'Rugby' in Russian is 'regbi', while rowing is 'grebli'. Some confusion there! Rugby isn't understood by many Russians because until recently it was banned in that country.

Rugby was banned in the Stalin era because it was considered bourgeois and decadent in Soviet states. Football is far more popular.



Rugby has made a comeback in Russia, though.

The Independent reports that "That is starting to change, however, as the national side made an appearance at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, and Moscow hosts the World Cup Sevens next weekend, at Luzhniki Stadium, the main venue for the 1980 Olympics, and the stadium that hosted the 2008 Champions League final..."