RUSSIA v SPAIN European Nations Cup Division 1A

02.02.2013

Venue: Estadio Nacional de Sochi, Sochi

Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)

Preview
Russia has history on its side when it faces Spain in Sochi, a city on the eastern shores of the Black Sea very close to the border with Georgia. This is probably the only part of Russia that doesn’t freeze over in winter but sadly it is hardly the rugby capital of Russia.

Both side struggled in last years ENC 1A. Russia in particular has dipped in form since the 2011 Rugby World Cup finals whilst Spain, with a good number of English-named French-based imports is a national gradually on the rugby rise.

Previous Encounters
19.05.2012 Russia 41-37 in Moscow (ENC 1A)
05.02.2011 Russia 28-24 in Madrid (ENC 1A)
13.02.2010 Russia 38-20 in Madrid (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1)
08.11.2008 Russia 42-15 in Moscow (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1)
08.03.2008 Russia 42-16 in Krasnodar (ENC 1)

Russia Last Five P 5, W 1, L 4
17.11.2012 v Canada L 3-35 in Colwyn Bay (IRB Int. Rugby Series)
09.11.2012 v United States L 26-40 in Colwyn Bay (IRB Int. Rugby Series)
17.06.2012 v Argentina ‘A’ L 9-33 in Bucharest (IRB Nations Cup)
12.06.2012 v Uruguay W 19-13 in Bucharest (IRB Nations Cup)
08.06.2012 v Italy XV L 17-33 in Bucharest (IRB Nations Cup)

Spain Last Five P 5, W 3, L 2
17.11.2012 v Namibia W 38-37 in Windhoek (IRB Tri-Nations)
14.11.2012 v Zimbabwe W 47-14 in Windhoek (IRB Tri-Nations)
19.05.2012 v Russia L 37-41 in Moscow (ENC 1A)
17.03.2012 v Romania W 13-12 in Madrid (ENC 1A)
10.03.2012 v Portugal L 17-23 in Coimbra (ENC 1A)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Russia 19th, Spain 20th
Europe Table: Russia 13th, Spain 14th

IRB Ranking Points
Spain 63.09, Russia 61.49

Prediction: Very close-Russia by 5 points

TEAMS

Russia

15		Igor Klyuchnikov	VVA-Podmoskovje
14		Vasily Artemyev	Northampton Saints, England
13		Sergey Trishin	VVA-Podmoskovye
12		Alex Makovetsky	Krasny Yar
11		Mikhail Babaev	VVA-Podmoskovje
10		Sergei Yanyushkin	AgroUniversity Kazan
9		Alexander Yanyushkin	VVA-Podmoskovje
8		Victor Gresev	Krasny Yar
7		Pavel Butenko	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
6		Andrey Temnov	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
5		Kirill Kulemin	London Welsh, England
4		Alexander Voytov (Capt.)	VVA-Podmoskovye
3		Evgeny Pronenko	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
2		Valeriy Tsnobiladze	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
1		Gregory Tsnobiladze	Krasny Yar
16		Alexey Volkov	VVA-Podmoskovye
17		Andrey Igretsov	Fili Moscow
18		Innokenty Zykov	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
19		Andrey Garbuzov	Krasny Yar
20		Artem Fatakhov	AgroUniversity Kazan
21		Alexey Shcherban	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
22		Sergey Sugrobov	Slava Moscow
23		Dmitry Gerasimov	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
		HEAD COACH: Kingsley Jones

http://rurugby.ru/component/content/article/1-news/1843-rugby-russia-spain

Spain

15		César Sempere	CR El Salvador
14		Matías Tudela	Tatami RC
13		Jake Carter	CR El Salvador
12		Corey Smith	CR Ciencias Sevilla
11		Javier Carrión	CR La Vila
10		Jaime Nava	US Bressan, France
9		Santiago Fernandez	Alcobendas Rugby
8		Lionel Brown	AS Beziers, France
7		Jon Magunazelaia (Capt.)	Bizkaia Gernika RT
6		Joan Tudela	Ordizia RT
5		Jesús Recuerda	Lille, France
4		Matthew Cook	CR La Vila
3		Jesús Moreno	USA Limoges, France
2		Juan Anaya	Rugby Atlético de Madrid
1		Joseph Hutchinson	US Bressan, France
16		Daniel Brown	CR El Salvador
17		Mikel Mungia	Biarritz Olympique - espoirs U23
18		David Gurgenadze	Armia Tblisi, Georgia
19		Francisco Usero	University of Vigo RC
20		Oier Garmendía	Hernani CRE
21		Gregory Maiquez	US Bressan, France
22		Gauthier Minguillon	Union Bordeaux Bègles - U21
23		Anibal Bonan	US Bagneraris, France
		COACH: Brice Bevin

http://www.ferugby.es/noticias/item/139-convocatoria-ante-rusia-y-bélgica