The Welsh Rugby League team came to Smederevo to play against Serbia on 25 October, in the second round of the European Cup. I was born and grew up in Wales, and played rugby when I was young, so naturally I was keen to see the game. It was good to see the Welsh flag, with its red dragon, flying alongside the Serbian flag over the stadium. Smederevo Mayor Predrag Umićević also came to enjoy the game. Rugby League is still a growing sport in Serbia; the Welsh team are all full-time professionals, while most of the Serbian team are not, so it was no surprise that Wales won. But it was the enthusiasm of the Serbian team that stood out, together with the encouragement they are getting from other Rugby League nations and teams. One of the Serbian team members plays professionally for an English team, Whitehaven in Cumbria, in North West England, and so Whitehaven have loaned Serbia a trainer and a physiotherapist to help them prepare for the contest. A former international player from New Zealand is also working with the Serbian team; and there are players from England and Australia playing for Serbia because they have Serbian parents or grandparents.
The Rugby League authorities want more countries to play; they need 40 countries to play for the game to be fully recognised internationally. At the moment, Serbia is leading the way as the only country in the Balkans to play, so everyone wants to help the game grow here and spread in time to other countries in the region. The Serbian team goes to Wales in two weeks' time, to play against Italy. Whatever the result, the real benefit for the Serbian side is the international practice they are getting. If the game goes on growing, Serbia could be a real force in Rugby League in a few years' time.
Posted at 09:51 26 October 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[0]
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Today we are hosting an entry written by Bill Longhurst, Deputy Head of Missionin the British Embassy in Belgrade.
The European Rugby league championships were held last week in Belgrade and I was invited to attend the matches and present the winners with their trophies: England, France and Wales contested the Championship itself, and Serbia, Scotland and a mixed team called European Celts (made up of Irish, Czechs, Russians and some others) fought over the European shield for emerging Rugby League countries.
All the matches were held in scorching weather conditions (by UK standards) at the small sports stadium on “Ada Ciganlija”, an island in the Sava river which is covered in lakes, cycle tracks, sports fields and clubs/ restaurants. Anyone expecting a leisurely kick-around by school youngsters would have been quite surprised. The average size of the players looked pretty intimidating to me, as did the ferocity and sheer physicality of the tackling.
The speed, skill and energy levels, especially with the temperature in the high 30s, were very impressive – not surprising considering that several of the players from the top three countries have already been signed up by professional clubs at home.
England (with the current England senior team coach and former international Tony Smith in charge) met France in the final on Saturday after both teams had defeated the Welsh in hard-fought matches earlier in the week.
What looked like it was heading for a comfortable victory for England mid way through the second half, suddenly turned more tense as the French hit back with a converted try. Finally, though, the English kicked a penalty goal to restore a two-score lead of 8 points and held on to clinch the match 22-14.
In the European shield final match between Scotland and Serbia, it was a similar story with Scotland, complete with piper accompaniment from the touchline throughout the match, controlling the game but then having to survive a late fight-back by the Serbs. In the end, Scotland held on to win 26-16 and took the Shield.
All in all, a good week for British teams in Serbia, but just as good a week for the development of Rugby League outside its current heartlands. Serbia, Russia and Czech Republic are all target countries for this and judging by the Serbian crowd’s enthusiastic reaction, they are on to a winner. Credit goes to the Serbian Rugby League’s tireless organiser, Jovan Vujosevic for making the tournament happen.
Posted at 14:19 24 August 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[0]
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Today we are hosting an entry written by Bill Longhurst, Deputy Head of Mission.
For the past few years there have been regular visits to Serbia by some Welsh Scout troops for camping with their Serbian counterparts. The latest visit started last Friday when scouts from two troops (Caerphilly and West Wales) took a 19 hour journey from Wales via Sofia (better served by low-cost airlines than Belgrade…) to the most easterly region of Serbia on the Danube.
Having met many of the same friends before when they camped with local scout troops near Sremska Mitrovica last year, this seemed the perfect opportunity to put into action a vague plan I have had since arriving here two years ago to visit this less-explored part of Serbia. So after packing my family into our car on Saturday morning, we set off along the Danube for the three hour drive from Belgrade to Kladovo, passing Golubac castle mid-route.
Archeology students could spend many happy hours digging in this region. Remains of stone-age, Roman, Hungarian and Turkish settlements and fortifications can be found here. We were particularly impressed, unexpectedly, by the remains of the Roman fort, “Diana”. The site has no real entrance and can be found off a rough track off the main road just east of the main Djerdap hydro-electric dam outside Kladovo with no obvious signpost. This fact, and the few grainy photos of the ruins I’d seen in some tourist literature, had led me to expect a few shapeless stones overgrown with weeds. But the reality is an impressive array of walls, arches, tiled areas, and even raised floors revealing the underfloor heating ducts, all against the spectacular backdrop of the Danube and the imposing dam. Equally as important historically are the remaining pillars of a now ruined Roman bridge built by the emperor Trajan across the Danube further east from Kladovo, which is said to have been the longest bridge in the world for more than a thousand years.
South from Kladovo the road follows the Danube as it winds its way along, forming the border between Serbia and Romania and, further down, with Bulgaria. Just 20km from Kladovo is the small town of Brza Palanka where the scouts were making camp right on the riverbank with their counterparts from Nis. The ties between Welsh and Serbian scouts have been growing steadily over the past few years and have inspired contacts in other fields such as that between fire brigades in Wales and Sremska Mitrovica.
It is not hard to see why the Welsh scouts return regularly to Serbia: great camping weather, strong friendships between the troops and a host of outdoor activities on offer. For this trip they had planned hikes, camping by caves, by monasteries and cruising through the Iron Gates gorge on the Danube as well as water sports by the camp. I was told that the water quality of the Danube between the two Djerdap dams is in fact very good and is perfect for swimming with none of the strong currents you would normally expect in a river that size. The Nis scout leader presented me with a ceremonial Roman coin from the region – a reminder that no fewer than three Roman emperors were born in modern-day Nis.
My only regret is that I had just a weekend there rather than the much longer time needed to visit other local towns like Negotin or sample some of the local wine in the vineyards of the region. But I will be back there at some point, and it is very likely the Welsh scouts will be back in Fruska Gora in 2011 to help the Serbian Scout movement celebrate its centenary.
Posted at 10:15 05 August 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[0]
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Today I will host a blog entry written by Alex Ingram, Third Secretary of the British Embassy in Belgrade.
On Friday, June 5, 2009 , three of our Embassy staff members - who have supported the local Belgrade Cricket Association since its start - took part in possibly the first ever cricket match in Serbia (does anyone out there know better?), in the village of Karlovcic, 30 kilometers west of Belgrade. The Belgrade side fielded a mainly Serbian team, with support from British, Indian and Pakistani players. They faced a touring side from North Wales, 'Carmel & District Cricket Club'. The Welsh club had played, or were due to play, sides in Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Macedonia during their tour of South East Europe.
The locals had done a good job with the pitch, and the visiting team were given a fantastic welcome - even down to the enthusiastic autograph-hunters! Also, the weather had taken a turn for the better, and instead of the torrential rain of the previous week, we were lucky enough to have a perfect day for cricket.
The UK team batted first, and managed to score 172 runs. This left an attainable target for the Belgrade side to aim for. After lunch they went into bat, and managed to put together a respectable 107 all out. This 65-run loss was by no means a failure, and it was testament to the work the Belgrade team had put in before the game that they had put up such a good fight against the more experienced team.
As well as being an important day for the Belgrade Cricket Association, it was also a very enjoyable day out. There were opportunities to enjoy some Serbian hospitality (rakija included!), and hopefully a few people were inspired to pick up a bat themselves. The Belgrade Cricket Association have made great progress so far, and have big plans for the future. Have a look at their website for more information on the BCA, and the game of cricket itself, and for contact details. The BCC are happy to answer any questions, and always keen to welcome new players to the weekly training sessions. It's informal and fun, and as demonstrated here, there is clearly potential for those who wish to take it further.
How long before a Serbian national side takes to the field?
Any Comments? - in Serbian or in English?
Posted at 14:56 10 June 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[0]
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