# Ukraine national rugby union team

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

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
### World Cup

| World Cup record | World Cup record | World Cup record | World Cup record | World Cup record | World Cup record | World Cup record | World Cup record | World Cup Qualification record | World Cup Qualification record | World Cup Qualification record | World Cup Qualification record | World Cup Qualification 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 | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | 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 | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country | Part of USSR: Not an independent country |
| 1995 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1999 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 274 | 108 |
| 2003 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 54 |
| 2007 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 105 | 618 |
| 2011 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 177 | 219 |
| 2015 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 227 | 227 |
| 2019 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 52 | 215 |
| 2023 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | Automatically eliminated | Automatically eliminated | Automatically eliminated | Automatically eliminated | Automatically eliminated | Automatically eliminated |
| Total | 0/8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 20 | 0 | 30 | 935 | 1441 |

### European Competitions

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

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Ukraine national XV at test level up until 9 November 2024, updated after match with Slovakia.
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
| 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% |
| Slovakia | 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 | 139 | 65 | 72 | 2 | 46.76% |

## Recent Matches

Matches :
9 October 2021 12:50 EEST (UTC +3)(1 LBP) Ukraine 24–27 PolandReportYunist Stadion, Lviv Attendance: 2,000 Referee: John Catteau (Belgium) :
23 October 2021 14:00 EEST (UTC+03)(1 LBP) Lithuania 37–39 UkraineReportRegbio stadionas, Šiauliai Attendance: 500 Referee: Ethan Glass (Switzerland) :

## Current Players

The following players were selected for the 2021–22 Rugby Europe Trophy match against Lithuania.
* Head Coach: Valerii Kochanov
Caps updated:
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Club/province |
| Serhii Sukhikh | Prop | (1978-10-28) 28 October 1978 (age 46) | 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 37) | 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 32) | RC Podillya |
| Volodymyr Voitov | Fly-half | (1988-08-10) 10 August 1988 (age 36) | RC Olymp |
| Dmytro Prodeus | Wing | (1998-10-19) 19 October 1998 (age 26) | RC Polytechnic |
| Viacheslav Ponomarenko | Centre | (1982-09-27) 27 September 1982 (age 42) | RC Olymp |
| Oleh Kosariev | Centre | (1988-10-06) 6 October 1988 (age 36) | RC Olymp |
| Denys Primushenetskiy | Wing | (1998-10-22) 22 October 1998 (age 26) | RC Polytechnic |
| Myroslav Shuliak | Fullback | (1993-10-10) 10 October 1993 (age 31) | 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 34) | 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

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.
| Player | Pos | Date of birth (age) | Club | Latest call-up |
| 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
### Current coaching staff

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

### Former coaches

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

## Notable players

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