident occurred that affected the course of the match. The frontline players of Yenisey and Krasny Yar, Nicholas Oosthuizen and Robert Sutidze, did not share anything in the fight for the ball. After the whistle of the main referee Arthur Kaptyukh, Oosthuizen decided to show that he had mastered the techniques of wrestling by throwing his opponent over the hip. Sutidze responded to this with an MMA-style elbow to the face – such a blow could have knocked out an easier opponent.
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A mess began that could have led to a serious fight, but the referees kept the situation in their own hands. And the athletes themselves were not in the mood to receive red and yellow cards en masse. But it could not have happened without them. Sutidze was sent off and Oosthuizen received a yellow card.
The “Yar” were left with 14 players until the end of the match. In theory, Yenisey had the advantage of having an extra player. But Oosthuizen also went on a 10-minute rest with Sutidze, and before he could return, Esterhuizen received a yellow card.
Oosthuizen, however, quickly recovered and scored a try. The score remained unchanged at 15:3 until the final whistle. The Russian Cup final, which was not the richest in goals, was remembered for an even fight, where Alexander Pervukhin’s players played a little better in defence.
Yenisei-STM became a ten-time winner of the Russian Cup, surpassing Krasny Yar in this indicator. And the best player was Francois Esterhuizen, who received a special “Championship” award.
The decisive matches of the national championship lie ahead, with the semi-finals beginning in a week.
