Coventry Bears

This weekend sees a landmark fixture for women’s rugby league in Coventry when the Carvell Coventry Bears Ladies take on international opposition in the shape of the Russian U21s team. This prestigious fixture is the first of it’s kind to be held in the city and promises to be a stern test for the ladies in the build up to their second season in the Southern Ladies League.

The Carvell Coventry Bears have been running a women’s side for the last two seasons and were beaten finalists in the Southern League final last year losing a close fought game against a powerful and experienced West London outfit 14-12. The young Bears side will be hoping to go one better and larger numbers than ever at preseason training bodes well. The ladies have been preparing hard ahead of what promises to be a tough summer of rugby for the side led by Head Coach Michelle Umaga who has been particularly pleased with the pre-season so far. “The commitment of the girls this year is amazing and they are looking forward to some hard matches starting off with this first game against the Russians.”

Traditionally, Russia is not renowned as a rugby league stronghold, but the game has been one of the fastest growing sports in the country over the last few years. The Russian men’s league often play in front of crowds of several thousand and the women’s sport is fast progressing along the same lines. The Russian team will be in the UK for 1 week and will play 3 games in that time, against Yorkshire Universities, North-West Universities and the Carvell Coventry Bears. Ladies captain Debbie Drake toured Russia with Great Britain Students in 2004 where she won 2 out of 3 games against the Russian national side. “This will be a great chance to see how the Russian team has improved over the last few years and I can’t wait to play against them again.”

The fixture will take place at the home of the Carvell Coventry Bears: Old Coventrians Rugby Club, ko 4pm on Saturday 28th April. Admittance to the game is free of charge.