Nikita Filippov: “It is fundamentally important to organize the matches of the Russian national team for spectators”

The defender of Novokuznetsk Metallurg and the Russian national rugby team, in an interview with , summed up the results of the first part of the season, talked about his call-up to the national team and the upcoming match against the Russian Barbarians .

– If we take Metallurg specifically, the championship started badly for us – two defeats against our main rivals – a very bad result. Then we went out and accomplished what we set out to do. We wanted to be in the top five, that’s why we had so many emotions after the victory over Slava. The championship becomes more and more interesting every year. Teams are ranked by level and it is often impossible to choose a favorite.

— Will this be your first match in the form of a confrontation between the Russian national team and the Barbarians?

— I haven’t played in such matches yet. It seems to me that it is fundamentally important to organize such matches, first of all for the spectators, so that people remember and know that there is a Russian national rugby team. It is very important to organize various competitions at the national team level in order to generate interest in the national team. For players, it sets a certain tone: life goes on.

— Is it interesting to play against foreign players in our championship?

— It’s new for me, it’s very interesting to see all the best rugby players in the same team. In the championship, they stand out individually, with quality performances. It will be really interesting to play when they play for the same team.

— Will this be your first match for the national team?

– Yes. Of course, this is the goal of any athlete: to play for the Russian national team and participate in international tournaments. Only now have I managed to join the Russian national rugby-15 team.

— Tell us about your injury, because of which you gave up rugby for a long time…

— I missed a year and a half, in principle, now everything is fine. This damage will never completely go away, there will be pain and discomfort, and you will have to move on. I don’t pay attention to games, of course. It was probably difficult emotionally, it turns out in itself that you cannot give everything. Hopefully I’ll get used to it soon and come back fully.