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Russia national rugby union team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Russia women's national rugby union team.
Russia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nicknamesмедведи (Medvedi, The Bears)
EmblemRussian Bear
UnionRugby Union of Russia
Head coachAleksandr Pervukhin
CaptainVictor Gresev
Most capsYuri Kushnarev (120)
Top scorerYuri Kushnarev (797)
Top try scorerVasily Artemyev (29)
Home stadiumVarious
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current25 (as of 3 July 2022)
Highest16 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Lowest26 (2005)
First international
 Soviet Union 28–0 Czechoslovakia 
(Soviet Union; 31 August 1975)
as Russian Federation
Unofficial
 Russia 27–23 Barbarians
(Moscow, Russia; 6 June 1992)
Official
 Belgium 11–17 Russia 
(Brussels, Belgium; 11 October 1992)
Biggest win
 Denmark 7–104 Russia 
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 13 May 2000)
Biggest defeat
 Japan 75–3 Russia 
(Tokyo, Japan; 6 November 2010)
World Cup
Appearances2 (First in 2011)
Best resultPool stage (2011, 2019)
Websiterugby.ru

The Russia national rugby union team (Russian: Сборная России по регби), nicknamed Medvedi (The Bears), represented Russia in men's international rugby union international competitions. The team is administered by the Rugby Union of Russia (RUR). The RUR is considered the official successor union of the Soviet Union by World Rugby and the combined CIS team which played in the early 1990s. Since 1992, the team has played as Russia. Its first test match as Russia was against the Barbarians in Moscow in June 1992 and the country's first test against an official Test nation was against Belgium later that same year.[citation needed]

Russia is seen as a Tier 2 union by World Rugby.[1] The team's regular international competition was in the Rugby Europe Championship – often referred to as the Six Nations B. In addition, the team participated in World Rugby-run summer tournaments including the Nations Cup, the dormant Churchill Cup, and other international fixtures.[citation needed]

Russia competed in their first Rugby World Cup (RWC) in New Zealand in 2011 after qualifying as Europe 2 through their second-place finish in the 2009–10 ENC. Russia played in Pool C and finished fifth, scoring one point. Previous qualification campaigns saw elimination to Portugal ahead of the 2007 tournament, and expulsion from 2003 qualifying for Russia's breaches of eligibility rules. The team also unsuccessfully attempted to qualify for the 1995 and 1999 Rugby World Cups. They competed in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan by qualifying as Europe 1 as a result of Spain, Romania and Belgium being eliminated.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, World Rugby and Rugby Europe suspended Russia from international and European continental rugby union competition. In addition, the Rugby Union of Russia was suspended from World Rugby and Rugby Europe.[2][3]

History

[edit]
Georgia v. Russia, 24 March 2007

The Rugby Union of the Soviet Union was founded in 1936, although the national side did not play its first official international until 1974.[citation needed]

The Soviet Union took time to establish itself, but by the mid-1980s was regularly beating the likes of Italy and Romania. The team was invited to the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, but declined on political grounds, not least the continued IRB membership of apartheid South Africa.[4] Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russian players played for the interim Commonwealth of Independent States team, which played four matches during 1991 and 1992.[citation needed]

The first game played by the new Russian national team took place on June 6, 1992, when Russia beat the Barbarians 27–23. Russia's first game against a full IRB member was versus Belgium four months later in the 1992/4 FIRA-AER European Trophy. That edition of the tournament saw Russia secure its first, and to-date only, win over Georgia. Russia continued to participate until realignment of FIRA-AER competitions in 2000.[citation needed]

The Russian national side has since played its regular competitive rugby in FIRA-AER's European Nations Cup, the second level mirror tournament to the Six Nations. Russia replaced Morocco in the top tier in 2001 and have stayed there ever since. The Russian side has yet to win the title.[citation needed] The team has played in the now-defunct Superpowers Cup, winning the tournament once, the Nations Cup, the Churchill Cup, and most recently the IRB's International Rugby Series.[citation needed] The RUR attempted to gain greater participation in the autumn test window, and was being integrated into World Rugby's global test match schedule.[1]

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, World Rugby and Rugby Europe suspended Russia from international and European continental rugby union competition. In addition, the Rugby Union of Russia was suspended from World Rugby and Rugby Europe.[2][3]

Rugby World Cup

[edit]
Main article: Russia at the Rugby World Cup

World Cup record

[edit]
World Cup record World Cup Qualification record
Year Round P W D L F A P W D L F A
AustraliaNew Zealand 1987 Declined invitation -
United KingdomIrelandFrance 1991 did not enter did not enter
South Africa 1995 did not qualify 4 3 0 1 125 49
Wales 1999 4 1 0 3 85 92
Australia 2003 Banned 6 5 0 1 176 114
France 2007 did not qualify 14 6 1 7 382 323
New Zealand 2011 Pool Stage 4 0 0 4 57 196 10 7 1 2 291 175
England 2015 did not qualify 12 7 0 5 269 300
Japan 2019 Pool Stage 4 0 0 4 19 160 10 4 0 6 249 201
France 2023 Disqualified Disqualified
Australia 2027
United States 2031 TBD TBD
Total 2/11 8 0 0 8 76 356 50 29 2 19 1328 1053

Early qualifying attempts (1987 – 2007)

[edit]

The Soviet Union declined to take up its invite to take part in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup on the basis of the IRB membership by apartheid South Africa.[5] The Soviet Rugby Union was not an IRB member in time for 1991 Rugby World Cup qualifying.[citation needed]

In qualifying for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the first in which the national side was involved, Russia came through preliminary qualifying with wins over Poland and Georgia, before beating Germany but losing to Romania for the Eastern Europe spot.[citation needed] In European qualifying for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Russia finished fourth in Pool 1 in Round B, which was not enough to progress from a group also including Italy, Georgia, Croatia, and Denmark.[citation needed]

The Russian national side was expelled from qualifying for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, due to eligibility issues. Spain, who Russia had beaten in qualifying, protested the fielding of three South African-born players (Johan Hendriks, Reiner Volschenck and Werner Pieterse), whom the RUR claimed had qualified through ancestry. However, the RUR did not produce documentation deemed acceptable by the IRB, and Spain were re-instated in qualification in Russia's place.[6]

In 2007 Rugby World Cup qualifying, Russia came through European qualifying to a mini-group stage where they were pooled with Italy and Portugal. The winner would qualify directly and the second place team would continue the qualification process, with the third-placed team eliminated. After both losing heavily to Italy, Portugal and Russia met to determine progression to qualifying round 5. Russia lost the match, played in Lisbon, 26–23 and dropped out.[citation needed]

2011

[edit]

Russia qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand as Europe 2 after finishing second in the 2008–10 European Nations Cup. This marked the team's World Cup debut, with Russia becoming the 25th side to play at the tournament, where they faced Australia, Ireland, Italy and the United States in Group C of the tournament.[7]

Match results
Date Opponent Score Venue
15 Sep 2011  United States 6–13 Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
20 Sep 2011  Italy 17–53 Trafalgar Park, Nelson
25 Sep 2011  Ireland 12–62 International Stadium, Rotorua
1 Oct 2011  Australia 22–68 Trafalgar Park, Nelson

2015

[edit]
See also: 2015 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification

Russia finished third in European qualifying for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The top two teams in the final group— Georgia and Romania — immediately qualified for the 2015 tournament. Russia, as third-place finisher in the final group, faced Uruguay in a home-and-away two-game playoff. Uruguay won on aggregate and secured the 20th and final qualifying spot for the 2015 tournament, with Russia failing to qualify.[citation needed]

2019

[edit]
See also: 2019 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification

Russia once again finished third in European qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. However, after a controversial game played by Belgium and Spain (which was originally intended to be replayed), the issue of three teams in the group stage fielding ineligible players (Belgium, Romania, and Spain) was investigated by World Rugby and Rugby Europe. It was determined that all three teams had violated eligibility rules and gained an unfair advantage (both Romania and Spain defeated Russia) and were sanctioned, and thus, Russia advanced as the automatic qualifier, with Germany headed to the repechage against Portugal.[citation needed]

European Nations Cup

[edit]

As the Soviet Union, the side secured four straight silvers (all behind France and ahead of Italy and Romania) during the 1980s, and three bronzes.[citation needed] Russia first played the FIRA Trophy in the 1992–94 season. Since 2000, Russia's primary international competition is the European Nations Cup, administered by Rugby Europe and played, by-and-large, during the Six Nations international release window in February and March. Russia won the inaugural Division 2 competition, winning promotion to the top tier in 2000, where they have remained ever since.[citation needed] Since realignment, Russia has secured two runners-up spots and three third-place finishes.[citation needed]

In the 2011-12 season, Russia finished fourth with five wins and five losses. In the 2013-14 season, the team finished third with six wins and four losses. In the 2015-16 season, the Bears again claimed six wins and four losses to finish third. In the 2017 season, Russia finished fourth with two wins and three losses.[citation needed]

Players

[edit]

Current squad

[edit]

On the 23rd of January 2022, the following 26 players were called up for the 2022 Rugby Europe Championship.[8]

On the 24th of January, Vasily Artemyev was called up to the squad.[9] On the 26th and 27 January, Vladimir Podrezov and Alexei Golov as well as Victor Kononov and Alexander Gudok were called up to the squad.[10]

On 30 January, Victor Arhip was called up to the squad.[11] On the 1st of February, Ramil Gaisin was called up to the squad.[12]

On 7 February, Evgeny Mishechkin, Alexei Skobiola, Gleb Farkov, Kirill Golosnitsky, Vladislav Sozonov and Maxim Shevtsov were called up to the squad while Kirill Gotovtsev returned to his club.[13]

Head Coach: Russia Aleksandr Pervukhin

  • Caps updated: 8 February 2022

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Shamil Davudov Hooker (1995-04-25) 25 April 1995 (age 29) 1 Russia Kazan
Shamil Magomedov Hooker (1987-04-17) 17 April 1987 (age 37) 9 Russia Enisey-STM
Dmitry Parkhomenko Hooker (1995-11-02) 2 November 1995 (age 29) 4 Russia VVA Podmoskovye
Azamat Bitiev Prop (1989-12-09) 9 December 1989 (age 34) 25 Russia Enisey-STM
Nikoloz Kazalikashvili Prop (1992-08-06) 6 August 1992 (age 32) 1 Russia Kazan
Tamerlan Khubaev Prop (1998-04-25) 25 April 1998 (age 26) 0 Russia Dinamo Moscow
Evgeny Mishechkin Prop (1997-06-27) 27 June 1997 (age 27) 22 Russia Slava Moscow
Nikoloz Narmania Prop (2000-09-13) 13 September 2000 (age 24) 0 France Carcassonne
Vladimir Podrezov Prop (1994-01-27) 27 January 1994 (age 30) 40 Russia VVA Podmoskovye
Stepan Seryakov Prop (1997-09-26) 26 September 1997 (age 27) 1 Russia Enisey-STM
Alexei Skobiola Prop (1991-08-08) 8 August 1991 (age 33) 2 Russia Slava Moscow
Nikita Bekov Lock (1996-03-04) 4 March 1996 (age 28) 3 France Blagnac
Maxim Gargalîc Lock (1989-03-07) 7 March 1989 (age 35) 1 Russia Enisey-STM
Anton Makarenko Lock (1991-12-07) 7 December 1991 (age 32) 1 Russia Enisey-STM
German Silenko Lock (1995-08-09) 9 August 1995 (age 29) 7 Russia Lokomotiv Penza
Victor Arhip Back row (1990-02-24) 24 February 1990 (age 34) 1 Russia Krasny Yar
Artémy Gallo Back row (2000-10-07) 7 October 2000 (age 24) 2 France Suresnes
Vladimir Geraskin Back row (2000-05-21) 21 May 2000 (age 24) 1 Russia Lokomotiv Penza
Victor Gresev (c) Back row (1986-03-31) 31 March 1986 (age 38) 106 Russia Lokomotiv Penza
Nikita Vavilin Back row (1994-05-13) 13 May 1994 (age 30) 24 Russia Slava Moscow
Vitaly Zhivatov Back row (1992-02-16) 16 February 1992 (age 32) 19 Russia VVA Podmoskovye
Stepan Khokhlov Scrum-half (1998-05-09) 9 May 1998 (age 26) 6 Russia Slava Moscow
Efim Ryabishchuk Scrum-half (1999-03-16) 16 March 1999 (age 25) 1 Russia Enisey-STM
Alexey Shcherban Scrum-half (1990-11-17) 17 November 1990 (age 33) 49 Russia Enisey-STM
Gleb Farkov Fly-half (1997-05-14) 14 May 1997 (age 27) 1 Russia Dinamo Moscow
Ramil Gaisin Fly-half (1991-07-26) 26 July 1991 (age 33) 60 Russia Enisey-STM
Alexei Golov Fly-half (1992-01-24) 24 January 1992 (age 32) 3 Russia Kazan
Daniil Semenov Fly-half (2000-06-27) 27 June 2000 (age 24) 1 Russia CSKA Moscow
German Davydov Centre (1994-03-10) 10 March 1994 (age 30) 31 Russia VVA Podmoskovye
Dmitry Gerasimov Centre (1988-04-16) 16 April 1988 (age 36) 72 Russia Enisey-STM
Kirill Golosnitsky Centre (1994-05-30) 30 May 1994 (age 30) 23 Russia VVA Podmoskovye
Victor Kononov Centre (1996-05-26) 26 May 1996 (age 28) 6 Russia Enisey-STM
Vladislav Sozonov Centre (1993-10-09) 9 October 1993 (age 31) 13 Russia Lokomotiv Penza
Alexander Gudok Wing (1991-06-03) 3 June 1991 (age 33) 0 Russia Lokomotiv Penza
Andrei Karzanov Wing (1990-11-25) 25 November 1990 (age 33) 8 Russia Lokomotiv Penza
Alexey Mikhaltsov Wing (1991-07-24) 24 July 1991 (age 33) 11 Russia Enisey-STM
Daniil Potikhanov Wing (1999-11-30) 30 November 1999 (age 24) 8 Russia Lokomotiv Penza
Vasily Artemyev Fullback (1987-07-24) 24 July 1987 (age 37) 97 Russia CSKA Moscow
Maxim Shevtsov Fullback (2001-03-09) 9 March 2001 (age 23) 0 Russia Dinamo Moscow
Dmitry Sukhin Fullback (1995-01-15) 15 January 1995 (age 29) 1 Russia Krasny Yar

Current coaching staff

[edit]

The current coaching staff of the Russian national team:[14]

Name Nationality Role
Aleksandr Pervukhin  RUS Manager
Alexander Yanyushkin
VAkil Valeev		  RUS Head coach
Yuri Kushnarev  RUS Assistant coach
Vacant Strength & conditioning coach
Dr. Evgeny Trofimov  RUS Team doctor
Vacant Physiotherapist

Past Coaches

[edit]

Since 1992

Years Coach
–1992 Russia Petr Etko
1992–2000 Russia Vladimir Grachev
2001–2002 South Africa James Stoffberg
2003–2004 Russia Aleksandr Pervukhin
2004–2005 RussiaFrance Igor Mironov
2006 South Africa Blikkies Groenewald
2007–2008 France Claude Saurel
2008-2010 England Steve Diamond (Director of Rugby)
2008–2011 Russia Nikolay Nerush
2011–2014 Wales Kingsley Jones
2014 France Raphaël Saint-André (Interim)
2015–2018 Russia Aleksandr Pervukhin
2018 Ireland Mark McDermott (Interim)
2018–2021 Wales Lyn Jones
2021–2022 South Africa Dick Muir
2023– Russia Aleksandr Pervukhin

Stadiums and attendance

[edit]

The national team does not have a permanent home stadium and play their matches at various locations across Russia.[citation needed] After 2018 FIFA World Cup was held in Russia, the country received new large stadiums as a heritage. The Russian rugby union was given the opportunity to use these stadiums for the home games of the national team. The first big match took place in Moscow at VTB Arena as part of the warm-up to 2019 Rugby World Cup. In February 2020, Russia will host Portugal to the Kaliningrad Stadium.[citation needed]

The highest attended matches in Russia involving the Russian national team were:

Rank Attendance Opponent Date Venue Location
1 15,000  Italy 1998-04-18 Central Stadium Krasnoyarsk
2 15,000  Ireland 2002-09-21 Central Stadium Krasnoyarsk
3 12,000  Namibia 2018-11-10 Kuban Stadium Krasnodar
4 12,000  Portugal 2020-02-22 Kaliningrad Stadium Kaliningrad
5 11,500  Spain 2018-02-10 Kuban Stadium Krasnodar
6 10,000 United States USA Selects 2003-07-19 Central Stadium Krasnoyarsk
7 9,500  Georgia 2021-03-20 Kaliningrad Stadium Kaliningrad
8 8,237  Spain 2020-02-01 Fisht Stadium Sochi
9 8,000  Georgia 2008-04-12 Central Stadium Krasnoyarsk
10 8,000  Zimbabwe 2014-08-04 Central Stadium Krasnoyarsk
11 6,500 Ireland Connacht 2019-09-07 VTB Arena Moscow
12 6,000  Belgium 2018-02-17 Kuban Stadium Krasnodar
13 5,850  Georgia 2019-03-17 Kuban Stadium Krasnodar
14 5,100 Barbarian F.C. 1992-06-06 RZD Arena Moscow

Recent and upcoming fixtures

[edit]

Russia hasn't played in official tests after suspension in 2022.

The following table shows fixtures of the Russian national team in not official test matches during the previous 12 months.

Date Opponent Opp Rank Result Venue Event
2024-10-12 Russia Russian Barbarians n/a W 38-21 Russia Solidarnost Samara Arena, Samara Test match

World Rugby Rankings

[edit]
Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 as of 4 November 2024[15]
Rank Change[i] Team Points
1 Steady  Ireland 092.12
2 Steady  South Africa 091.77
3 Steady  New Zealand 089.67
4 Steady  France 086.96
5 Steady  England 084.43
6 Steady  Argentina 084.30
7 Steady  Scotland 083.39
8 Steady  Italy 079.98
9 Increase1  Australia 079.32
10 Decrease1  Fiji 079.07
11 Steady  Wales 076.04
12 Steady  Georgia 074.10
13 Steady  Samoa 072.68
14 Steady  Japan 072.31
15 Steady  Portugal 070.61
16 Steady  Tonga 068.12
17 Steady  Uruguay 067.39
18 Steady  Spain 066.29
19 Steady  United States 065.70
20 Steady  Romania 062.62
21 Steady  Chile 061.60
22 Steady  Canada 060.81
23 Steady  Hong Kong 060.40
24 Steady  Russia 058.06
25 Steady  Namibia 057.87
26 Increase1  Netherlands 057.29
27 Increase3  Belgium 056.51
28 Decrease2   Switzerland 056.04
29 Decrease1  Zimbabwe 056.03
30 Decrease1  Brazil 055.62
  1. ^ Change from the previous week
Russia's historical rankings
See or edit source data.
Source: World Rugby[15]
Graph updated to 4 November 2024

On introduction of the World Rugby Rankings in October 2003, Russia was ranked 23rd.[citation needed] As of March 2022, Russia was ranked 25th in the world.

Overall record

[edit]

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Russia national XV at test level up until 6 November 2021.[16]

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win % For Aga Diff
 Argentina Jaguars 5 0 5 0 0.00% 58 200 –142
 Argentina XV 2 2 0 0 100.00% 87 78 +9
 Australia 1 0 1 0 0.00% 22 68 –46
 Belgium 8 7 1 0 87.50% 275 148 +127
 Canada 5 1 4 0 20.00% 91 157 –66
 Chile 3 1 2 0 33.33% 98 83 +15
 Croatia 1 0 1 0 0.00% 16 23 –7
 Czech Republic 8 6 2 0 75.00% 309 104 +205
 Denmark 3 3 0 0 100.00% 191 28 +163
 England Saxons 1 0 1 0 0.00% 17 49 –32
 France XV 2 0 2 0 0.00% 21 87 –66
France French Military 1 0 1 0 0.00% 12 33 –21
 Georgia 25 1 23 1 4.00% 273 621 –348
 Germany 11 11 0 0 100.00% 528 140 +388
 Hong Kong 5 5 0 0 100.00% 144 62 +82
 Ireland 3 0 3 0 0.00% 15 132 –117
Ireland Emerging Ireland 1 0 1 0 0.00% 0 66 –66
 Italy 5 0 5 0 0.00% 76 283 –207
 Emerging Italy 2 0 2 0 0.00% 36 60 –24
 Italy A 4 0 4 0 0.00% 66 129 –63
 Japan 7 1 6 0 16.7% 118 299 –161
 Kenya 1 1 0 0 100.00% 31 10 +21
 Morocco 3 2 1 0 66.67% 44 46 –2
 Namibia 7 5 2 0 71.43% 183 141 +42
 Netherlands 5 5 0 0 100.00% 243 47 +196
 Norway 1 1 0 0 100.00% 66 0 +66
 Papua New Guinea 1 1 0 0 100.00% 49 19 +30
 Poland 4 4 0 0 100.00% 201 59 +142
 Portugal 21 14 6 1 66.67% 563 429 +134
 Romania 24 7 16 1 29.17% 347 580 –233
 Samoa 1 0 1 0 0.00% 9 34 –25
 Scotland 1 0 1 0 0.00% 0 61 –61
 Scotland A 1 0 1 0 0.00% 7 49 –42
 Spain 23 16 7 0 72.72% 639 518 +121
 Sweden 1 0 1 0 0.00% 13 20 –7
 Tunisia 2 2 0 0 100.00% 57 41 +16
 Ukraine 9 9 0 0 100.00% 439 115 +324
 United States 8 0 8 0 0.00% 110 280 –170
 USA Selects 1 1 0 0 100.00% 30 21 +9
 Uruguay 9 4 5 0 44.44% 215 231 –16
 Zimbabwe 3 3 0 0 100.00% 92 35 +57
Total 227 113 111 3 49.78% 5735 5514 +221

Individual records

[edit]

Most caps

[edit]
# Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Won Lost Draw %
1 Yuri Kushnarev Fly-half 2005–2021 120 101 19 55 63 2 47.82
2 Victor Gresev Flanker 2006–2022 107 97 10 46 60 1 44.28
3 Andrey Garbuzov Lock 2005–2020 100 76 24 45 54 1 45.50
4 Vasily Artemyev Centre 2009–2022 98 94 4 41 56 1 43.68
5 Andrei Kuzin Centre 1997–2011 78 68 10 38 37 3 50.64
6 Alexander Khrokin Prop 1994–2011 76 47 29 36 38 2 48.68
7 Dmitry Gerasimov Centre 2008-2022 73 63 10 29 44 0 40.84
Vladislav Korshunov Hooker 2002–2015 73 48 25 32 39 2 45.20
Alexander Voytov Lock 2003–2014 73 67 6 29 42 2 41.09
10 Viacheslav Grachev Flanker 1993–2011 72 70 2 33 37 2 47.22

Most tries

[edit]
# Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries
1 Vasily Artemyev Centre 2009–2022 98 94 4 145 29
2 Andrei Kuzin Centre 1997–2011 78 68 10 130 26
3 Vladimir Ostroushko Wing 2006–2020 51 47 4 125 25
4 Victor Gresev Flanker 2006–2022 107 97 10 110 22
5 Viacheslav Grachev Flanker 1993–2011 72 70 2 95 19
6 Igor Galinovskiy Wing 2006-2019 50 43 7 90 18
7 Alexander Gvozdovsky Wing 2005-2010 31 28 3 75 15
Denis Simplikevich Wing 2011-2021 30 25 5 75 15
9 Evgeny Matveev Hooker 2007-2020 65 26 39 65 13
10 Anton Rudoy Flanker 2016-2018 20 19 1 60 12

Most points

[edit]
# Player Pos Span Mat Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop
1 Yuri Kushnarev Fly-half 2005–2021 120 797 11 155 142 2
2 Konstantin Rachkov Fly-half 1997–2011 44 316 10 51 41 5
3 Ramil Gaisin Fly-half 2012–2022 60 250 7 46 41 0
4 Vladimir Simonov Centre 2001-2004 22 168 11 25 18 3
5 Vasily Artemyev Centre 2009–2022 98 145 29 0 0 0
6 Andrei Kuzin Centre 1997–2011 78 130 26 0 0 0
7 Vladimir Ostroushko Wing 2006–2020 51 125 25 0 0 0
8 Alexander Yanyushkin Scrum-half 2002–2015 70 116 10 9 16 0
9 Viktor Motorin Scrum-half 1999–2009 41 112 2 24 18 0
10 Victor Gresev Flanker 2006–2022 107 110 22 0 0 0

Other international teams

[edit]

Sevens

[edit]
Main article: Russia national rugby sevens team

Russia also has a rugby sevens team, which competes in several rounds each year on the World Rugby Sevens Series and in the FIRA-AER Grand Prix Sevens circuit, with Moscow hosting the second leg.[citation needed]

The men's first official match was played at the Sevens World Cup qualifier in Dubai, beating Botswana 38-3. Since then, Russia has played 799 matches, winning 375 and losing 409, with 15 ties. [17]

Russia Sevens team last game was at the Euro Championship in Moscow, losing the third-place game vs Germany 19-12.

Russia was crowned European Sevens Champion three times, in 2007, 2016 and 2017. In European Sevens, Russia has an impressive record of 206 victories, 85 loses and 6 ties.

Women

[edit]
Main article: Russia women's national rugby union team

Russia fields women's national rugby union teams in both fifteens, where it appeared at the Women's Rugby World Cup in 1994 and 1998 as Russia and in 1991 as the USSR, and in sevens, which took part in the first Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2009 and which contests the IRB Women's Sevens World Series.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russia national rugby union team.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "International Rugby Board - Integrated Tier 2 Test calendar moves closer". Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  2. ^ a b Gallan, Daniel (1 March 2022). "World Rugby joins other sports bodies by suspending Russia and Belarus". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Rugby Europe Statement – Russia and Belarus Suspension". Rugby Europe. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  4. ^ RUR Team Media Guide RWC11
  5. ^ Rugby Union of Russia Official Team Media Guide for RWC11
  6. ^ "FEDERACION ESPAÑOLA RUGBY - la DH y LIGA IBERDROLA".
  7. ^ "Official RWC 2011 Site". RugbyWorldCup.com. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  8. ^ Russia`s squad for the 2022 Rugby Europe Championship
  9. ^ Artemyev joins Russia squad.
  10. ^ Podrezov, Golov, Kononov and Gudok join Russia squad.
  11. ^ Arhip joins Russia squad.
  12. ^ Gaisin joins Russia squad.
  13. ^ Mishechkin, Skobiola, Farkov, Golosnitsky, Sozonov and Shevtsov join Russia squad.
  14. ^ "Russia Rugby's Coaching Staff". Rugby Union of Russia.
  15. ^ a b "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  16. ^ Russia rugby statistics
  17. ^ "Rugby7.com the best Resource for Rugby Sevens on the Web". www.rugby7.com. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
[edit]
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