The sky was gray, and the mercury was hovering at about two degrees Celsius. I looked out over a field covered with puddles, patches of melting ice and oozing mud. "They are going to play on this?" I thought to myself. But play they did; though not for glory, money or even their egos. They got together to play the game of rugby for the sake of the game.
The Orcs Amateur Rugby Club, as they call themselves, are a group of rugby enthusiasts ranging from 18-45 years old, who have since the spring of 2005 been getting together to train and have a friendly match whenever they can.
Their rivals were the reserve squad of the Kyiv Polytechnical Institute's Rugby Club, a highly-ranked team with more experience. The Orcs did not prevail in the match, but the looks on their faces clearly exemplified that they had enjoyed the game and the challenge that was put to them by a stronger opponent.
After the match, the lads, together with their small but enthusiastic cheerleading unit - primary the girlfriends of some of the players - invited me out for a couple of pints of beer and an opportunity to get to understand what the current state of amateur rugby in Ukraine is.
They come from different walks of life: some of them are managers or business people, while others are students. And just as much as they differ as people, they differ in experience with the game. But they revel in the fact that the camaraderie and support they give each other both on and off the field in learning to play the game is just as important as the game itself.
"It all started on an Online forum in October of 2004, when I put the question about starting up an amateur rugby club," said Sergiy Bolanovych. "The first time we got together, there were only two or three guys. That was last spring. But then we were lucky to get the support of Sergey Guguyev, a champion rugby player during Soviet times and the coach of the Ukrainian Junior squad. He helped us a lot and taught us a lot about the game." Unfortunately, the rugby enthusiasts lost Guguyev's support when he was killed last summer.
While Guguyev was on his way home in downtown Kyiv on the night of 10 July 2005, a car swerved out of a parking lot nicking him. As a result, a fight broke out, and one of the passengers of the car shot Guguyev in the head with an air pistol at point blank range. About a week later, Guguyev died in a Kyiv hospital and was buried on July 19th.
"However, we found the support of others," noted Yevhen Mayivsky, as he called over one of his club mates and introduced him to me.
Mayivsky works for the National Rugby Federation of Ukraine as
a translator, and he felt that if he was going to do justice to his role as a translator for the Federation, it would be a good idea to play the game to gain a better understanding of it.
"This guy helps us out a great deal," said Mayivsky, as Sergiy Ignatenko sat down with us. Ignatenko has played rugby for 24 years, including in 1987 and 1991 for Aviator, a team that placed 3rd in the entire USSR. For the most part, Aviator had always ranked in the top six teams in the USSR. "Now he's our team mate, coach and mentor," added Mayivsky.
"Rugby doesn't have the glam that football does here in Ukraine, and we run up against a lot of myths about the game," said Ignatenko. "But really it is a thinking man's game, and one always has to be on one's guard and be ready to stand up for your mates. Not doing so has its consequences."
"While we started off with just a few of us, by the summer of 2005 we had as many as 20 guys coming out to play with us on the beach at Hydro Park," added Bolanovych. The Orcs even managed to organize a beach rugby tournament in August of 2005, which they named to honor their mentor; trainer and friend Guguyev, but there are a number factors that hinder the development of amateur rugby in Ukraine. The beach tournament was a way for them to popularize the game a little.
"We've made some progress. The school director out in Irpyn, where
I live, has even encouraged me to coach the school's team. And if we can develop youth at this level and give them an option of what sport they chose, the sport will have a better chance of developing in our country," stated Ignatenko with conviction.
"There are a couple of other foreigners who play with us, some guys from the United Kingdom. And we even had this guy Jono from New Zealand join us a number of times," explained Bolanovych. I smiled, cocked my head and said, "Jono Miller! I met him during the events of last year, living in a tent up by the Verkhovna Rada." Bolanovych nodded... "Yes, that's him!"
"And Gabriel Zakovic, who is originally from Serbia but now a Frenchman, helped us with the beach tournament," noted Mayivsky.
While The Orcs have reached out to the expat community and done so with some success, they all expressed an interest in meeting more individuals who are interested in getting together to practice, spar and help to develop an amateur club. In the mean time, they are regularly in touch with three other amateur clubs in Russia: Forum of Moscow, the Barbarians of Moscow (comprised primarily of expats) and the St. Petersburg Beavers.
"We would like to have some more rugby amateurs join our ranks here in Kyiv, and while most of us aren't really interested in playing professional rugby, it would be nice to find some sponsors interested in developing the sport here in Ukraine," expressed Bolanovych. "Just look at the field we played on today!"
"So the Orcs did a little mauling in the mud today," I replied, and followed up with, "So, what prompted you guys to call your club the Orcs?"
"Well it has nothing to do with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings," explained Mayivsky. "But there is a connection, Tolkien played rugby throughout his childhood," concluded Bolanovych.
For anyone interested in joining The Orcs for some rugby, or to learn more about the game, the club and its people, don't hesitate to visit their website at http://kievrugby.narod.ru
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