Soviet Union

The Soviet national rugby team, active until the early 1990s.

The USSR national rugby union team represented the Soviet Union in rugby union until the early 1990s. Although tournaments such as the Soviet Cup and the Soviet Championship existed, rugby never became a major sport in the USSR. Rugby union was the more popular of the two rugby codes, however, as rugby league only began being played following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Rugby football was played in the Russian Empire as early as 1884; however, the first official match, played in Moscow, did not take place until 1923.

Quick Facts

Legacy status: Ended with 1991 Dissolution

Lore & Background

The Soviet national team played their first ever match in 1975. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet team began to improve their performances, often coming second to France, or third to Romania 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 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 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. They played their last game against Spain in the FIRA tournament in November 1991, shortly before the country's own dissolution.

Reader's Guide

The USSR's successor was briefly the Commonwealth of Independent States, after which the former constituent states formed their own national teams. 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. The most successful "successor" rugby team has been Georgia, which competed in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. No other ex-Soviet team other than Georgia had ever qualified until 2011 when Russia qualified. 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.

Did You Know?

Prince Alexander Obolensky, who played for Oxford and England in the 1930s, was born in the Russian Empire but his noble birth precluded him from playing in his home country.
In 1949, rugby union was forbidden throughout the USSR during the 'fight against cosmopolitanism'.
200 Soviet players became Masters of Sport.