RUSSIA v PORTUGAL: WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A

08.03.2014

Venue: Sochi

Referee: Matt Carley (England)

Preview
A win to Russia would qualify them for third place in the European section of the 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying rounds.

Portugal won the last time these two teams met in Sochi.

Russia will be without their regular captain Alexander Voytov, whilst Portugal was unable to call up injured France-based player Jose Lima. The inclusion of Julien Bardy from Narbonne will greatly strengthen the Portuguese side.

Last Five Encounters
09.03.2013 Russia 31-23 in Coimbra (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
11.02.2012 Russia 33-32 in Lisbon (ENC 1A)
12.02.2011 Portugal 21-19 in Sochi (ENC 1A)
06.02.2010 Russia 14-10 in Sochi (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1)
07.02.2009 Russia 18-14 in Lisbon (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Russia 19th, Portugal 20th
European Table: Russia 15th, Portugal 16th

IRB Ranking Points
Russia 61.20, Portugal 59.83

Prediction: I’m going for an upset Portugal to win by 3 points

Teams

Russia

15		Vasily Artemyev	Northampton Saints, England
14		Vladimir Ostroushko	RC Kuban Krasnodar
13		Dmitry Gerasimov	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
12		Alexey Makovetsky	Krasny Yar
11		Igor Galinovskiy	Krasny Yar
10		Yuri Kushnarev	RC Kuban Krasnodar
9		Alexander Yanyushkin (Capt.)	VVA-Podmoskovye
8		Andrey Temnov	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
7		Andrei Garbuzov	Krasny Yar
6		Pavel Butenko	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
5		Kirill Kulemin	Sale Sharks, England
4		Andrey Ostrikov	Sale Sharks, England
3		Innokenty Zykov	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
2		Valeriy Tsnobiladze	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
1		Alexey Volkov	VVA-Podmoskovye
16		Vladislav Korshunov	VVA-Podmoskovye
17		Grigory Tsnobiladze	Krasny Yar
18		Andrey Igretsov	Slava Moscow-CPS
19		Pavel Kvernadze	Fili Moscow
20		Alexander Khudyakov	Krasny Yar
21		Alexander Shakirov	Unattached
22		Sergei Sugrobov	Slava Moscow-CPS
23		Vladimir Rudenko	Krasny Yar
		HEAD COACH: Kingsley Jones

Portugal

15		Nuno Penha e Costa	CD University Lisboa
14		Gonçalo Foro	CD University Lisboa
13		Pedro Bettencourt Avila	CD Universitário do Porto
12		Carl Murray	CD University Lisboa
11		Antonio Aguilar	GD Direito
10		Diogo Miranda	CF "Os Belenenses"
9		Emmanuel Rebelo	Stade Dijon Cote D Or, France
8		Vasco Uva	GD Direito
7		Julien Bardy	ASM Clermont Auvergne, France
6		Kevin da Costa	Biarritz Olympique, France
5		Gonçalo Uva	RC Narbonne Méditérranée, France
4		Eric dos Santos	Biarritz Olympique, France
3		Cristian Spachuk	CS Bourgoin-Jallieu, France
2		João Correia (Capt.)	GD Direito
1		Jorge Segurado	GD Direito
16		Bruno Medeiros	CD University Lisboa
17		Francisco Tavares	GD Direito
18		Bruno Rocha	AEIS Tecnico
19		Fernando Almeida	AEIS Agronomia
20		Vasco F. Mendes
21		Luis Salema	GD Direito
22		Francisco Pinto Malgahaes	CD University Lisboa
23		Tomás Noronha	CD University Lisboa
		HEAD COACH: Errol Brain