Russia at the Rugby World Cup

Russia qualified for the Rugby World Cup for the first time in 2011.

As of April 26, 2010, Russia placed at 19th position in the world rankings, just behind Romania and the USA. They are currently the ninth best team in Europe according to the world rankings.^[1]

Nation	Number of appearances	First appearance	Most recent appearance	Streak	Best result
Russia	2	2011	2019	1	Pool stages

Year(s)	Result
1987	No qualifying tournament held.^[2]
1991	Did not qualify.^[3]
1995 to 2007	Did not qualify.
2011	Eliminated in pool stages
2015	Did not qualify.
2019	Eliminated in pool stages
2023	Banned from qualification.^[4]

By position

Year	Round	Position	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	For	Against
1987	-	–	-	-	–	-	-	-
1991	-	–	-	–	–	-	-	-
1995	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1999	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2003	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2007	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2011	Group	18th	4	0	0	4	57	196
2015	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2019	Group	20th	4	0	0	4	19	160
Total	-	–	8	0	0	8	76	356

By match

2011 Rugby World Cup

Pool C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Ireland	4	4	0	135	34	+101	15	1	17	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2	Australia	4	3	1	173	48	+125	25	3	15
3	Italy	4	2	2	92	95	−3	13	2	10	Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4	United States	4	1	3	38	122	−84	4	0	4
5	Russia	4	0	4	57	196	−139	8	1	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

15 September 2011
19:30

Russia	6–13	United States
Pen: Kushnarev (1/4) 3' Rachkov (1/1) 78'	Report	Try: Petri 19' c Con: Wyles (1/1) Pen: Wyles (2/5) 12', 65' Drop: Wyles (0/1)

Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
Attendance: 13,931
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)

20 September 2011
19:30

Italy	53–17	Russia
Try: Parisse 6' c Toniolatti (2) 13' m, 23' c Benvenuti (2) 16' m, 48' m Penalty try 29' c Gori 37' c McLean 64' m Zanni 77' m Con: Bocchino (4/6) Benvenuti (0/3) Pen: Bocchino (0/1)	Report	Try: Yanyushkin 34' c Ostroushko 50' m Makovetskiy 71' m Con: Rachkov (1/3)

Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Attendance: 12,418
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

25 September 2011
18:00

Ireland	62–12	Russia
Try: McFadden 10' c O'Brien 13' c Boss 38' c Earls (2) 38' c, 48' c Trimble 40+' m Kearney 65' c Jennings 73' c Buckley 79' m Con: O'Gara (6/7) Sexton (1/2) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 6'	Report	Try: Artemyev 50' c Simplikevich 59' m Con: Rachkov (1/2)

Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
Attendance: 25,661
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

1 October 2011
15:30

Australia	68–22	Russia
Try: Barnes (2) 7' m, 79' c Mitchell (2) 9' c, 49' c McCalman 12' c Pocock (2) 15' c, 22' c Moore 36' c Ashley-Cooper 39' c Ma'afu 42' c Con: O'Connor (9/10)	Report	Try: Ostroushko 33' m Simplikevich 60' c Rachkov 68' c Con: Kushnarev (0/1) Rachkov (2/2) Drop: Rachkov (1/1) 47'

Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Attendance: 16,307
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)

2019 Rugby World Cup

Pool A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Japan	4	4	0	115	62	+53	13	3	19	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup
2	Ireland	4	3	1	121	27	+94	18	4	16
3	Scotland	4	2	2	119	55	+64	16	3	11	Eliminated but qualified for 2023 Rugby World Cup
4	Samoa	4	1	3	58	128	−70	8	1	5
5	Russia	4	0	4	19	160	−141	1	0	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Japan vs Russia

20 September 2019
19:45 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Japan	30–10	Russia
Try: Matsushima (3) 12' m, 39' c, 69' c Labuschagné 47' m Con: Tamura (1/3) 40' Matsuda (1/1) 71' Pen: Tamura (2/2) 44', 64'	Report	Try: Golosnitski 5' c Con: Kushnarev (1/1) 6' Pen: Kushnarev (1/1) 61'

Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu
Attendance: 45,745
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Japan

Russia


FB	15	Will Tupou	71'
RW	14	Kotaro Matsushima
OC	13	Timothy Lafaele
IC	12	Ryoto Nakamura
LW	11	Lomano Lemeki
FH	10	Yu Tamura	67'
SH	9	Yutaka Nagare	61'
N8	8	Kazuki Himeno
OF	7	Lappies Labuschagné
BF	6	Michael Leitch (c)	71'
RL	5	James Moore
LL	4	Wimpie van der Walt	61'
TP	3	Asaeli Ai Valu	55'
HK	2	Shota Horie	75'
LP	1	Keita Inagaki	55'
Replacements:
HK	16	Atsushi Sakate	75'
PR	17	Isileli Nakajima	55'
PR	18	Koo Ji-won	55'
LK	19	Luke Thompson	60'
FL	20	Hendrik Tui	71'
SH	21	Fumiaki Tanaka	61'
FH	22	Rikiya Matsuda	67'
FB	23	Ryohei Yamanaka	71'
Coach:
Jamie Joseph


FB	15	Vasily Artemyev (c)
RW	14	German Davydov
OC	13	Vladimir Ostroushko
IC	12	Dmitry Gerasimov	68'
LW	11	Kirill Golosnitsky
FH	10	Yuri Kushnarev	65'
SH	9	Vasily Dorofeev	33'	42'	74'
N8	8	Nikita Vavilin
OF	7	Tagir Gadzhiev
BF	6	Vitaly Zhivatov	65'
RL	5	Bogdan Fedotko	61'
LL	4	Andrei Ostrikov
TP	3	Kirill Gotovtsev	68'
HK	2	Stanislav Sel'skiy	65'
LP	1	Valery Morozov	65'
Replacements:
HK	16	Evgeny Matveev	65'
PR	17	Andrei Polivalov	65'
PR	18	Azamat Bitiev	68'
LK	19	Andrey Garbuzov	62'
FL	20	Anton Sychev	65'
SH	21	Dmitry Perov	33'	42'	74'
FH	22	Ramil Gaisin	65'
WG	23	Vladislav Sozonov	68'
Coach:
Lyn Jones

Player of the Match:
Kotaro Matsushima (Japan)

Assistant referees:
Nic Berry (Australia)
Matthew Carley (England)
Television match official:
Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Notes:

This was the first Rugby World Cup opener not to feature a Tier 1 nation.
Kotaro Matsushima (Japan) became the first Japanese player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, and the first player to score one in a Rugby World Cup opener.
Russia's try was the fastest to be scored in an opening match of a Rugby World Cup.

Russia vs Samoa

24 September 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)

Russia	9–34	Samoa (1 BP)
Pen: Kushnarev (2/2) 19', 26' Drop: Kushnarev (1/1) 48'	Report	Try: Leiua (2) 16' m, 80' m Amosa 45' m Fidow (2) 49' c, 53' c Lee-Lo 63' m Con: Pisi (2/5) 50', 54'

Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya
Attendance: 22,564
Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Russia

Samoa


FB	15	Vasily Artemyev (c)
RW	14	German Davydov
OC	13	Vladimir Ostroushko
IC	12	Dmitry Gerasimov		65'
LW	11	Kirill Golosnitsky
FH	10	Yuri Kushnarev		55'
SH	9	Vasily Dorofeev		55'
N8	8	Nikita Vavilin		65'
OF	7	Tagir Gadzhiev
BF	6	Vitaly Zhivatov
RL	5	Bogdan Fedotko
LL	4	Andrei Ostrikov		65'
TP	3	Kirill Gotovtsev	47'	71'
HK	2	Stanislav Sel'skiy		57'
LP	1	Valery Morozov		59'
Replacements:
HK	16	Evgeny Matveev		57'
PR	17	Andrey Polivalov		59'
PR	18	Azamat Bitiev		71'
LK	19	Andrey Garbuzov		65'
FL	20	Anton Sychev		21'
SH	21	Dmitry Perov		22'
FH	22	Ramil Gaisin		55'
WG	23	Vladislav Sozonov		65'
Coach:
Lyn Jones


FB	15	Tim Nanai-Williams		65'
RW	14	Alapati Leiua
OC	13	Rey Lee-Lo	29'
IC	12	Henry Taefu
LW	11	Ed Fidow
FH	10	Tusi Pisi		65'
SH	9	Dwayne Polataivao		40'
N8	8	Afa Amosa		33'	40'	46'
OF	7	TJ Ioane
BF	6	Chris Vui (c)
RL	5	Kane Le'aupepe
LL	4	Filo Paulo		65'
TP	3	Michael Alaalatoa		55'
HK	2	Motu Matu'u	31'		40'
LP	1	Logovi'i Mulipola		51'
Replacements:
HK	16	Ray Niuia		33'
PR	17	Paul Alo-Emile		55'
PR	18	Jordan Lay		51'
LK	19	Senio Toleafoa		65'
LK	20	Josh Tyrell				46'
SH	21	Melani Matavao		40'
FH	22	AJ Alatimu		65'
FH	23	UJ Seuteni		65'
Coach:
Steve Jackson

Player of the Match:
Alapati Leiua (Samoa)

Assistant referees:
Jérôme Garcès (France)
Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)

Notes:

This was the first meeting between the two nations.
Ahsee Tuala was due to start the game, but was replaced with Henry Taefu following injury ahead of kick off.

Ireland vs Russia

3 October 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Ireland	35–0	Russia
Try: Kearney 2' c O'Mahony 13' c Ruddock 35' c Conway 62' c Ringrose 76' c Con: Sexton (3/3) 4', 15', 37' Carty (2/2) 63', 77'	Report

Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe
Attendance: 26,856
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

Ireland

Russia


FB	15	Rob Kearney	50'
RW	14	Andrew Conway
OC	13	Garry Ringrose
IC	12	Bundee Aki
LW	11	Keith Earls
FH	10	Johnny Sexton (c)	40'
SH	9	Luke McGrath
N8	8	Jordi Murphy	27'
OF	7	Peter O'Mahony
BF	6	Rhys Ruddock
RL	5	Jean Kleyn	61'
LL	4	Tadhg Beirne
TP	3	John Ryan	58'
HK	2	Niall Scannell	58'
LP	1	Dave Kilcoyne	58'
Replacements:
HK	16	Seán Cronin	58'
PR	17	Andrew Porter	58'
PR	18	Tadhg Furlong	58'
LK	19	Iain Henderson	61'
N8	20	CJ Stander	27'
SH	21	Conor Murray
FH	22	Jack Carty	40'
FB	23	Jordan Larmour	50'
Coach:
Joe Schmidt


FB	15	Vasily Artemyev (c)
RW	14	German Davydov
OC	13	Igor Galinovskiy
IC	12	Kirill Golosnitsky		15'
LW	11	Denis Simplikevich		71'
FH	10	Ramil Gaisin
SH	9	Dmitry Perov
N8	8	Victor Gresev
OF	7	Tagir Gadzhiev
BF	6	Anton Sychev		70'
RL	5	Bogdan Fedotko	34'	64'
LL	4	Andrey Garbuzov		50'
TP	3	Kirill Gotovtsev		68'
HK	2	Evgeny Matveev		40'
LP	1	Andrey Polivalov		40'
Replacements:
HK	16	Stanislav Sel'skiy		40'
PR	17	Valery Morozov		40'
PR	18	Vladimir Podrezov		68'
LK	19	Andrei Ostrikov	51'	50'
LK	20	Evgeny Elgin		64'
FH	21	Sergey Yanyushkin		71'
FL	22	Roman Khodin		70'
CE	23	Vladimir Ostroushko		15'
Coach:
Lyn Jones

Player of the Match:
Rhys Ruddock (Ireland)

Assistant referees:
Mathieu Raynal (France)
Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Notes:

Igor Galinovskiy (Russia) earned his 50th test cap.

Scotland vs Russia

9 October 2019
16:15 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Scotland	61–0	Russia
Try: Hastings (2) 14' c, 18' c G. Horne (3) 22' c, 45' c, 59' m Turner 51' c Seymour 56' c Barclay 75' c McInally 78' c Con: Hastings (8/9) 15', 20', 24', 46', 53', 57', 76', 80'	Report

Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi
Attendance: 44,123
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Scotland

Russia


FB	15	Blair Kinghorn
RW	14	Tommy Seymour
OC	13	Duncan Taylor
IC	12	Peter Horne
LW	11	Darcy Graham	47'
FH	10	Adam Hastings
SH	9	George Horne	65'
N8	8	Ryan Wilson
OF	7	Fraser Brown	31'
BF	6	John Barclay (c)
RL	5	Ben Toolis
LL	4	Scott Cummings	61'
TP	3	Zander Fagerson	40'
HK	2	George Turner	65'
LP	1	Gordon Reid	61'
Replacements:
HK	16	Stuart McInally	65'
PR	17	Simon Berghan	40'
PR	18	W. P. Nel	61'
LK	19	Grant Gilchrist	61'
FL	20	Magnus Bradbury	31'
FL	21	Jamie Ritchie
SH	22	Henry Pyrgos	47'
CE	23	Chris Harris	65'
Coach:
Gregor Townsend


FB	15	Vasily Artemyev (c)			61'
RW	14	German Davydov
OC	13	Vladimir Ostroushko	38'	40'
IC	12	Dmitry Gerasimov
LW	11	Vladislav Sozonov
FH	10	Ramil Gaisin	65'
SH	9	Dmitry Perov
N8	8	Nikita Vavilin	58'
OF	7	Tagir Gadzhiev
BF	6	Vitaly Zhivatov
RL	5	Evgeny Elgin	50'
LL	4	Andrei Ostrikov	69'
TP	3	Kirill Gotovtsev	61'
HK	2	Stanislav Sel'skiy	61'
LP	1	Valery Morozov	61'
Replacements:
HK	16	Sergey Chernyshev	61'
PR	17	Azamat Bitiev	61'
PR	18	Vladimir Podrezov	61'
LK	19	Bogdan Fedotko	50'
LK	20	Andrey Garbuzov	69'
FH	21	Sergey Yanyushkin	65'
N8	22	Anton Sychev	58'
FH	23	Yuri Kushnarev	38'	40'	61'
Coach:
Lyn Jones

Player of the Match:
Adam Hastings (Scotland)

Assistant referees:
Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Television match official:
Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Notes:

This is the first meeting between the two nations.
Vladimir Ostroushko (Russia) earned his 50th test cap.
Scotland became the first team to record multiple nilled-victories over their opponent in one World Cup campaign, and become the first team to record a fifth nilled-victory in World Cup history.
Mathieu Raynal was due to referee this game but withdrew ahead of kick off due to illness - Wayne Barnes stepped up from assistant with Alexandre Ruiz covering the assistant role.

World Cup Records

Australia vs	Played	Lost	Win %
Australia	1	1	0%
Ireland	2	2	0%
Japan	1	1	0%
Italy	1	1	0%
Samoa	1	1	0%
Scotland	1	1	0%
United States	1	1	0%
Overall	8	8	0%

Team Records

Most points in a tournament

57 In New Zealand(2011)
19 in Japan(2019)

Highest Score

22 vs Australia 2011
17 vs Italy 2011
12 vs Ireland 2011
10 vs Japan 2019
9 Vs Samoa 2019

Highest Winning Margin

Nil

Highest Score Against

68 vs Australia 2011
62 vs Ireland 2011
61 vs Scotland 2019
53 vs Italy 2011
35 vs Ireland 2019

Biggest Losing Margin

61 vs Scotland 2019
50 vs Ireland 2011
46 vs Australia 2011
35 vs Ireland 2019
25 vs Samoa 2019

Most Tries in a Game

3 vs Australia 2011
3 vs Italy 2011
2 vs Ireland 2011
1 vs Japan 2019

Most Penalty Goals in a Game

2 vs United States 2011
2 vs Samoa 2019
1 vs Japan 2019

Most Drop Goals in a Game

1 vs Australia 2011
1 vs Samoa 2019

Individual Records

Most Appearances

8 Vladimir Ostroushko(2011,2019)
8 Andrey Garbuzov (2011,2019)
8 Vasily Artemyev (2011,2019)
6 Yuri Kushnarev (2011,2019)

Top Point Scorers

Most Points In A Game

12 vs Australia - Konstantin Rachkov (2011)
9 vs Samoa - Yuri Kushnarev (2019)

Top Try Scorer

Most Penalty Goals

4 Yuri Kushnarev
1 Konstantin Rachkov

Top Drop Goals

1 Konstantin Rachkov
1 Yuri Kushnarev

Hosting

Russia has not hosted any World Cup games.

References

Official RWC 2011 Site

^ "IRB World Rankings". IRB.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
^ The USSR national rugby union team was Russia's international representation at this time.
^ The CIS was Russia's international representation at this time.
^ "Russia banned from Rugby World Cup qualification, Georgia advance". BBC Sport. 10 March 2022.

[1] "IRB World Rankings". IRB.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2010-04-29.

[2] The USSR national rugby union team was Russia's international representation at this time.

[3] The CIS was Russia's international representation at this time.

[4] "Russia banned from Rugby World Cup qualification, Georgia advance". BBC Sport. 10 March 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e National team appearances in the Rugby World Cup by tier
Tier 1 teams	Argentina Australia England France Ireland Italy Japan New Zealand Scotland South Africa Wales
Tier 2 teams	Canada Chile Fiji Georgia Namibia Portugal Romania Russia Samoa Spain Tonga United States Uruguay
Tier 3 teams	Ivory Coast Zimbabwe