Kirill Kulemin (born 13 October 1980) is a Russian

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player currently playing for

USA Perpignan Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, Franc ...

in the

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

. Born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, he previously played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for and his talents were noticed playing in a

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

match against professional

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

teams. His position is at lock or in the forwards. Kulemin left

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

to join

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

for the 2013/14 season. After a spell with Sale Sharks, it was confirmed Kulemin will return to France to join

, who were relegated to the

. He had 33 caps for

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, from 2006 to 2014, scoring 4 tries, 20 points on aggregate. Kulemin also played for

at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, playing in the match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, He also played other two matches in 2003, one year before switching to union. He missed the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

due to an injury sustained in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

: he was tackled by two or three players, and as a result of an unsuccessful movement, Kulemin suffered a knee injury. Two days later, he had his knee operated, which theoretically would allow him to play, but subsequent complications ruled out his participation at the tournament.

Notes

External links

Kirill Kulemin Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulemin, Kiril 1980 births Living people Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in France Rugby league second-rows Rugby union locks Russia international rugby union players Russia national rugby league team players Russian expatriate rugby union players Russian expatriate sportspeople in England Russian expatriate sportspeople in France Russian rugby league players Russian rugby union players Rugby union players from Moscow Sale Sharks players SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players Castres Olympique players USA Perpignan players