Russia’s national rugby team will take on two local Welsh regional sides in August in lead-up matches to the Rugby World Cup.
Russia take on Newport Gwent Dragons on August 16 in Newport and Neath-Swansea Ospreys at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium on August 21.
The games will be the first ever played by Russia against regional Welsh sides, though the Soviet Union team played in South Wales in the 1970's, and hosted Wales in the USSR.
Russia go into the matches under the auspices of their coach Kingsley Jones, himself a former Welsh international.
The Ospreys are looking forward to welcoming the Russians to the Liberty Stadium for only their second match there against a national side, said Chief Operations Officer, Andrew Hore.
“Rugby is booming in Russia, it’s a real growth sport and they are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with so it’s fantastic that we can welcome them to the Liberty Stadium. It’s a game that will be vitally important for both teams in terms of preparation for the following month, when we get our Pro12 campaign underway while they will be travelling to New Zealand to compete in their first ever Rugby World Cup.”
