The most interesting rugby in all competitions
Although RK Dinamo 1954 won the competition without defeat in as many as four tournaments, excluding them, all teams were very even. Dinamo had a couple of challenges, but they managed to keep their invincibility. In total, there were 6 teams in the competition, namely: RK Dinamo 1954, RK Rad, BRK Crvena Zvezda, RK Čelik, RK Kruševac and RK Borac Starčevo. A series of four tournaments has been played, and we can absolutely be satisfied with all aspects of the competition.
We haven’t had a situation where all teams can be competitive for a long time. Of course, if they are complete. If we were to compare with last year, this year’s competition is far ahead of the competition from a year ago. Especially because this year’s competition was extremely interesting and interesting. Those who were lucky could enjoy great matches. We believe that these generations are of exceptional quality and that special attention should be paid to them.
Unfortunately, although rugby 7 has been played in the junior competition for more than two years, our team did not participate in the European Championship that took place in Latvia last weekend. Our opinion is that a great opportunity was missed to achieve an excellent result, as well as to work on creating a cult of the national team. According to what we had the opportunity to see, only Switzerland drastically jumped in quality, which we don’t think would cause too many problems for ours.
Equal level of rugby
Dinamo was definitely unassailable in all tournaments, but after the third tournament everything was mathematically clear as far as the fight for the title was concerned. But the rest of the teams were extremely even. As many as three teams won second place in tournaments. The remarkable progress of all teams from the first to the last tournament was seen. And not only the team, but individual players. One of the players even played for the senior national team, in rugby 7 and rugby 15. While a huge number recorded appearances for the U18s national team, which participated in a training camp in Zagreb, and played a test match against Bulgaria in Petrovac na Mlava. We can be satisfied with the quality of players at this age. We must not ignore that a large number of players already play a significant role in the senior teams.
| Поз (Pos) | Екипа (Team) | У(GP) | Б(Pts) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  RK Dinamo 1954 | 4 | 40 |
| 2 |  RK Rad | 4 | 26 |
| 3 |  BRK Crvena Zvezda | 4 | 20 |
| 4 |  RK Čelik | 3 | 18 |
| 5 |  RK Kruševac | 4 | 14 |
| 6 |  RK Borac Starčevo | 4 | 12 |
Lack of props, hookers and locks
How satisfied can we be with the level of play in the Rugby 7s competition. We can conclude that the first and second line players “suffered” the most. Rugby 7 is an Olympic discipline and not exactly for heavyweights. If rugby 10 was played, the first and second lines would have the opportunity to play equally, that is, to play a game that is closer to traditional rugby. Scrum positioning is not taught in senior rugby, it is taught in theU18s categories. A large number of players either gave up training or lost motivation to train for rugby sevens. When we look at the fact that almost all the pillars in our senior national team are over 35 years old, it only tells us that the player development strategy must be planned more carefully.
Tournament conditions and media presentation
We can point out that the conditions, i.e. the fields on which the tournaments were played, were very good. Starting from the ball collectors, all the way to the organization itself, we must point out that everything was at a very satisfactory level. We cannot say that it was at the top level, because there was a lot of things to do and do. A lot of attention must be paid to the awards ceremony, where the medals and trophies must be presented by someone in a high position in the Association, with a suitable speech emphasizing the importance of the children who should be the taste of the senior teams in the future.
When you have a great and uncertain competition, your goal must be to showcase it as well as possible. Why not brag when, together with Čelik, you have six teams in the competition, where very good rugby is played. It is necessary to invest in filming the tournament, as well as taking photos with increased presentation in the media. It’s a real shame that more people didn’t watch and watch the U18 competition.
Screening of the competition in the fall
Our great desire is to see a competition in the junior competition where rugby 15 is played. If there were 4 teams in such a competition, we would be at a very high level as a sport. However, this is absolutely impossible in the fall for several reasons. The first reason is that most of the players also play for seniors. In the senior competition, where the idea was to play as much as possible, there are a large number of postponed games, where, for example, Zvezda and Dinamo should play 8 senior games each in the autumn part. With the obligations of the U18 national team, we come to the conclusion that it will be very questionable whether there will be four tournaments in rugby 7.
Starting from autumn, the age groups in the U18 junior competition are changing. Players born in 2004 and 2005. have the right to participate in the competition, while players who were born in 2006. can perform with special permits and medical examinations. As for the numbers, we shouldn’t worry because there weren’t many players who were born in 2003. ,so the situation should not change drastically. If RK Celik would participate in the competition, we think that 6 teams would still take part in the competition. We will try to analyze each team individually, so that we can make a projection as close as possible.
RK Dinamo 1954
Pančevci will definitely be without their two, maybe even their best players, David Pal and Ivan Voštić. A duo that was quite dominant. Voštic was extremely dominant, which is normal because he established himself in the senior national team, where he showed enviable quality. However, Dinamo will have an extremely strong team, which will certainly be the first favorite to win the Serbian Championship. Led by Kuzmanović, Košpić, Krkljuš and others, they will be extremely competitive and strong.
RK Rad
None of the holders of the Gradjevinar game will play in the seniors. The team remains together, as far as the core is concerned, except that it will be reinforced with young forces. It remains for us to see how far Stojanović, Pelva, Jovanović and others can reach. If their health helps them and if they are at a high level, they can mess with everyone. If young players work well and hard over the summer, they can completely change the face of their team.
BRK Crvena Zvezda
The team from Ada will be significantly weakened because the duo of Igor Lučić and Dobrivoje Lojanica are going to the seniors. Lojanica received a scholarship to Nice, where he will study and play rugby, so we wish him the best of luck. It will not be easy for Zvezda to compensate for the lack of these two players, however, the enormous talent of Dragan Kokanović and Momčilo Kralj must come to the fore. If they are in good form, they can beat anyone, of course, with a complete and quality team.
RK Kruševac
From September, Kruševljani will be without the help of Jovan Krsmanović, who was one of the fastest players in the competition. But the engines of the team in the form of Nemanja Lazić and Aleksa Jovanović remain, along with the almost complete team. As time went on they only improved and put on great plays. If they work well and hard, they can expect to fight for medals.
RK Čelik
Celik was extremely good, they would certainly have taken a better place in the final standings if they had participated in all the tournaments. Kavazović, Mešković and company have shown excellent rugby skills, so expectations are very high for the next season. Especially if we know that quality young players from the U16s team, are coming to them.
RK Borac Starčevo
A year older and a year more experienced. The quality is there, if they are healthy, in training and if the numbers are maintained, we least expect a fight for medals from Starčevo. Some players who play in the junior categories have been in rugby so long that we don’t remember the rugby before them. All kidding aside, a team that when focused and healthy can be the best. We want to see more of Dalibor Spasić, Ivan Salihović, Aleksandar Avdiović and Jovan Radovanović.
If we assume that rugby 7 will be played during the autumn, we think there is a minimal chance that another team will join the team. Previously, GRK Vršac and RK Loznica had very good players at these ages, but they haven’t competed in the younger categories for almost a year. However, we need to maintain continuity and nurture these five teams that we already have in the competition.
In terms of the competition system, we don’t think it’s realistic to play 15’s rugby. As we have already stated, the senior competition must also be included in the calculation, which, along with the junior national team, leaves minimal time for a more serious competition. So there is expected to be a rugby sevens tournament this fall, we’ll see if there will be three or four.
Strengthening the quality and education of trainers
Clubs must take player development into account. The absolute goal is to sharpen the potential into quality, and one must think about quality trainers or the continuous education of the existing staff. We have an excellent base that should be used to the maximum. Nothing happens by chance or suddenly. If we want quality in Serbian rugby, we must invest in young players and coaches. If continuity is achieved and quality is added to it, we can hope for a bright future for our sport.
