KAKEGAWA, 8 Oct – Sergey Ianiushkin had the right pedigree and history on his side when Russia selected him for Rugby World Cup 2019.
Eight years earlier, his brother and scrum-half, Alexander, scored Russia's first-ever try at a Rugby World Cup in their second pool game against Italy, pictured above. Now Sergey, below, is flying the family flag again in his first World Cup.
For years, the two brothers played together for the national team and with several clubs in the Russian league.
"Sasha (Alexander) was a scrum-half and I am playing as a fly-half," he said. "There is extensive interaction between these positions, so our ties and the fact that we communicate much in life really helped.
"If any problems happened, we always knew that we could speak out freely and we always felt comfortable being together on the pitch."
Alexander retired and switched to coaching in 2018, first with the Russian sevens side and then as head coach at Russia's Lokomotiv Penza, where Sergey is now playing.
"In training, I keep a distance like it happens with any other coach," he says. "I listen to him and try to accomplish everything he says - all the exercises and tactics he gives.
"He just wished me good luck and good play and to the whole team (in Japan).
"He is my brother, so after work we can speak about anything and take rest together. But we separate work and usual life - if you don't do it, things won't go well."
Through Alexander's experiences in 2011, Sergey, whose side face Scotland in Pool A on Wednesday, knew that playing in Japan would be also be a special occasion.
"From the words of Alexander and other guys, I already knew how cool it was in New Zealand," he said. "Japan has organised the World Cup in a different way, but we need to pay tribute to the nation for their friendly, polite and helpful attitude to everyone."
RNS dk/pr/mj