Ukraine national rugby union team

National rugby union team

Ukraine

Nickname(s)| Kozaky (The Cossacks)
Emblem| Trident
Union| National Rugby Federation of Ukraine
Head coach| Valerii Kochanov
Captain| TBC
Home stadium| Various

First colours

Second colours

|

World Rugby ranking
Current| 36 (as of 16 January 2023)
Highest| 24 (2004)
Lowest| 42 (2018)
First international
Georgia 19–15 Ukraine
(Tbilisi, Georgia 21 November 1991)
Biggest win
Austria 0–78 Ukraine
(Vienna, Austria 14 May 1994)
Biggest defeat
Romania 97–0 Ukraine
(Bucharest, Romania 19 March 2005)
Website| www.rugby.org.ua

The Ukraine national rugby union team (Ukrainian: Збірна України з регбі) represents Ukraine in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed The Cossacks (Козаки, Kozaky), is one of the tier 3 teams in Europe that currently compete in the second division of the Rugby Europe International Championships in the Rugby Europe Trophy, a competition which is just below the Rugby Europe Championship where the top 6 countries in Europe (apart from the teams in the Six Nations) compete. They are yet to participate in any Rugby World Cup.

## History[edit]

Main article: Rugby union in Ukraine

Ukraine made their international debut in 1991 against Georgia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, losing the close game 15-19. The two nations played again three days later, where Georgia won again with the score of 6-0. The following year Ukraine met Georgia once more for a two match series, losing both matches. In their first match of 1993, they defeated Hungary 41-3 for their first ever win since their independence. This was followed by another three wins in succession, against Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. This streak would however end in 1994 with a loss to Denmark.

In 1996 Ukraine defeated Latvia 19-3; the match would be the start of a nine match winning streak) which would be the longest thus far. The wins carried on until 1998, where they lost to the Netherlands 13-35. The late 1990s, Ukraine saw mixed results and defeated teams like Poland and the Czech Republic, but they lost games to the likes of their neighbours Russia, Georgia and Romania.

Ukraine played in the first division of 2005-06 European Nations Cup, the tournament where the best teams in Europe outside of the Six Nations and the tournament that also served as a qualifier for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. Ukraine lost all ten of their fixtures and were relegated to Division 2A while within the qualifiers, the bottom three teams went on to Round 4 of the European World Cup qualifiers, so Ukraine would find their selves playing against Russia twice to determine who goes through to the next round of the qualifiers. Ukraine lost both games by the scores 11-25 and 37-17.

## Record[edit]

### World Cup[edit]

World Cup record |  | World Cup Qualification record

|
|

Year  | Round  | P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A
1987 | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country
1991 | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country
1995 | did not enter | did not enter
1999 | did not qualify | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 274 | 108
2003 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 54
2007 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 105 | 618
2011 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 177 | 219
2015 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 227 | 227
2019 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 52 | 215
2023 | Automatically eliminated
Total | 0/8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 20 | 0 | 30 | 935 | 1441

### European Competitions[edit]

Season  | Division  |  G |  W |  D |  L |  PF |  PA |  +/− |  Pts |  Pos

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2000 | European Nations Cup Second Division | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 135 | -81 | 6 | 3rd
2000-01 | European Nations Cup Second Division | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 61 | +4 | 13 | 2nd
2002-04 | European Nations Cup Second Division Pool A | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 200 | 74 | +126 | 23 | 1st
2004-06 | European Nations Cup First Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 77 | 556 | -479 | 10 | 6th
2006-08 | European Nations Cup Second Division 2A | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 117 | 128 | -11 | 14 | 4th
2008-10 | European Nations Cup Second Division 2A | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 140 | 109 | +31 | 18 | 1st
2010-12 | European Nations Cup First Division 1A | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 124 | 442 | -318 | 5 | 6th
2012-14 | European Nations Cup First Division 1B | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 227 | 227 | 0 | 24 | 3rd
2014-16 | European Nations Cup First Division 1B | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 244 | 165 | +79 | 36 | 2nd
2016-17 | Rugby Europe Trophy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 52 | 215 | -163 | 0 | 6th
2017-18 | Rugby Europe Conference 1 North | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 92 | 63 | +29 | 12 | 2nd
2018-19 | Rugby Europe Conference 1 North | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 113 | 29 | +84 | 14 | 1st
2019-20 | Rugby Europe Trophy | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 60 | 74 | -19 | 14 | 3rd
2021-22* | Rugby Europe Trophy | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 108 | 177 | -69 | 5 | 5th
2022-23 | Rugby Europe Trophy | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 117 | 135 | -18 | 9 | 2nd
2023-24 | Rugby Europe Trophy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 61 | 225 | -164 | 0 | 6th

### Overall[edit]

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Ukraine national XV at test level up until 13 April 2024:

Opponent  | Played  | Won  | Lost  | Drawn  | % Won

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Austria | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Belgium | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 44.44%
Croatia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 66.67%
Czech Republic | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40%
Denmark | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67%
Georgia | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0%
Germany | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 33.33%
Hungary | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67%
Israel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Latvia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67%
Lithuania | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 57.14%
Luxembourg | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Moldova | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 36.36%
Netherlands | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 66.67%
Poland | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 78.57%
Portugal | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20%
Romania | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0%
Russia | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0%
Spain | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0%
Serbia and Montenegro | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Slovenia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100%
Sweden | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 90%
Switzerland | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33.33%
Total | 138 | 64 | 72 | 2 | 46.38%

## Recent Matches[edit]

Matches

| 9 October 2021
12:50 EEST (UTC +3)

(1 LBP) Ukraine | 24–27|  Poland

|
|

| Report|
Yunist Stadion, Lviv
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: John Catteau (Belgium)

| 23 October 2021
14:00 EEST (UTC+03)

(1 LBP) Lithuania | 37–39|  Ukraine

|
|

| Report|
Regbio stadionas, Šiauliai
Attendance: 500
Referee: Ethan Glass (Switzerland)

## Current Players[edit]

The following players were selected for the 2021–22 Rugby Europe Trophy match against  Lithuania.[1]

* Head Coach: Valerii Kochanov

Caps updated:

Player  | Position | Date of birth (age)  | Matches Played  | Club/province

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Serhii Sukhikh | Prop |  (1978-10-28) 28 October 1978 (age 45) |  |  RC Olymp
Mykola Kirsanov | Hooker |  (1980-04-24) 24 April 1980 (age 44) |  |  RC Olymp
Oleksii Novikov | Prop |  (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 29) |  |  RC Olymp
Matvii Bocharov | Lock |  (2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 (age 24) |  |  RC Olymp
Oleksandr Lomakin | Lock |  (1980-05-02) 2 May 1980 (age 44) |  |  RC Olymp
Serhii Nikitin | Back row |  (1990-03-18) 18 March 1990 (age 34) |  |  RC Polytechnic
Vitaly Orlov | Back row |  (1987-10-05) 5 October 1987 (age 36) |  |  RC Olymp
Serhii Cherniachenko | Back row |  (1990-01-17) 17 January 1990 (age 34) |  |  RC Olymp
Vadym Sivak | Scrum-half |  (1992-08-26) 26 August 1992 (age 31) |  |  RC Podillya
Volodymyr Voitov | Fly-half |  (1988-08-10) 10 August 1988 (age 35) |  |  RC Olymp
Dmytro Prodeus | Wing |  (1998-10-19) 19 October 1998 (age 25) |  |  RC Polytechnic
Viacheslav Ponomarenko | Centre |  (1982-09-27) 27 September 1982 (age 41) |  |  RC Olymp
Oleh Kosariev | Centre |  (1988-10-06) 6 October 1988 (age 35) |  |  RC Olymp
Denys Primushenetskiy | Wing |  (1998-10-22) 22 October 1998 (age 25) |  |  RC Polytechnic
Myroslav Shuliak | Fullback |  (1993-10-10) 10 October 1993 (age 30) |  |  RC Podillya
Serhii Liutyi | ?? |  (1998-11-28) 28 November 1998 (age 25) |  |  RC Epokha-Polytechnic
Valentyn Porokhonchuk | Hooker |  (1992-01-29) 29 January 1992 (age 32) |  |  RC Kredo-63
Oleg Valius | ?? |  (2000-11-28) 28 November 2000 (age 23) |  |  RC Podillya
Daniil Korovin | ?? |  (1990-08-06) 6 August 1990 (age 33) |  |  RC Epokha-Polytechnic
Andrii Tsarevskyi | ?? |  (1987-01-17) 17 January 1987 (age 37) |  |  RC Olymp
Oleksandr Marshuba | Scrum-half |  (1993-02-27) 27 February 1993 (age 31) |  |  RC Olymp
Narek Manukyan | Wing |  (1992-06-04) 4 June 1992 (age 32) |  |  RC Rebels
Denys Zakhlivnyi | ?? |  (1992-05-29) 29 May 1992 (age 32) |  |  RC Epokha-Polytechnic

### Recent call-ups[edit]

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Player  | Pos  | Date of birth (age)  | Caps  | Club  | Latest call-up

|
|
|
|
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Vitalii Kramarenko | Prop |  |  |  Budowlani Łódź | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021
Ruslan Radchuk | Lock | 29 November 1986 (age 34)  |  |  RC Kredo-63 | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021
Daniil Hapon | Scrum-half | 18 November 2001 (age 19)  |  |  SC Sokil | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021
Oleh Zarovnyi | Fullback | 19 September 2002 (age 19)  |  |  Odesa National Team  | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021
Dmytro Mokretsov |  | 24 March 1988 (33)  |  |  Ogniwo Sopot | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021
Oleksandr Khomenko |  | 28 November 1990 (age 30)  |  |  RC Podillya | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021
Eduard Vertyletskyi |  |  |  |  Pogoń Siedlce | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021
Roman Kulakivskyi | Lock | 5 November 1986 (age 34)  |  |  RC Kredo-63 | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021
Yaroslav Davydov |  | 1 January 2001 (age 20)  |  |  RC Olymp | v.  Poland, 9 October 2021

## Coaches[edit]

### Current coaching staff[edit]

Name  | Nationality  | Role

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|

Maksym Kravchenko |  UKR | Manager
Valerii Kochanov |  UKR | Head coach
Oleh Kvasnytsia |  UKR | Coach
Olena Zadorozhna |  UKR | Physio

### Former coaches[edit]

Name  | Years  | Tests  | Won  | Drew  | Lost  | Win percentage

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|
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Valerii Kochanov |  |  |  |  |  |

## Notable players[edit]

* Andriy Kovalenco
* Vitaly Orlov
* Ivan Soroka and Alex Soroka \- Ukrainian qualified Irish underage internationals

## See also[edit]

* Rugby union in Ukraine
* National Rugby Federation of Ukraine
* Ukraine national rugby sevens team
* Ukraine women's national rugby sevens team
* Sport in Ukraine

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Lithuania vs Ukraine match report". Rugby Europe. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.

## External links[edit]

* rugby.org.ua \- Official Site (in Ukrainian)

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Rugby union in Ukraine

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