[2] Rugby union was played in the Russian Empire as early as in 1908, and in 1936 the first Soviet Championship took place.

In 1949, rugby union was forbidden in the USSR during the "fight against the cosmopolitanism".

[3] Azerbaijan had its own rugby team in the USSR, but it was not treated as a proper national side.

Rugby union in Azerbaijan has begun to grow in recent years, as they competed in the 2006 European Nations Cup.

They played two matches; one on 29 April 2006 against Luxembourg at Baku, and one on 14 May 2006 against Bosnia and Herzegovina at Zenica.