KIRILL GOTOVTSEV

FEW PEOPLE get the chance to shoot for the stars in one sport. But before featuring in a Rugby World Cup for Russia, Siberian tighthead Kirill Gotovtsev had big dreams in two other explosive sporting disciplines.

“I lived in a village in the north of Siberia,” the Krasny Yar prop tells Rugby World of his upbringing. “It was very cold in the winter, sometimes the temperature dropped to -50°C. When I was ten, I tried sports like volleyball, ski racing, track and field, and everywhere it ended after one training session. But then I went to freestyle wrestling.

“I really liked wrestling. I dedicated my all to it until 25. I was born in another city but had to move to continue to work at a higher level. So I was able to move to the capital of our region, Krasnoyarsk. I reached national and international level and from 2006 to 2012 I was in the Russian national team.

“But I had