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World Ranking
Russia are currently 33rd in the World Rugby Rankings. Their highest ever ranking was 16th in February 2010.
Ranking Over Time
Date Nov 2025
Rank # 33
Points 52.06
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Russia Matches
Sat 12 Feb, 2022
Rugby Europe Championship
Round 0
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Yug Stadium
Russia Rugby Team Players
Russia Tournaments
International
Rugby World Cup
Rugby Europe Championship
Russia National Rugby Team
The Russia national rugby team are nicknamed 'The Bears' and they're considered the official successor of the Soviet Union by World Rugby. The team have officially played as Russia Rugby since 1992 and they now regularly feature in international competitions like the Rugby Europe Championship. They also intermittently qualify for the Rugby World Cup.Read on to discover even more about Russia Rugby. On this page you'll find the side's latest news, results and fixtures.
The history of rugby union in Russia dates back to 1936 when the Rugby Union of the Soviet Union was founded. However, the national side did not play in an official international until 1974.But, when the side eventually started playing international rugby regularly, they established themselves quickly. By the 1980s, they were regularly beating sides like Italy and Romania. Plus, the Russia Rugby team were invited to play in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, but they declined on political grounds.Following the breakup of the USSR, Russian players briefly played for the interim Commonwealth of Independent States team. However, by 1992, the Russia Rugby team had been firmly established. In their first ever game, the team beat the Barbarians 27-23. Later the same year, they recorded their first ever win against Georgia.Since the turn of the millennium, the Russia Rugby team have played in the Rugby Europe Championship, which is commonly called 'Six Nations B' by fans. Although they've never won the tournament, they have finished as runners-up on several occasions. During this period, they've also qualified for the Rugby World Cup twice (2011 and 2019). However, on both occasions, they've failed to win a game in the pools stage.
As a newly-established side on the world stage, the Russia Rugby side does not contain many household names. However, in recent years, the team has improved remarkably and now several Russia Rugby players ply their trade in Europe's top leagues. This means that several players are quickly gaining prominence. For example, prop Valery Morozov now plays for Sale Sharks in the Premiership, while lock Andrei Ostrikov has represented Grenoble in the Top 14.