SOLDIER TAKING ON RUGBY COACH DUTY
AFORMER professional rugby player and current serving soldier has begun training the Estonian rugby team during a deployment to the country.
Corporal Chris Budgen, who has played for clubs which include Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints, is currently stationed in Tapa, more than 80 miles from the Russian border.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh have been deployed to the Baltic state as part of Nato’s Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) – established to deter Kremlin aggression.
The 45-year-old, who is originally from New Zealand and has completed tours of Iraq and Afghanistan during his 20 years in the Army, said that although soldiering comes first he is offering a helping hand on the side.
Cpl Budgen said the Estonian play- ers were very keen to learn, adding that they give 100% and go 100 miles an hour during Sunday training.
“It is quite easy to coach because they are so enthusiastic and they just want to learn. It is quite good, you know – they are quite fit boys,” he said.
“I think it is something that is a bit of a challenge for myself – going right back to the grass roots, it is purely amateur out here – but they are so keen.”
Watching one of the training sessions which was taking place on an indoor football pitch in the capital Tallinn was Ragnar Toompere, president of the Estonian Rugby Union.
The 41-year-old said rugby within Estonia is not a sport which is widely played and the cold winter conditions can be a hindrance.
“Our season is from April until November if we are lucky, so [it is] hard to keep consistency in getting people involved,” he said as a thick layer of snow slid off the roof.
Having only established the Estonian Rugby Union 10 years ago, Mr Toompere said they were working to bring it into schools but faced stiff competition from football, volleyball and basketball.
“Rugby has never been a sport in our country so we have started from roughly zero and it has been a bit of a ride,” he added.
Describing the coaching from Cpl Budgen, he said the former prop was calm but forceful in his approach in imparting his knowledge to the players.
“I think incredible would be on the insulting side in how [good] it is for us [having him coach] – it is absolutely brilliant,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone playing at his level has ever been to Estonia so from that side it is absolutely amazing.”
Mr Toompere said 5th Battalion The Rifles kicked off the training scheme last summer, helping them to improve their skills and providing coaching.
Quizzed on what Cpl Budgen is like as a coach, Kristjan Kotkas, 31, who plays for and is the president of Tallinn Kalev RFC, said having him was “fantastic”.
“What our guys really like is encouragement – the Estonian nature is more towards that rather than the whip, which tends to backfire sometimes,” he said.
“But he is very supportive and optimistic and I think the guys really appreciate that. I don’t think there is a coach regionally who is that accomplished in rugby.”
Cpl Budgen said that, with enthusiastic and fit players, plus the right infrastructure, once the sport takes hold properly Estonia will be a strong rugby-playing country.
“I reckon if they get the funding and the backing they can go a long way,” he said.