2011 Rugby World Cup Preview: Pool C - Australia vs Russia
Australia will take on the Rugby Union minnows, Russia, in their final pool match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) tournament. Wallabies will be looking forward to end their pool matches on a high note by delivering a solid standout performance in their
encounter against the Russians.
Both Australia and Russia will play their last pool match of the tournament on Saturday, October 1, at Trafalgar Park, Nelson. The Bears are likely to end their 2011 RWC campaign without a win once they go up against the World Number 2 Australia.
Following the Wallabies surprise defeat at the hands of Ireland, the Aussies have returned to their winning ways after their bonus point victory over the United States of America. Wallabies so far have won two of their three games in the tournament, which
includes their first win of the tournament in their RWC opener against Italy.
A win, particularly a bonus point win, will ensure a knockout stage place for the 2011 Tri Nations Champions as the Azzurri’s and Ireland will clash to determine the second qualifier from the pool.
Wallabies, who are currently struggling with injuries, have still managed to put together an impressive squad. Although Will Genia will start the match from the bench, the starting lineup contains enough firepower to dent any Russian hopes of an upset.
Wallabies head coach, Robbie Deans, has moved his utility backs James O’Connor to the fullback position in place of the injured Kurtley Beale. In addition to O'Connor, Scott Higginbotham, David Pocock, and James Horwill make their comeback into the squad
after recovering from their respective injuries.
Deans added, “We've had to be a bit creative but it's never been about the number on their back. While some of them might be out of their normal positions, they won't let us down and will enjoy the opportunity.”
On the other hand, Russian head coach Nikolay Nerush has made six changes to his squad. The changes are both tactical and were forced after the suspension of Valery Tsnobiladze.
The weekend game will also bring the Australian Super Rugby player, Adam Byrnes, in competition with his Super Rugby mates. Brynes plays his professional rugby for Melbourne Rebels and qualifies for Russia through his grandparents.
Commenting on the match, Brynes said, “I've had a few messages here and there [from Wallabies players] and I'm going to catch up with a couple of the boys this afternoon. We're mates off the field and when it's on, it's on; and afterwards we'll relax and
have a good time as well.”
Both sides have announced their match day squads for their weekend encounter. The squads are listed below:
Australia
Starting XV: 15. James O'Connor; 14. Radike Samo, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Berrick Barnes, 11. Drew Mitchell; 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Luke Burgess; 8.Ben McCalman, 7. David Pocock, 6. Scott Higginbotham, 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. James Horwill
(capt), 3. Sekope Kepu, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. James Slipper,.
Replacements: 16. Tatafu Polota Nau, 17. Saia Fainga'a, 18. Salesi Ma'afu, 19. Rob Simmons, 20. Rocky Elsom, 21. Will Genia, 22. Nick Phipps.
Russia
Starting XV: 15 Vasily Artemyev, 14 Denis Simplikevich, 13 Andrey Kuzin, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Alexander Yanyushkin, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Vyacheslav Grachev, 6 Artem Fatakhov, 5 Adam Byrnes, 4
Alexander Voytov, 3 Ivan Prishchepenko, 2 Vladislav Korshunov (captain), 1 Sergey Popov.
Replacements: 16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Vladimir Botvinnikov, 18 Alexey Travkin, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Alexander Shakirov, 21 Konstantin Rachkov, 22 Mikhail Babaev
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