Russia blast Chile to lift Cup of Nations

Russia claimed their third consecutive Regal Hotels Cup of Nations title on Saturday as they defeated Chile by a convincing score of 42-11. A brutal first half saw the Bears crush any thoughts of a Cóndores victory with five tries and 35 points before the break while conceding only 11.

Chile struck first with an early penalty goal via the boot of Tomas Ianiszewski. The lead was short-lived, however, as Russia struck back almost immediately. Bogdan Fedotko, a towering presence at the lineout, plucked the ball from the air but instead of setting the maul simply reached forward and touched the ball down on the line for a try.

The Cóndores would retake the lead when Domingo Saavedra took a quick tap in for his first international try, but again Russia fired back immediately, and again at the lineout. This time it was Andrei Temnov who peeled around the front to catch the Chilean defense asleep at the wheel. After Ianiszewski made good on his second kick, Temnov made it a double in quick succession as Fedotko pinched a Chilean throw and his captain simply blasted through the defense and in under the posts.

Discipline was already a problem for Chile when Bastián Burguener received his second yellow card in as many games to leave his team shorthanded. The scrum was already under huge pressure and with only seven forwards it faltered again, but Vasili Dorofeev opted to peel around the back for a try instead of settling for the penalty. German Davydov touched down in the corner just before half time to make it five tries, with Ramil Gaisin’s sideline conversion just as accurate as the other four.

Changes at the intermission seemed to lift the Condores and they came out a much more determined side in the second half. They controlled both territory and possession for the better part of 20 minutes but could not connect with the final pass or break through the Russian line to finish the job. Instead it would be Vladislav Sozonov to add one more try after a nifty offload by Dmitri Krotov. Gaisin made it a perfect six-for-six and Russia had their just rewards.

It brings the calendar year to a close for the Bears but Los Cóndores still have one more match on the schedule. They now depart for Europe where a one-off test against Germany in Offenbach will take place in one week’s time.

 

SCORING

RUSSIA 42
Tries – B. Fedotko (9’), A. Temnov 2 (16’, 22’), V. Dorofeev (32’), G. Davydov (39’), V. Sozonov (68’)
Cons – R. Gaisin 6/6 (10’, 17’, 23’, 33’, 40’, 69′)
Yellow cards – D. Krotov (46’), K. Golosnitskiy (71′)

CHILE 11
Tries – D. Saavedra (12’)
Cons – T. Ianiszewski 0/1
Pens – T. Ianiszewski 2/3 (5’, 20’)
Yellow cards – B. Burguener (26’)

 

TEAMS

RUSSIA
1 Valeri Morozov (17 Evgeni Mischechkin 70′), 2 Stanislav Selskiy (16 Sergei Chernyshev 65’), 3 Azamat Bitiev (18 Magomed Davudov 45’), 4 Bogdan Fedotko (19 Alexander Ilin 65’), 5 Evgeny Elgin, 6 Andrei Temnov (capt.) (22 Dmitri Gritsenko 62’), 7 Anton Sychev, 8 Dmitri Krotov, 9 Vasili Dorofeev (21 Konstantin Uzunov 60’), 10 Ramil Gaisin, 11 Vladislav Sozonov, 12 Vladimir Rudenko, 13 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 14 German Davydov (23 Evgeny Nepeivoda 50’), 15 Anton Ryabov (20 Alexander Budychenko 70′)

CHILE
1 Vittorio Lastra (17 Sebastián Otero 65’), 2 Ignacio Guajardo (16 Tomás Dussaillant HT), 3 Marco Díaz (18 José Tomás Munita HT), 4 Bastián Burguener (19 Mario Mayol HT), 5 Raimundo Piwonka, 6 Javier Richard, 7 Manuel Dagnino (20 Anton Petrowitsch 61’), 8 Nikola Bursic, 9 Domingo Saavedra (21 Sergio Bascuñan 65’), 10 Benjamín Pizarro (23 Santiago Videla 61’), 11 Franco Velarde, 12 Javier Lavanderos (22 Francisco de la Fuente 50’), 13 José Ignacio Larenas (capt.), 14 Matías Balbontín, 15 Tomás Ianiszewski

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Stephen Copeman (HKRFU)
Assistants: Maxime Burlet (FBRB) & Edward Fitzgerald (HKRFU)