Edmund Ludik: “I love winter in Russia, but right now we are lacking sun”

25-year-old South African three-quarter Kazan Strela-Ak Bars Edmund Ludik, in an interview with , spoke about the most successful moment in his career, life in Russia and what South Africans lack in our country.

— Edmond, tell me how you spent your vacation. What did you do? Where did you rest?

– I spent time with my family. We don’t see each other often during the year as I’m in Russia most of the time, so returning home to Pretoria is always my top priority. My girlfriend also came to visit me for the first time in South Africa, I showed her around and took her to see the big animals on safari – elephants, lions, buffaloes, leopards and rhinos.

— How are the preparations going for the new part of the season? Did you study on an individual program in South Africa?

– Everything is fine. The state in which all the guys returned after the vacation is very encouraging. In South Africa, I worked out at the gym with my brother. I didn’t run too much because we have a very long pre-season training and we have enough time to catch up.

— How do you evaluate the first part of the season? This is probably the best period of your entire career in Kazan?

— It was one of the most memorable moments of my career, especially when we won the PARI Russian Cup and presented it in Kazan to our loyal fans. And of course, two victories in two rounds of the Russian Rugby Sevens Championship. It was a good year, and me and the team are grateful for that, but we are hungry for more victories.

— Do you like the PARI Russian Championship? What features would you note?

— I really like playing in Russia. Rugby here requires serious physical training and the skill of the game improves every year.

— You have been in Russia for quite a long time, tell us how you settled in?

“Honestly, it’s a second home to me.” My Russian has improved, so I can at least communicate a little with people. I love winter because it never snows in South Africa. I would say that I settled in well and really enjoyed my time in Russia.

— Which South Africans from other clubs in our league do you communicate with?

— In “Russian Barbarians,” everyone is friends with each other. I also communicate a lot with Lawrence Pretorius from Krasny Yar, we are good friends. Additionally, we trained together in South Africa.

— What is the most unusual thing about life in our country??

“We South Africans are not used to extreme cold, so we miss the sun in winter.” And biltong and drowworth are South African meat snacks. There aren’t enough of them either!