Soviet Union national rugby union team
Encyclopedia
The USSR national rugby union team was a sporting side that represented the Soviet Union
in rugby union
until the early 1990s.
and the Soviet Championship existed, rugby never became a major sport in the USSR
. Rugby union
was the bigger of the two codes though - rugby league
only really took off in the former Soviet Union after its collapse.
Rugby football was played in the Russian Empire
as early as 1908, however the first official match, played in Moscow, did not take place until 1923. Because of the Russian Revolution, some Soviet/Russian players emigrated and/or ended up playing for foreign sides, a notable example being Prince Alexander Obolensky
(Александр Сергеевич Оболенский) who played for Oxford and England
in the 1930s - he was the scorer of 2 tries on his England
debut in their win over New Zealand 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 1934 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
". 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
, or third to Romania
in various European competitions, however they never managed to beat any major side.
The USSR were to be invited to the 1987 Rugby World Cup
, they refused the invitation 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
and Romania
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
finals. The USSR successor, in 1992, was briefly the Commonwealth of Independent States
.
The Soviet rugby team visited Ireland
and the United States for the first time in 1990 http://www.clonmelrfc.com/history.htmlhttp://www.newyorkrugby.com/content/view/45/142/.
Initially, the former USSR competed under the Commonwealth of Independent States
banner, but this itself terminated in 1992. It had played four matches.
The most successful "successor" rugby team has been Georgia
, which competed in the 2003 Rugby World Cup
and in the 2007
. They had a respectable performance against Ireland
and defeated Namibia
30–0. The Rugby World Cup
, 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 when Russia qualified, and the early World Cups were also smaller tournaments. The Georgia Rugby Union
was founded in 1964, but did not compete as a national team during the Soviet Era.
As of 3 March 2008, however, Russia
's form had improved greatly, being placed at 17th position in the world rankings, ahead of Portugal
, the USA
, Japan
, and coming one point behind Romania
. None of these other teams have ever been in the World Cup.
:
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
until the early 1990s.
History
Although such tournaments as the Soviet CupSoviet Cup (rugby)
The Soviet Cup was a rugby union club competition between the domestic teams of the Soviet Union era. The first competition was held in 1976, and continued on an annual basis until 1990.-Results:-See also:* Soviet Championship* Professional Rugby League...
and the Soviet Championship existed, rugby never became a major sport in the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
was the bigger of the two codes though - rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
only really took off in the former Soviet Union after its collapse.
Rugby football was played in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as early as 1908, however the first official match, played in Moscow, did not take place until 1923. Because of the Russian Revolution, some Soviet/Russian players emigrated and/or ended up playing for foreign sides, a notable example being Prince Alexander Obolensky
Alexander Obolensky
Prince Alexander Sergeevich Obolensky was a Russian Rurikid prince and an international rugby union footballer who played for England. He was popularly known as just "The Prince" by many sports fans.-Biography:...
(Александр Сергеевич Оболенский) who played for Oxford and England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
in the 1930s - he was the scorer of 2 tries on his England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
debut in their win over New Zealand 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 1934 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
Rootless cosmopolitan
Rootless cosmopolitan was a Soviet euphemism widely used during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1948–1953, which culminated in the "exposure" of the alleged Doctors' plot...
". 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 national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
, or third to Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
in various European competitions, however they never managed to beat any major side.
The USSR were to be invited to the 1987 Rugby World Cup
1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two...
, they refused the invitation 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 national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
and Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
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
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 that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...
finals. The USSR successor, in 1992, was briefly the Commonwealth of Independent States
CIS (rugby)
CIS was a rugby union side that played matches during 1991 and 1992. The side consisted of members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The team played four matches, losing all four fixtures...
.
The Soviet rugby team visited Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the United States for the first time in 1990 http://www.clonmelrfc.com/history.htmlhttp://www.newyorkrugby.com/content/view/45/142/.
The FIRA Trophy 1974-1997
| Year | Winner | Second place | Third place |
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| 1973–74 | |||
| 1974–75 | |||
| 1975–76 | |||
| 1976–77 | |||
| 1977–78 | |||
| 1978–79 |  |
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| 1979–80 | |||
| 1980–81 | |
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| 1981–82 | |||
| 1982–83 | |
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| 1983–84 | |||
| 1984–85 | |
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| 1985–87 | |
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| 1987–89 | |
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| 1989–90 | |
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| 1990–92 | |||
| 1992–94 | |||
| 1995–97 | |||
Notable players
200 Soviet players became Masters of Sport. Three notable ones are:- B.P. GavrilovB.P. GavrilovB.P. Gavrilov was a Soviet rugby union player, who played for the national team. He was a Soviet Master of Sport.He played for Fili rugby club, and was active in the 1970s.-References:* Sorokin, A.A. B.P. Gavrilov was a Soviet rugby union player, who played for the national team. He was a Soviet...
(Б. П. Гаврилов) - A.G. Grigor'iants (А. Г. Григорьянц)
- I.I. Kiziriia (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
CIS (rugby)
CIS was a rugby union side that played matches during 1991 and 1992. The side consisted of members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The team played four matches, losing all four fixtures...
banner, but this itself terminated in 1992. It had played four matches.
The most successful "successor" rugby team has been Georgia
Georgia national rugby union team
The Georgia national rugby union team represents Georgia in rugby union. The team's nickname, The Lelos, comes from lelo burti, a traditional Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for "try"...
, which competed in the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
and in the 2007
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
. They had a respectable performance against Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and defeated Namibia
Namibia national rugby union team
The Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...
30–0. The Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
, 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 when Russia qualified, and the early World Cups were also smaller tournaments. The Georgia Rugby Union
Georgia Rugby Union
The Georgian Rugby Union 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 the Soviet Union until 1991, with the Independent Georgian Rugby Union being established on May 27, 1991...
was founded in 1964, but did not compete as a national team during the Soviet Era.
As of 3 March 2008, however, Russia
Russia national rugby union team
The Russian National Rugby Union Team, is the national team representing Russia at the sport of rugby union.Rugby union in Russia is administered by the Rugby Union of Russia . The RUR is the official successor union of the Soviet Union and the combined CIS team which played in the early 1990s...
's form had improved greatly, being placed at 17th position in the world rankings, ahead of Portugal
Portugal national rugby union team
The Portugal national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union side representing Portugal. They first played in 1935 and now compete in the European Nations Cup. Rugby union in Portugal is administered by the Federação Portuguesa de Rugby. Portugal qualified for their first Rugby World Cup in...
, the USA
United States national rugby union team
USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...
, Japan
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
, and coming one point behind Romania
Romania national rugby union team
The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...
. None of these other teams have ever been in the World Cup.
ENC
The following successor teams are in the European Nations CupEuropean Nations Cup (rugby union)
The European Nations Cup is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations. The Championship is split into 7 divisions with 5 or 6 teams in each. The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away...
:
- Armenia national rugby union teamArmenia national rugby union teamThe Armenian national rugby union team has recently begun playing in the European Nations Cup. The team is unexpectedly strong due to the large Armenian diaspora in France . So the team has drawn many players, coaches, and trainers from this experienced pool...
- Azerbaijan national rugby union teamAzerbaijan national rugby union teamThe Azerbaijan national rugby union team is the national rugby union team of Azerbaijan. They compete in division 3D of the European Nations Cup. Azerbaijan have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.-External links:* * on rugbydata.com* on IRB.com...
- Latvia national rugby union teamLatvia national rugby union teamThe Latvia national rugby union team represent Latvia at the sport of rugby union. They are governed by Latvijas Regbija Federācija and have been playing international rugby since the early 1990s. Rugby has increased in popularity in Latvia recently due to a rise in form...
- Lithuania national rugby union teamLithuania national rugby union teamThe Lithuania national rugby union team represents Lithuania at rugby union. They are governed by the Lithuanian Rugby Federation , and have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.-History:...
- Moldova national rugby union teamMoldova national rugby union teamThe Moldova national rugby union team represent Moldova at rugby union. They are governed by the Moldovan Rugby Federation , and have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.-History:...
- Russia national rugby union teamRussia national rugby union teamThe Russian National Rugby Union Team, is the national team representing Russia at the sport of rugby union.Rugby union in Russia is administered by the Rugby Union of Russia . The RUR is the official successor union of the Soviet Union and the combined CIS team which played in the early 1990s...
- Ukraine national rugby union teamUkraine national rugby union teamThe Ukraine national rugby union team represents Ukraine at the sport of rugby union. Ukraine have been playing international rugby union since the early 1990s. So far they have not qualified for a Rugby World Cup. They participate in the European Nations Cup....
Non-ENC
- Estonia national rugby union teamEstonia national rugby union teamThe Estonia national rugby union team represents Estonia at a national level in international rugby union competitions. The team is governed by the Estonian Rugby Union, which oversees all rugby union in Estonia. They have yet to play a full international match...
- Kazakhstan national rugby union teamKazakhstan national rugby union teamThe Kazakhstan national rugby union team represents Kazakhstan at international level of rugby union. The team are nicknamed "The Nomads" and are controlled by the Kazakhstan Rugby Union....
- Kyrgyzstan national rugby union teamKyrgyzstan national rugby union teamThe Kyrgyzstan national rugby union team represents Kyrgyzstan in international rugby union. Although the nation is a member of the International Rugby Board it has not played in a Rugby World Cup tournament.-External links:* on IRB.com...
- Uzbekistan national rugby union teamUzbekistan national rugby union teamThe Uzbekistan national rugby union team represents Uzbekistan in international rugby union. Uzbekistan are a member of the International Rugby Board , and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament. The Rugby Federation in Uzbekistan was established in 2001.-External links:* on IRB.com...