Russia, the World Cup debutants, have named the Australian lock, Adam Byrnes, in their 30-man squad for next month's tournament in New Zealand.
The coach, Nikolai Nerush, included Byrnes, who plays for the Melbourne Rebels and has Russian ancestry, in the squad for the September 9 to October 23 event after the 30 year old expressed his desire to represent the country.
"Both grandparents on my mother's side are Russian, and I was baptised in a Russian Orthodox church, so I have strong connections to my Russian heritage," Byrnes said earlier this year.
"Language was easy as a kid, my mum spoke to me in Russian and I spoke it fluently as a child. But over time that has waned a bit as English took over," he said.
"I'll have to do a bit of a crash course in numbers and basic things, but hopefully I can pick it all up again."
Despite his Russian heritage, Byrnes had to convince Russia's coaching staff that he would be able to blend in with his new teammates on this month's two-week tour of Britain.
"We'll see if he really wants to play for Russia and gets along with the rest of the team before we make a final decision," Nerush said in an interview earlier this month.
"We don't want to create any animosity in the team."
Vasili Artemyev, the winger who, earlier this year, became the first Russian to join an English Premiership side when he signed a two-year contract with the Northampton Saints, also made the squad.
Andrey Ostrikov, the Sale Sharks lock, also made the cut along with Viatcheslav Grachev, the No 8, and Konstantin Rachkov, the utility back, who are both based in France.
Russia, who are in Pool C alongside Australia, Italy, Ireland and the United States, begin their campaign against the Americans in New Plymouth on September 15.
