RUSSIA coach Lyn Jones heralded the performance as a leap forward for Tier 2 rugby. He said: “The whole occasion was enormous for our players. The fact we were playing Ireland brought out the best in us. Tonight was a big step.
“We’re raising the bar in Russia. The sport needs to keep growing in Russia and this tournament is a great catalyst for that.”
Captain Vasily Artemyev, who grew up playing schoolboy rugby in Ireland against many of the current team, said: “We troubled Ireland with our kicking game and we troubled them for 60 minutes to score their bonus ...