History
The Russia Bears were formed in 1991 for a tour of two English teams, the York Wasps and Fulham F.C.
The Bears played their first overseas match in 1991 against the French national team at the Stade Georges Lyvet, Villeurbanne on Sunday, 27 October 1991. The Bears were beaten 26-6 by France. Later that year, the Bears toured South Africa to play a three-match series against South Africa.
France continued to assist the game in the former Soviet Union by touring in 1993, winning 30-14 in Moscow against the Bears and 34-14 against Moldova.
1994 was the most important year to date for the Bears, marking their first international victory against the USA Tomahawks, in San Francisco. In 1995, Russia competed in the Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament but only managed to win one game during the tournament, defeating the Americans 28-26.
Overseas teams would not return to Russia until 1998, when a youth tournament was held in Moscow. The Bears would have to wait until 2000 to play another international, when they played France in the lead-up to the 2000 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC).
The 2000 RLWC provided the Bears with the opportunity to compete with the international heavyweights of rugby league: England and Australia. Also in their group was Fiji, who the Bears played first up in Barrow. Led by Sydney Roosters prop Ian Rubin, who was born in Odessa, Ukraine, the Bears were involved in a tight struggle and it was Fijian captain, winger Lote Tuquri, who proved to be the difference between the two sides, with Fiji winning 38-12. The next two games were against opponents who proved to be beyond the Russians, with two big defeats at the hands of the English national team and a record 110-4 defeat by the Australians.
In 2002, Russia hosted Moscow's first rugby league international. The match was shown in full on national television, and was the first rugby league international to be played on artificial turf. Their opponents, the USA Tomahawks, were outclassed by the Bears to the tune of 54-10, in front of a crowd of 25,000.
The Russian side went on a four-match tour of New Zealand's south island in 2004.
In 2006 and 2007, the Bears participated - without success - in qualifiers for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup in Australia.
In 2008, the Bears competed in the first-ever RLEF Euro Med Challenge, competing against Serbia and Lebanon. They won both games and emrged as victors of the competition.
In 2010, after a year out of competition, the Bears competed in the RLEF European shield, topping the table after wins against Ukraine and Latvia.
In 2011, Russia participated in the Europe division of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers alongside Italy, Lebanon and Serbia.
| RLIF World Rankings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 28 Rankings as of November 2012 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Points |
| 1 | Australia | 1,303.00 | |
| 2 | New Zealand | 916.00 | |
| 3 | England | 671.00 | |
| 4 | 1 | France | 267.00 |
| 5 | 1 | Wales | 227.00 |
| 6 | 2 | Papua New Guinea | 220.00 |
| 7 | Fiji | 119.00 | |
| 8 | Samoa | 93.00 | |
| 9 | 2 | Ireland | 71.00 |
| 9 | United States | 71.00 | |
| 11 | 1 | Scotland | 70.00 |
| 12 | 3 | Tonga | 62.00 |
| 13 | Italy | 54.00 | |
| 14 | 2 | Russia | 42.00 |
| 15 | 1 | Serbia | 39.00 |
| 16 | 2 | Lebanon | 37.00 |
| 17 | 5 | Cook Islands | 36.00 |
| 18 | 3 | Canada | 33.00 |
| 19 | 1 | Norway | 30.00 |
| 20 | 3 | Germany | 29.00 |
| 21 | 1 | Malta | 25.00 |
| 22 | Jamaica | 20.00 | |
| 23 | Ukraine | 15.00 | |
| 24 | 2 | South Africa | 14.00 |
| 25 | 3 | Latvia | 10.00 |
| 26 | 2 | Czech Republic | 7.00 |
| 27 | Denmark | 6.00 | |
| 28 | 1 | Sweden | 2.00 |
| Hungary | Unranked | ||
| India | |||
| Indonesia | |||
| Japan | |||
| Saudi Arabia | |||
| Morocco | |||
| Netherlands | |||
| Pakistan | |||
| Philippines | |||
| Singapore | |||
Read more about this topic: Russia National Rugby League Team
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