Valeriy Morozov (Russian: Валерий Морозов) (born 21 September 1994)[1] is a Russian professional rugby union player for Bath and the Russian National Team. His position is loosehead prop.[2] He has previously played for Sale Sharks and Worcester Warriors in the Premiership.[3]
| Date of birth | 21 September 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Moscow, Russia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 115 kg (18 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editBorn in Moscow, Russia, from the age of 7 Valeriy was engaged in volleyball, fulfilled the standard of a candidate for the master of sports. At the age of 14, he realized that he does not have a great sports future in volleyball, his height of 1.91 was not enough for professional career. Therefore, Valery moved to the rugby section.[4]
Club career
editStarted playing rugby in his hometown Zelenograd. Then he began to play for the local amateur club in the position Number 8. At the end of 2015, Valeriy signed a contract for 3 years with the professional club Enisei-STM. Changed position on the field and began to play prop. He won all possible titles in Russia. In December 2018, Valeriy signed a contract with the English club Sale Sharks.[5] Thanks to the recommendations of Andrei Ostrikov and Vadim Cobilas.[5] On 9 March 2019 Valery was named as Man of the Match as he scored in Sale's Premiership Rugby win over Leicester Tigers.[6]
On 23 June 2021 Sale Sharks confirmed that he would be leaving the club at the end of the 2020–21 season.[7] He returned to Russia to play at CSKA Rugby in Moscow.
Morozov returned to England later on that year with Bath Rugby announcing on the 29 December that he would be joining the club as cover for the injured Beno Obano until the end of the season.[8][9]
He signed for Worcester Warriors for the 2022–23 season but returned to Bath on 3 October 2022 as short-term injury cover. Worcester Warriors entered administration and all players' contracts were subsequently terminated on 5 October 2022.[10][11]
International career
editValeriy's debut for the Russian national team was on 11 November 2016 in Hong Kong against Zimbabwe,[12] where he helped the Russian "Bears" win the 2016 Cup of Nations. His debut try was in the match against Romania in the 2017 Rugby Europe Championship.[13]
International tries
edit- As of 19 November 2021 [14]
| Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Romania |
Sochi, Russia | Sochi Central Stadium | 2017 Rugby Europe Championship | 4 March 2017 | Loss | 10 – 30 |
| 2 |  Netherlands |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | NRCA Stadium | 2021 Rugby Europe Championship | 6 November 2021 | Win | 8 – 35 |
Honours
edit- Russian Championships (3): 2016, 2017, 2018
- Russian Cup (2): 2016, 2017
- Russian Supercup (1): 2017
- European Rugby Continental Shield (2): 2016–17, 2017–18
- Premiership Rugby Cup: 2019–20.
- Cup of Nations (2): 2016, 2017
- World Rugby Nations Cup runner-up (1): 2017
- Rugby Europe International Championships runner-up (1): 2018
References
edit- ^ "Valery Morozov". ESPN. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Valery Morozov Sale Profile". Sale Sharks. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Valeriy Morozov - Player Profile". Bath Rugby. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ "TRK7 Valery Morozov".
- ^ a b "Valery Morozov: Sale Sharks sign Russia international prop from Enisei-STM". BBC. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Match Reaction: Sale Sharks 32-5 Leicester Tigers". Premiership Rugby. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Sale Sharks confirm departing players". Sale Sharks. 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Welcome to Bath Rugby, Valery Morozov!". Bath Rugby. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ "Bath Rugby sign Russia prop Valery Morozov". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ "'Like the Titanic': Diamond dismayed as ruling terminates Worcester contracts | Worcester | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
- ^ "Valery MOROZOV - Player statistics - It's rugby". www.itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ "Russia (19) 19 - 15 (6) Zimbabwe (FT)". ESPN. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Russia (3) 10 - 30 (14) Romania (FT)". ESPN. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ "Valery Morozov". 19 November 2021.