Russia v USA: Teams
Russia will make their World Cup debut when they tackle the USA in New Plymouth.
Last Updated: 14/09/11 10:38am
Russia will make their World Cup debut when they tackle the USA in New Plymouth.
The match will be a repeat of the summer's Churchill Cup Bowl final, a game the Eagles edged 32-25.
The Bears will field a similar side to that encounter, although Konstantin Rachkov comes into the centres and Artem Fatakhov is named in the back-row.
Fatakhov's inclusion, at the expense of Andrey Temnov, means Andrey Garbuzov switches from the openside to the blindside.
There is a further change on the wings, with Vladimir Ostroushko and Vasily Artemyev switching flanks.
The USA have already kicked-off their World Cup campaign, with the Eagles impressing in their 22-10 defeat to Ireland.
Eddie O'Sullivan has made three changes to his starting XV, with Matekitonga Moeakiola, Chris Biller and Chris Wyles coming in. Shawn Pittman, Phil Thiel and Blaine Scully all make way.
Russia: 15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Vladimir Ostroushko, 13 Konstantin Rachkov, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Alexander Shakirov, 8 Vyacheslav Grachev, 7 Artem Fatakhov, 6 Andrey Garbuzov, 5 Denis Antonov, 4 Alexander Voytov, 3 Ivan Prishchepenko, 2 Vladislav Korshunov (c), 1 Sergey Popov.
Replacements: 16 Valery Tsnobiladze, 17 Alexander Khrokin, 18 Vladmimir Botvinnikov, 19 Adam Byrnes, 20 Victor Gresev, 21 Alexander Yanyushkin, 22 Andrey Kuzin.
USA: 15 Chris Wyles, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 James Paterson, 10 Roland Suniula, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Nic Johnson, 7 Todd Clever (c), 6 Louis Stanfill, 5 Hayden Smith, 4 John van der Giessen, 3 Matekitonga Moeakiola, 2 Chris Biller, 1 Mike MacDonald.
Replacements: 16 Phil Thiel, 17 Shawn Pittman, 18 Scott LaValla, 19 Pat Danahy, 20 Tim Usasz, 21 Nese Malifa, 22 Blaine Scully.