Russia take honours in odd-couple Bowl final
Hong Kong has seen some odd line-ups in the Bowl final and Zimbabwe against Russia has to be up there with the best of them. But there was a constant, with Russia defending their title thanks to a hard-hitting 19-14 win.
'We have always done well here in Hong Kong so we were very confident,' Russia captain Alexander Yanyuskin said. 'Wins like this don't seem to be that important to other teams but for us they are essential.
'Success here means we can develop the game in Russia and get more sponsorship. We have some new players this year and they will gain so much from the experience of playing in Hong Kong. It's another great win.'
In a tense opening with big hits going in on either side, it was Zimbabwe who broke the deadlock through a Tendayi Hondo try.
Russia regrouped and after their first consistent phases of play got back on level terms thanks to Sergey Belousov. A brilliant turn of pace from Gerald Sibanda saw him blaze up the right wing to score his side's second try and give Zimbabwe the half-time lead, but it proved to be short-lived.
After the interval an Oleg Kobzev touchdown got his side back on level terms and then a superb individual try from Alexsandr Gvozdovskiy clinched the match for the Russians. With a minute left, Gvozdovskiy slipped past two tacklers and scored in the left-hand corner, fending off the despairing cover tackle of Gardner Nechironga.
On a day when vote counting was under way in Zimbabwe, with the main opposition MDC party claiming it was winning the battle to oust President Robert Mugabe, coach Liam Middleton was just happy his team got the opportunity to showcase their skills on the international rugby stage. It was their first appearance in Hong Kong for 10 years.
'With all the economic problems we've had recently, it's been hard to get our guys together as they play all over the world,' he said.
'But we're here to represent Zimbabwe and I'm very proud of how we played. It was a pity to lose out in the final but we showed that we have plenty of potential. The more exposure we get like this, the more it will help the game back home.'
