Soviet Union women's national rugby union team

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For the men's team, see Soviet Union national rugby union team.

Soviet Union women's national rugby union team
First
colours
Second
colours
First international
New Zealand  8–0  Soviet Union
(Lincoln University, Lincoln; 28 August 1990)
Biggest defeat
United States  46–0  Soviet Union
(Memorial Ground, Cardiff; 10 April 1991)
World Cup
Appearances1

The Soviet Union women's national rugby union team (

collapse of the Soviet Union.[1]

History

The Soviet Union played their first match at

Soviet Union passports and traveled outside the Soviet Union. The majority of the team was made up from the Moscow-based Victoria rugby club.[1] The team were delayed for two days and half of their luggage went missing at Moscow Airport. When the team arrived, they smuggled five crates of Russian vodka and caviar through customs at Heathrow Airport.[2]

When they arrived in Wales, they resorted to selling or bartering their vodka, caviar and sportswear in order to pay for their living expenses as they were not allowed to take any money out of the Soviet Union.

gumshields.[1][2]

The tournament organisers were left with a £30,000 debt owed to the Rugby Football Union after it, which was mainly attributed to the Soviet team as they were unable to pay their expenses.[5] This was the last time the Soviet team played as following the dissolution of the Soviet Union; their place in the 1994 Women's Rugby World Cup was taken by the successor teams of Russia and Kazakhstan.[1]

Results summary

(Full internationals only, updated to 24 April 2023)

Soviet Union Internationals From 1990
Opponent First Match Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Win %
 Canada 1991 1 0 0 1 0 38 0.00%
 Netherlands 1990 2 0 0 2 4 40 0.00%
 New Zealand 1990 1 0 0 1 0 8 0.00%
 United States 1990 2 0 0 2 0 78 0.00%
Summary 1990 6 0 0 6 4 164 0.00%

Results

For information about the status of international games, see Women's international rugby union § International women's matches.

Full internationals

Won Lost Tie/Draw
Test# Date Soviet Union Score Opponent Venue Event Ref
1 1990-08-28 Soviet Union  0–8  New Zealand Lincoln University, Lincoln RugbyFest 1990 [6]
2 1990-08-30 Soviet Union  4–12  Netherlands Christchurch RugbyFest 1990 [6]
3 1990-08-31 Soviet Union  0–32  United States Lancaster Park, Christchurch RugbyFest 1990 [6][7]
4 1991-04-08 Soviet Union  0–28  Netherlands The Dairy Field, Llanharan 1991 World Cup [8][9][10][11][12]
5 1991-04-10 Soviet Union  0–46  United States Memorial Ground, Cardiff 1991 World Cup [8][9][10][13][14][12]
6 1991-04-11 Soviet Union  0–38  Canada Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff 1991 World Cup [9][10][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Remembering WRWC '91: The Soviet Union". Scrum Queens. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "How the Russians endeared themselves to their Welsh hosts at inaugural Women's World Cup". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  3. ^ Birch, John (9 April 1991). "World Cup: Soviet Union team penniless". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Womensrugbyhistory.blogspot.com.
  4. ^ Meagher, Gerard (14 December 2017). "Standards rise at Women's Rugby World Cup but England still the team to beat". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  5. ^ "The incredible journey women's rugby has taken to earn its place in the spotlight". Wales Online. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "1990 RugbyFest 1990 (W) full draw". RugbyDatabase.co.nz. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  7. ^ "USA vs Soviet Union". World Rugby. 31 August 1990. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b "USSR 1991 (Silvia Lolli)". IlMuseoDelRugby.it (in Italian). 29 July 2013. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "1991 Womens Rugby World Cup (W) full draw". RugbyDatabase.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "USA Women's Rugby World Cup 1991 Champions Reunite at Atlanta 7s". DJCoilRugby.com. 7 April 2016. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Netherlands vs Soviet Union". World Rugby. 8 April 1991. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "Rugby World Cup New Zealand 2021 - Italy Media Guide". Italian Rugby Federation. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  13. ^ "US Women Eagles Win the Inaugural Women's World Cup". WomenEagles.com. 8 August 2006. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  14. ^ "USA vs Soviet Union". World Rugby. 10 April 1991. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
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