Russia name Australian lock Byrnes in squad

WORLD CUP new boys Russia have named Australian lock Adam Byrnes in their 30-man squad.

Coach Nikolai Nerush included Byrnes, who plays for the Melbourne Rebels and has Russian ancestry, in the squad for the tournament in New Zealand after the 30-year-old expressed his desire to represent his adopted 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.