The Russia national rugby league team (also known as The Bears) represent

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 ...

in international rugby league tournaments and other rugby league fixtures. The Bears, played their first fixtures against two

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

club sides:

York Wasps The York Wasps (known simply as York from 1868 to 1989, Ryedale-York from 1989 to 1996 and York Wasps from 1996 to 2002) was an English professional rugby league club based in York. At the start of the 2002 season, the club was dissolved. A ne ...

and Fulham RLFC. In 2013, Russia became a full member of the

Rugby League International Federation The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...

. 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 ...

, the

International Rugby League The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...

and

European Rugby League The European Rugby League (ERL) is the umbrella body for nations playing the sport of rugby league football across Europe. In the absence of other continental federations, ERL also controls rugby league in North America (including Central Americ ...

banned Russia from all international rugby league competitions.

History

1990s

The Russia Bears were formed in 1991 for a tour of two English teams, the

and Fulham RLFC. The Bears played their first overseas match in 1991 against the French national team at the Stade Georges Lyvet,

Villeurbanne Villeurbanne (; frp, Velorbana) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after ...

on Sunday, 27 October 1991. The Bears were beaten 26-6 by France. Later that year, the Bears toured

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

to play a three-match series against

2000s

The 2000 RLWC provided the Bears with the opportunity to compete with the international heavyweights of rugby league: England and Australia. Also in their group was Fiji, who the Bears played first up in Barrow. Led by

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

prop

Ian Rubin Ian Rubin (born 17 April 1973) is a former Russia international rugby league footballer who played as a forward in the 1990s and 2000s. He played the majority of his professional career in the National Rugby League for the Sydney Roosters and t ...

, who was born in Odessa, Ukraine, the Bears were involved in a tight struggle and it was Fijian captain, winger

Lote Tuquri Lote Daulako Tuqiri (born 23 September 1979) is a former professional dual-code rugby footballer who primarily played as a winger across both codes. He represented Australia in both rugby league and rugby union, and Fiji in rugby league. Tuqi ...

, who proved to be the difference between the two sides, with Fiji winning 38-12. The next two games were against opponents who proved to be beyond the Russians, with two big defeats at the hands of the English national team and a record 110-4 defeat by the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

. The Russian side went on a four-match tour of New Zealand's south island in 2004. In 2006, Russia were involved in Europe Round One, defeating

Netherlands national rugby league team The Netherlands national rugby league team is the national rugby league team of The Netherlands. It was formed in January 2003. The national team played its first international match in 2003 against Scotland A, where they lost 22–18. History R ...

and

Serbia national rugby league team The Serbia national rugby league team represents Serbia in the sport of rugby league football. They have competed in international competition since 2003 under the administration of the Serbian Rugby League. They are coached by Englishman Darren ...

to finish second and keep their World Cup dream alive. They then went through to Europe Round Two in Europe Pool Two with

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

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Russia lost all 4 games against them and did not qualify on those grounds.

2010s

In 2010, after a year out of competition, the Bears competed in the

Rugby League European Shield The European Championship B (formerly the European Shield), is a rugby league football competition. The competition is organised by the Rugby League European Federation and is the second tier of the European Championship competition. It was first ...

, topping the table after wins against Ukraine and Latvia. In 2011 Russia were involved in the European qualifying group that featured Russia themselves,

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 ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, and

. They lost both of their games against Italy and Lebanon ultimately ending their dreams for a second world cup tournament. In 2012-2013, the Bears competed in the

winning five games out of six to take the shield. Russia participated in the

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. In the final round of qualification, Russia took on Spain at Fili Stadium in Moscow, and Ireland in Bray, in a bid to qualify for their second World Cup appearance.

2020s

After the

, the

and

banned Russia from all international rugby league competitions.

Players

Current squad

Squad selected for the 2021 World Cup qualifying fixtures;https://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/2021-rlwc/russia-serbia-and-spain-name-squads-for-rlwc-qualifiers Russia Squad *Nikolai Zagoskin *Iustin Petrushka *Kirill Bozhko *Sergei Muntian *Kirill Kosharin *Petr Botnarash *Ivan Troitskii *Igor Abramov *Vladislav Lesnikov *Denis Tiulenev *Dmitrii Leskov *Aleksandr Lysokon *Alexandr Naumov *Dmitry Bratko *Viacheslav Eremin *Viktor Ariutkin *Andrey Kuznetsov *Ilia Danilov *Pavel Mrachkovskii *Denis Chuprin *Igor Chupin *Boris Voloskov *Sergey Konstantinov *Sergei Zhigan *Anton Kuklin *Evgenii Orlov *Andrei Lavrushin *Andrei Perin *Nikita Kuznetsov *Dmitrii Tarasenkov *Aleskei Leonov *Egor Shustov *Ivan Kazantsev *Vsevolod Gusev

Tournament history

Russia has participated in: *

Emerging Nations Tournament In 1995 and 2000, the Rugby League International Federation held an Emerging Nations Tournament alongside the Rugby League World Cup. The competition was designed to allow teams who have failed to qualify for the World Cup proper a chance to play ...

(1995) *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(2000) *

World Sevens The SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for Naming rights, sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as ...

(1992 as the "Red Arrows", 1994-2003) *

Victory Cup The Rugby League Victory Cup is a rugby league tournament held in Russia between its national team and those of France, the USA, and a British amateur side. Officially it is organized and funded by the Russian Rugby Football League (RRFL); unoffic ...

(2003, 2004)

Record

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Russia at test level up until 6 October 2021:

Results and fixtures

References

External links

* * *https://www.rlef.eu.com/fixtures?page=1 {{National sports teams of Russia