United States v Russia, Rugby World Cup, September 15
Russia unveil team to face Eagles
ESPNscrum Staff
September 13, 2011

Russia head coach Nikolay Nerush has announced his starting line-up for this side's Rugby World Cup opener against the United States in New Plymouth on Thursday.

The team shows just two changes from the one selected for their last competitive fixture, which, coincidentally, came against the Americans in this summer's Churchill Cup, the Russians coming out on the wrong side of a 32-25 scoreline.

Konstantin Rachkov has been preferred to Mikhail Babav alongside Alexey Makovetskiy in midfield, while Artem Fatakhov replaces Andrey Temnov in the back-row, a change which sees Andrey Garbuzov switch flanks, moving from the openside to the blindside.

Russia: Igor Klyuchnikov; Vladimir Ostroushko, Konstantin Rachkov, Alexey Makovetskiy, Vasily Artemyev; Yury Kushnarev, Alexander Shakirov; Sergey Popov, Vladislav Korshunov (capt), Ivan Prishchepenko; Alexander Voytov, Denis Antonov; Andrey Garbuzov, Artem Fatakhov, Vyacheslav Grachev.

Replacements: Valery Tsnobiladze, Alexander Khrokin, Vladmimir Botvinnikov, Adam Byrnes, Victor Gresev, Alexander Yanyushkin, Andrey Kuzin.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices