The USSR national rugby union team was a sporting side that represented the
Soviet Union
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 national ...
in
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 ...
until the early 1990s.
History
Although tournaments such as the
Soviet Cup
The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS (Moldova ...
and the
Soviet Championship existed, rugby never became a major sport in 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 ...
.
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 ...
was the more popular of the two rugby codes, however, as
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 ...
only began being played following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Rugby football was played in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
as early as 1884; however, the first official match, played in Moscow, did not take place until 1923. Because of the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, some Soviet/Russian players emigrated and/or ended up playing for foreign sides, a notable example being Prince
Alexander Obolensky
Prince Alexander Sergeevich Obolensky KStJ (russian: Александр Серге́евич Оболенский; 17 February 1916 – 29 March 1940) was a Rurikid prince of Russian origin who became a naturalised Briton, having spent most of h ...
(Александр Сергеевич Оболенский) who played for Oxford and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the 1930s – he was the scorer of 2 tries on his
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
debut in their win over
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in January 1936. His noble birth precluded him from playing in his home country and his family had fled the country when he was only a year old.
In 1935 the Moscow Championship was initiated, followed by the first Soviet Championship which took place in 1936.
In 1949, rugby union was forbidden throughout the USSR during the "fight against
cosmopolitanism
Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizens ...
". Competition was resumed in 1957, and the Soviet Championship recommenced in 1966. In 1975, the Soviet national team played their first ever match.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet team began to improve their performances, often coming second to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, or third to
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
in the
FIRA tournament. The team were never given the opportunity to play a tier 1 nation where
test caps were awarded.
The organisers of the
1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...
had intended to invite the USSR as one of the participants. However, before the invitation could be made, the USSR refused to take part on political grounds, allegedly due to the continued IRB membership of South Africa. The first tournament was by invitation rather than qualification, and despite successes against teams such as
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
in the years leading up to the inaugural Cup, the USSR did not enter.
The Soviet team did not attempt to qualify for the
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...
finals. They played their last game against Spain in the FIRA tournament in November 1991, shortly before the country's own dissolution. The USSR's successor was briefly the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
, after which the former constituent states formed their own national teams.
The FIRA Trophy 1974–1997
USSR tour to New Zealand
In 1991, in preparation for the
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
New Zealand hosted short tours by Western Samoa, Fiji, Romania and the USSR. There were no matches of Test status played by New Zealand against the tourists, but a side designated "New Zealand XV" met both the Romanians and Soviets, and both opponents awarded caps for the XV game. The tours gave the New Zealand selectors a chance to gauge the form of players likely to be on the periphery of selection for the World Cup.
The USSR tour party comprised 26 players and was led from the front-row by Sergei Molchenov. They won four and lost four matches:
The teams in the "test" match:
June 16, 1991 at Rugby Park, Hamilton
New Zealand XV 56 (8G 2T) – USSR 6 (1PG 1DG)
New Zealand XV:
E J Crossan;
E Clarke,
W K Maunsell,
T D L Tagaloa;
A F McCormick,
J P Preston;
J A Hewett;
O M Brown,
N J Hewitt,
M R Allen,
R M Brooke,
D W Mayhew,
M P Carter,
W T Shelford (captain),
W R Gordon
Tries: McCormick (2), Crossan (2), Maunsell (2), Tagaloa (2), Shelford, Carter
Conversions: Crossan (8)
Soviet Union: V Voropaev; A Zakarliuk, I Kuperman, A Kovalenko, I Mironov; S Boldakov, A Bychkov; E Kabylkin, S Molchenov (captain), R Bikbov, S Sergeev, E Ganiakhin, V Negodin, A Ogryzkov, A Tikhonov
Replacements used: Y Nikolaev, V Zykov
Penalty Goal: Boldakov
Dropped Goal: Boldakov
Referee: Mr D J Bishop
Soviet tour to England
In September, the USSR were guests of the RFU and played the Combined London Old Boys at Croxley Green (OMTs' ground) before meeting an England XV in a World Cup warm-up game on September 7, 1991 at Twickenham where they lost 53–0 to a full-strength
non-cap XV side led by Will Carling.
Final games as CIS
Their last representative matches as a united Soviet side were during the 1991–92 season. A team labelled "CIS" fulfilled their remaining FIRA Championship fixtures against Italy, Spain, Romania and France A.
Russia has competed as a separate entity at the international level since 1992.
Notable players
200 Soviet players became
Masters of Sport. Three notable ones are:
*
B.P. Gavrilov (Б. П. Гаврилов)
*
A.G. Grigor'iants (А. Г. Григорьянц)
*
I.I. Kiziriia Irakli I. Kiziriia/Kiziriya (, ) was a Georgian /Soviet rugby union player, who played for the national team. He was a Soviet Master of Sport.
References
* Sorokin, A.A. (А. А. Сорокин) "Rugby" (Регби) in English translation of ''Gr ...
(И. И. Кизирия)
Successor teams
The rugby teams of the USSR's successor states have had varying success.
Initially, the former USSR competed under the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
banner, but this itself terminated in 1992. It had played four matches.
The most successful "successor" rugby team has been
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, which competed in the
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
,
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
,
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. They had a respectable performance against
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and defeated
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
twice in 2007 and 2015, defeated
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
17-10 in
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
. The
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
, coincidentally, got going at around the point that the Soviet Union was disintegrating – no other ex-Soviet team other than Georgia had ever qualified until
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
when Russia qualified, and the early World Cups were also smaller tournaments. The
Georgia Rugby Union
The Georgian Rugby Union (GRU) (Georgian: საქართველოს რაგბის კავშირი) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the nation of Georgia. Founded in 1964, it was part of the Rugby Union of ...
was founded in 1964, but did not compete as a national team during the Soviet Era.
As of 3 March 2008, however,
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 ...
's form had improved greatly, being placed at 17th position in the world rankings, ahead of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
the USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and coming one point behind
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
After the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
,
World Rugby
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
and
Rugby Europe
Rugby Europe is the administrative body for rugby union in Europe. It was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organise, and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of World Rugby (the sport's global governing body). However, it ...
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.
ENC
The following successor teams are in the
European Nations Cup European Nations Cup may refer to:
*UEFA European Championship, formerly known as European Nations' Cup
* Europcar Cup, a European Tour golf tournament
* European Nations Cup (golf), a European Ladies Tour golf tournament
* European Nations Cup (fi ...
:
*
Armenia national rugby union team
*
Azerbaijan national rugby union team
*
Estonia national rugby union team
The Estonia national rugby union team is governed by the Estonian Rugby Union, which oversees all rugby union in Estonia. As of October 2014 they have played only a handful of matches, but have qualified for the 2014–16 European Nations Cup ...
*
Georgian national rugby union team
The Georgia national rugby union team (Georgian language, Georgian: საქართველოს მორაგბეთა ეროვნული ნაკრები), nicknamed The Borjgalosnebi (''The Men of the Borjgali'' i.e. the ...
*
Latvia national rugby union team
The Latvia national rugby union team represents Latvia at the sport of rugby union. They are governed by the Latvijas Regbija federācija and have been playing international rugby since the early 1990s. They have played most of their games in t ...
*
Lithuania national rugby union team
The Lithuania national rugby union team ( lt, Lietuvos Nacionalinė Regbio Sąjungos Komanda) represents Lithuania in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The Knights (''Vytis''), is considered one of the relatively stronger t ...
*
Moldova national rugby union team
The Moldova national rugby union team, nicknamed Haiducii, are a Rugby Europe national team that play in the Conference 2 North competition and are administered by the Moldovan Rugby Federation. They are yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
...
*
Russia national rugby union team
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 Rug ...
*
Ukraine national rugby union team
The Ukraine national rugby union team ( uk, Збірна України з регбі) represents Ukraine in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The Cossacks (''Kozaki''), is one of the tier 3 teams in Europe that currently co ...
Non-ENC
*
Kazakhstan national rugby union team
The Kazakhstan national rugby union team, nicknamed "The Nomads", is controlled by the Kazakhstan Rugby Union.
Kazakhstan have been participating in international competition since 1994 after their independence from the USSR.
In 2007, the fort ...
*
Kyrgyzstan national rugby union team
*
Uzbekistan national rugby union team
The Uzbekistan national rugby union team is a member of World Rugby and has yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament. The Uzbekistan Rugby Federation was established in 2001 and became a full member of World Rugby in 2014.
Record
Overall
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet Union National Rugby Union Team
Rugby union in the Soviet Union
International rugby union teams
Former national rugby union teams
European national rugby union teams
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
Multinational rugby union teams