We should not loose heart, Vladimir Dolgin, executive director of the Russian Rugby League Federation, told RIA Novosti. "The best two Rugby League teams of today fought against us. Learning from them is not a shame", he said.
Especially instructive was the match against the founders of the classic rugby and the Rugby League (the other name for it is rugby-13). The British were as if seeking to beat their own record victories above the Russians in the preceding matches (104:4 in 2000, 102:0 in 2003), but the hosts displayed resolve in the end of the game and, first, opened the score and then did not let the British exceed the 100 score line.
After the match with the British team, getting ready for the 2008 world championship, British tutor Carl Harrison said that the Russians have made a progress. Though you will hardly defeat us provided all our players fall ill on the day of the match, he said.
His Russian colleague Dolgin promised a worthy game against Britain in four to five years to come. In the meantime, the Russian team will prepare for the international tournaments in Moscow in February and May 2005, when the Victory Cup will be vied for by rugby players from the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. By the way, the Russians managed to win the previous such tournament.
