RUGBY: Krasnoyarsk is both a Russian town and an increasingly yuppified and westernized town. It's also a port town, an aluminium town and as much as anything else, it seems, it's a rugby town.

Founded as a Cossack outpost on the massive Yenesei River, rugby was brought to Krasnoyarsk by English settlers in 1903. And, for no other reason than the locals have always retained a liking for it, it has remained a rugby outpost ever since.

One of the few top-class Irish rugby players to have had contact with Krasnoyarsk - perhaps the only one - is Mick Hipwell. Capped 12 times by Ireland between 1962 and 1972, Hipwell helped the Siberians to establish their English-speaking air traffic control, making about 15 visits of two weeks or more to Krasnoyarsk up until a couple of years ago,

"In Irish terms, Krasnoyarsk has a real, old country-style club," says Hipwell. "They have very good facilities in the ground, which can hold up to 60,000. They've had the Barbarians over there a few times, and hosted Italy there in 1998."

"They would have about 700 adult players and about 700 kids. Their problem is they are so isolated. Both Moscow and Georgia are about 2,000 miles away so they get very little exposure to competitive rugby at a high level."

Krasnoyarsk has been compared to Limerick in an Irish context as the heartbeat of both Siberian and Russian rugby, and Hipwell concurs.

"The local team have pretty much a full-time set-up. The local aluminium plant, one of the biggest in the world, is the sponsor. It supplies 80 per cent of the electricity."

"The name of the city's club is Kransoyar and they regularly win the Russian Cup. They are massive games. Their season will be coming to an end now. It's a summer game and it's a short season because of the harshness of their winter, and runs from about the end of April to the end of September."

According to Russia's South African coach James Stoffberg, "at the moment we have only six clubs. The standard of three of the clubs are not very good and the selection of the National team mostly came out of three clubs.

"The two best teams are from Krasnoyarsk. We have to travel a lot as we have to play home and away against the other clubs. For example, to play against the other four clubs we have to travel almost 35,000 km by air plus taking in account all the time differences from Siberia to Moscow."

Hipwell is aghast that the Irish squad will scarcely be arriving a day and a half before kick-off and clearly feels they are cutting it too fine. "They could be exhausted and jet-lagged still by the time of the kick-off."

However, during the three-hour pit-stop in Moscow on the 12-hour trek to Krasnoyarsk yesterday, Eddie O'Sullivan said the rationale was to play the match before jet lag set in.

Hipwell does not envisage Russia sticking the ball up their jumpers if they do get their hands on it, and playing a percentage, mauling, kicking game with an emphasis on recycling close in, like the Romanians did in Limerick.

"They have a couple of very fast players and there's a fair bit of speed in the backs, especially. If they get the ball they'll want to run it. They've a bit of a French influence over the years and they like their rugby played with a bit of flair."

For all that, Hipwell doesn't envisage a hugely embarrassing day out for the Irish team. "If Ireland play as they did against Romania then Russia will definitely get scores. The Russians have a lot of good, fine athletes, but they're not hardened enough as a team for this level."

Conor O'Clery, who was the first western journalist allowed into Krasnoyarsk back in 1990, has returned since, in 1993, 1998 and last May, and was particularly struck by the changes on his last visit.

"When I first visited it was a very typically run-down provincial city. All the buildings were peeling and the people were pretty dour. Now the centre of the city is quite beautiful, there are very good restaurants and stores. Siberians are very helpful and they like foreigners."

The population of Krasnoyarsk is about 800,000 and Hipwell describes the natives as "bloody nice people". Some, he says, can speak English but aren't inclined to do so. Were you to happen upon Krasnoyarsk, he says, the first thing you should do is hire a guide/interpreter. And don't try taking on the Russian bureaucratic system. Just keep handing over the US dollars.

"Everything works slowly and in its own time, but it does work. There's no point in trying to rush them or hassle them. It'll only make things worse."

He tells of sitting in a local restaurant one night a few days into his first visit and suddenly laughing out loud to himself. No it wasn't the vodka. "I just realised that I'd stopped trying to beat the system. I had just joined in."

The food is generally straightforward but the restaurants and shops are blossoming. The local Siberian beer can be strong if "lovely" but yes, according to Hipwell, the vodka flows much like the Yenesei.