[citation needed] Russia competed in their first Rugby World Cup (RWC) in New Zealand in 2011 after qualifying as Europe 2 through their second-place finish in the 2009–10 ENC.

Previous qualification campaigns saw elimination to Portugal ahead of the 2007 tournament, and expulsion from 2003 qualifying for Russia's breaches of eligibility rules.

They competed in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan by qualifying as Europe 1 as a result of Spain, Romania and Belgium being eliminated.

The team was invited to the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, but declined on political grounds, not least the continued IRB membership of apartheid South Africa.

[citation needed] The first game played by the new Russian national team took place on June 6, 1992, when Russia beat the Barbarians 27–23.

Russia's first game against a full IRB member was versus Belgium four months later in the 1992/4 FIRA-AER European Trophy.

[3][4] The Soviet Union declined to take up its invite to take part in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup on the basis of the IRB membership by apartheid South Africa.

[citation needed] In European qualifying for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Russia finished fourth in Pool 1 in Round B, which was not enough to progress from a group also including Italy, Georgia, Croatia, and Denmark.

[citation needed] The Russian national side was expelled from qualifying for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, due to eligibility issues.

However, the RUR did not produce documentation deemed acceptable by the IRB, and Spain were re-instated in qualification in Russia's place.

[citation needed] As the Soviet Union, the side secured four straight silvers (all behind France and ahead of Italy and Romania) during the 1980s, and three bronzes.

[10] On the 26th and 27 January, Vladimir Podrezov and Alexei Golov as well as Victor Kononov and Alexander Gudok were called up to the squad.

[14] Head Coach: Aleksandr Pervukhin Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

[citation needed] After 2018 FIFA World Cup was held in Russia, the country received new large stadiums as a heritage.

The following table shows fixtures of the Russian national team in not official test matches during the previous 12 months.

[citation needed] The men's first official match was played at the Sevens World Cup qualifier in Dubai, beating Botswana 38-3.