Penza, 10 May 2016. PenzaNews. The rugby team of the Penza children’s and youth sports school No. 8 won the Peter the Great Cup tournament held in Lipetsk.

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The competition pitted together 21 amateur rugby teams from different Russian regions, from Kaliningrad to Krasnoyarsk.

Penza was represented at the tournament by three teams from the children’s and youth sports school No. 8, and the first one was its main hope: the coaches tasked the players to repeat the achievement of the previous year’s team compiled from players born in 2004, who had won the grand prize.

As a result, the first team successfully went through the group matches and the play-offs, and fought the final game against the Krasnoyarsk “Yenisey-STM.”

The match was dramatic. The first period was a complete letdown for the Penza team, as the opposing players were winning with 5:20 in their favor. However, the speeches by the coach Mikhail Anisimov and the assertiveness of the players managed to turn the tide in their favor: the Penza team took the lead – 25:20 – one minute before the end of the match. The Siberian players, however, had no intention to give away the victory that easily, and equalized the score, forcing the game to extend further. The overtime was tense, as both sides knew that even a single goal would decide the fate of the match. In the end, the Penza players successfully realized a team moment by bringing the ball into the opponents’ score zone. The final accord in the game was played by Gleb Mishin, who forced the “Yenisey-STM” defense apart with his shoulders and brought his fellows to the top place at the pedestal.

The two other Penza teams were not so successful: the second team of the Penza sports school No. 8 came 11th, and the third 18th, says the press service of the Penza rugby club “Imperia.”