Russia to face U.S. in its first rugby World Cup game
September 13, 2011
Russia's first game in the rugby World Cup will pit them against the American team this Thursday, in what is quickly becoming known as the "Cold War" match. Russia, along with teams from Georgia and Romania, qualified in the European Nations Cup, according to The Guardian. Due to the nature of the relationship between Russian and the United States, this game is already beginning to draw quite a bit of interest.
"The eyes of the world are on this team," Russian team director Kingsley Jones told reporters, according to The Los Angeles Times. "This can take the game in Russia to the next level, there's huge interest. Hopefully it'll spark younger generations to get involved in rugby because the potential in Russia is huge."
However, many are nervous for the team, as they are ranked better than only Namibia among teams at the World Cup. Vasily Artemyev, the 24-year-old wing for the national team, told The Guardian that his team is nervous because they have no star players, but he believes that they stand a chance if they can bring the U.S. team down a few notches.
Sports fans can use international phone cards to make calls to Russia to talk to their friends and families about the upcoming game.