Soviet Union national rugby union team

Soviet Union

Union	Federaciya regbistov Soyuz Sovetskich
First international
Romania 26–6 Soviet Union  (1 July 1974)
Largest win
Soviet Union 72–0 Sweden  (30 October 1976)
Largest defeat
England 53–0 Soviet Union  (7 September 1991)

The USSR national rugby union team was a sporting side that 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 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 the FIRA tournament. Unfortunately, the team were never given the opportunity to play a tier 1 nation where test caps were awarded.

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