Rad was dominant against Torpedo
In the last round of the Serbian Championship, RK Rad routinely defeated RK Torpedo Mlava with a score of 83-0. It was not played at a high pace, because the winner of the match was already known after the 15th minute of the match when the hosts had a 28-0 advantage. Then Rad also played at a very high pace, so he gave himself an advance to bring the game to a peaceful end. At the end of the first part of the match, the score was 40-0.
In the second half, a slightly slower pace was seen, but the Builders were efficient, possessing the younger part of the team. Already up to 55th minute of the match it was 73-0 when the pace had already slowed down and when the celebrations had already started slowly. In the end, the score was 83-0, and this year’s Serbian Championship was completed with this match.
Despite the defeat, the team from Petrovac na Mlava can be satisfied with their participation in this year’s competition. Although they have only existed for three years, after two seasons in the B League, they managed to play and complete the season in the elite level of the competition. They had several convincing defeats, but they also had three very interesting matches against Dinamo, where they had their chances to win. Overall, a great experience that will help them a lot in the following seasons.
Table of the Serbian Championship
| Поз (Pos) | Екипа (Team) | У(GP) | П(W) | И(L) | Н(D) | ПФ(PF) | ПА(PA) | ПД(PD) | БП(BP) | Б(Pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  РК Рад | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 528 | 101 | 427 | 9 | 41 |
| 2 |  РК Партизан | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 398 | 141 | 257 | 6 | 26 |
| 3 |  РК Динамо 1954 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 178 | 361 | -183 | 5 | 17 |
| 4 |  РК Торпедо Млава | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 76 | 577 | -501 | 3 | -1 |
Match information
Venue King Peter I stadion
Date: 06.11.2022 .
Kickoff: 12:00h
Reffery: Aleksandar Lelik
Assistant referee: Nemanja Babić
Assistant referee: Marko Žeravica
Match comessaionnaire: Goran Vuković
Temperature Cold and wet, 10C
Attendence: 100
Replay: sportuzivo
Squads:
RK Rad: Vladimir Đukić, Uroš Jončić, Predrag Vraneš, Vojin Karanović, Branimir Petrović, Relja Pećanac, Danijel Stojanović 10, Marko Ristic, Srđan Božić 16, Nikola Stašić, Mihajlo Samardžić 10, Alen Ćosović 27, Uroš Jevđenijević 5, Milan Trujkić 10 , Stanislav Ljubičić, Stevan Nikolić 5, Boris Milojković, Nikola Stanković, Nemanja Stošić, Miladin Živanov.
RK Torpedo Mlava: Miloš Mihoci, Ivan Miljković, Aleksa Dobrosavljević, Miloš Vujčić, Miloš Malenović, Milan Životić, Srđan Nikolić, Aleksandar Đorđević, Stefan Janković, Jovan Kostić, Miloš Miladinović, Aleksandar Savić, Adam Pavlović, Marko Živković, Nikola Knežević
A mix of youth and experience for the title of Champions
In this way, we could best describe the team that Rad has this season. Simple, the team has a lot of experienced players who were part of the team that won the Champions League title back in the 2006/07 season. That’s a period of over 16 years, which only speaks to the experience this team has. If we look at the fact that Rad coach Marko Kapor appeared in a couple of games, then the experience is even greater, because Kapor also won the title in the 1999/2000 season, when some of Rad’s young players were not even born.
Rada’s professional staff definitely did a great job this season. The coaching tandem of Marko Kapor and Milan Rastovac managed to prepare a team that was stable and grew as the season progressed. Young players from the youth school were received in the best way and were given the opportunity to play in the first team. And they really managed to use that opportunity. But maybe the bigger job was to motivate the more experienced players. There are no professional players in Serbia who have contracts with domestic clubs. They are all amateurs. Now imagine how hard it is for experienced players who, apart from their daily jobs and family obligations, come to training with the same motivation as on the first day. That is exactly why a good atmosphere must always be to the credit, where training is a pleasure for everyone.
Experience as a turning point in the season
Even the most experienced Rad players came from the youth school and were part of the younger categories. Of all the players, only Stevan Nikolić didn’t start training in the younger categories, but he has some basketball skills, which we can see from his footwork. Together with Predrag Vranelja, Uroš Jončić and Vladimir Đukić, he forms the first scrum line of both Rada and the Serbian national team.. Along with them, there is Branimir Petrović in the second line and Marko Ristić in the third line, who calm down and improve the scrum game with their experience. And what can we say about Alen Ćosović, who is experiencing a true rugby renaissance, who, in addition to being the top scorer of the Championship this year, is also a standard national team player.
In the line, the experienced Zivanov commanded Rad’s attack and defense. Uroš Babić missed the second part of the season due to an injury, but he was the cornerstone of Građevinar in the backfield. The all-rounder Stanislav Ljubičić can cover several positions in the line and scrum, but he does best in the third line or on the wing. Kruševac player Stefan Ivković played on the wing for Rad this half-season and performed extremely well, especially in the derby against Partizan.
Rad Youth Rugby School
Rad has always had an excellent rugby school. However, it is always a big problem, how many players from the youth school will stay in senior rugby. It is not only a local problem in Serbia, but also a global problem in the world. If we look at the players under the age of 24 only in the last match in the Rada team, we can say that there is no concern for them. As many as 11 players out of 20 are under the age of 24, and these are players who have slowly taken over responsibility in the game from their elders.
In the scrum, you already have a standard representative of the national team, Relja Pećanac, who plays in the positions of the second and third lines. There is occasional national team member Milan Trujkić, who plays as a hooker as well as Vojin Karanović, who has established himself in the second line and is one of the anchors of the scrum game. Danijel Stojanović was fantastic this season even though he is still 17 years old, he showed that he is an absolute force in defense and attack. Uroš Jevđenijević and Mihajlo Samardžić took advantage of their opportunities and became part of the team. And we will pay special attention to Boris Milojković, who plays in the pole position, when he plays in his primary position.
In the lineup, Nikola Stanković is already a standard representative of Serbia. Just like Nemanja Stošić, who, together with Stanković, makes an ideal center pair in our opinion. The team’s main playmaker is Srđan Božić, who, in our opinion, has the quality for the national team. There is also Nikola Stašić, who with his size and speed makes a modern wing, which is the trend in world rugby.
3 concerns for next season
The first line of scrum
This is not only a concern for Rad, but also for the Serbian national team. We have players in the position of pillars who are already at the end of their careers. Predrag Vraneš was born in 1986. and Vladimir Đukić and Stevan Nikolić are born in 1988 . Uroš Jončić, who plays in the position of hooker, also transferred 30. years of life. Although they are already experienced players, they certainly have a few more good seasons in rugby ahead of them. But you should also think about younger options. Milan Trujkić (2001) plays in the position of hooker, so there are not too many problems regarding the successor.
As for the prop, Boris Milojković (2004) is the true heir. This season, he showed his skills in the scrum at the U18 match against Croatia, when the Serbian scrum was dominant. He is definitely a player that we will pay special attention to, because next season he should perform in his natural position. Danijel Stojanović was also projected as a pillar in the younger categories, but due to his exceptional mobility and technique, he mostly played in the third line. While in the junior competition, where rugby 7 is played, he even played at center and flayhalf. We are not sure how much he will perform in the first line, but we will definitely follow the outcome.
Among the players who will enter the seniors next season in the pole position, we also have Dusan Jovanović (2005), who we believe can make an immediate difference on the field. We saw what he and Milojković were able to do in the match against Croatia. As far as the first line is concerned, the future is very much at the door of the first team.
Presentation of players born in 2005. in the first team
Although the players in 2005 age could perform in the senior competition last season as well, Rada’s coaching staff did not want, nor did they have to take a risk and insert their youth team into the first team. As a reminder, a player can play in the senior competition at the age of 17 with special permits. The only thing is that he cannot perform in the first line. The development of players in younger categories is in the first place, which we consider a good decision. However, players who were born in 2005. they will turn 18 next year and are already slowly knocking on the senior door.
The coaching tandem Kapor/Rastovac will have a hard time when their juniors become seniors, because they will get very good players. They will have a big challenge of how to accept them and how to work on their future development. We have already mentioned Jovanovic who plays in the position of the first line, there are also Noa Gruecmacher and Igor Švraka who can play in the position of the second and third line. Matija Pelva is one of the best juniors and he can cover several positions in the line. Excellent technique and speed allow him to do that. These are all players who can make an immediate impact on the first team and who are ready for senior rugby.
Rehabilitation of long-term injuries
Over the last couple of years, some of Rad’s key players have suffered serious injuries. Only this autumn, Rad was left without the help of Uroš Babić, who has been indisputable for several seasons at the position of defender. A player who is one of the most important screws of both the club and the national team. Uros is still in his rugby prime, and he can certainly provide a few more seasons at a high level. Special attention must be paid to his rehabilitation process.
Mirko Ranković (1994) has been injured for several seasons. During several seasons, Mirko was one of the pillars of Rad’s game and the national team. He suffered a very inconvenient injury and his rehabilitation needs to be carefully planned. We believe that a player like Mirko is extremely important both for the club and the national team. We look forward to his return.
If the players are healthy and without injuries, RK Rad has an extremely strong team. When we add to that the young people who come from the youth facility, we can say that the future is assured.
