Andriy Kovalenco (born 12 July 1971, in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

) is a Ukrainian-born Spanish rugby union player. He plays as a fly-half.

Career

Kovalenco started playing rugby at 14 years old, in Aviator Kiev, where he had his first game for the premier team aged only 16. He played for Aviator Kyiv from 1987/88 to 1988/89. Due to the military service he had to move to VVA Moscow, the Army team, where he would play from 1989/90 to 1990/91. He won one Soviet League title and two Soviet Cups with VVA Moscow. He had his first game for the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in 1990, aged only 19 years old. He then returned to Aviator Kyiv, playing there from 1991/92 to 1993/94. He then moved to the Spanish side of

CRC Madrid Noroeste The Club de Rugby Pozuelo, also known as CRC Pozuelo, is a Spanish rugby union club sited in Pozuelo de Alarcón. The club currently competes in the División de Honor, the top division of Spanish rugby. The senior squad plays its matches at Cam ...

, that he would represent most of his career, from 1994/95 to 2003/04. He won the Spanish League in 1999/2000 and three titles of the Copa del Rey, in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He also would play for

Barcelona Universitari Club Barcelona Universitari Club is a Spanish rugby team based in Barcelona established in 1929. Between 2002 and 2009, the club signed a collaboration convenium with USA Perpignan. History The beginning In 1929, a group of players from different clubs ...

, from 2004/05 to 2005/06,

FC Barcelona Rugby Futbol Club Barcelona Rugby is a Spanish rugby union club. The senior team currently plays in División de Honor, the premier level of Spanish rugby union. Formed in 1924, the club is a member of the FC Barcelona family. The club currently plays ...

, from 2006/07 to 2007/08, and once again for Barcelona Universitari Club, since 2008/09. Kovalenco played for three National Teams, the Soviet Union,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and after becoming a Spanish citizen,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He had 37 caps during this time, being one of the highest scoring players for Spain during his international career, from 1998 to 2006, with 2 tries, 11 conversions, 49 penalties and 1 drop goal, for an aggregate of 220 points. He played two games at the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

, scoring 5 penalties, all the entire 15 points score in the 27–15 loss to

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

External links

Andrei Kovalenco (USSR) International Statistics

Andrei Kovalenco Interview (Spanish)
1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Kyiv Soviet rugby union players Ukrainian rugby union players Spanish rugby union players Ukrainian emigrants to Spain Rugby union fly-halves Spain international rugby union players 1999 Rugby World Cup players {{rugbyunion-bio-stub