RUGBY league's heartland has been so embedded in the gritty north that it has struggled to spread the word north of Workington and south of Sheffield for decades.

So it was with a tad of surprise to read among the teams of small Yorkshire mining towns and no-nonsense Lancashire counterparts taking part in last week's Challenge Cup the name of Locomotive Moscow.

The Russians appear to have a long way to go before they become a super power in the world of rugby league, however. They went down 70-10 at Swinton.