I like to watch rugby. It’s been 13 years since the moment I saw the game for the first time. And that was in the place which is famous for cold winters and vast forests – in Siberia!

A few words on how rugby got that far: the game was brought to the Russian empire at the beginning of the 20th century by ship. English sailors used to teach youngsters how to play it in Odessa – a port on the Black Sea coast (it’s in Ukraine now). And the game immediately became one of the favorite pastimes of local students, along with soccer.

But in 1949 – at the start of the Cold War – the game was banned. Authorities proclaimed that the game “teaches imperialist values in the Communist society and has nothing to do with the Soviet way of life”. So when the fans came to see the game at the Moscow stadium, they could not believe that the game was cancelled. Later on rugby, as a sport, would fall into oblivion for the whole decade. For some mysterious reason, football, hockey and basketball escaped the “purge”.

The game was brought back in 1957 – during the World Students’ Festival. Thousands flocked to a small stadium on the outskirts of Moscow to watch the international rugby tournament. Students and teachers were so fascinated with the game that they started to spread it throughout the country. And one such “Russian rugby fan” brought the game to Krasnoyarsk – an industrial centre in Siberia.

The city was packed with technical colleges and they all absorbed the game. As a result, this English game became the number one sport in this Siberian city – even more popular than soccer. Five thousand young boys played rugby in the city of 600 thousand. Since the 1990s, local businesses began to support their own teams. Now in the Top Russian League, out of eight squads – four are from Krasnoyarsk. And usually one of them makes it to the Championship finals. This year is not an exception.

The game I saw in Krasnoyarsk was a final of the international tournament. The teams from Russia and Poland were fighting hard. But the quality of the game, according to the experts I was with, did not suffer. That’s what had me fascinated.

In Krasnoyarsk they play rugby all year round – even in the snow. It’s something that many rugby stars wouldn’t be able to do. No wonder that some players from the city of Krasnoyarsk do well in big western clubs. And I wish that our Siberian guys would have a chance to play at the World Cup someday.Go, Siberia!!! Go!!!!!!