RUSSIA v PORTUGAL World Cup Qualifier Europe R5; ENC 1A

09.03.2012

Venue: Estádio Sérgio Conceição, Coimbra

Image thanks to ‘Quentin’ at http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4269

Referee: Jean-Pierre Matheu (France)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	BT	BL	PT
GEORGIA	3	3	0	0	65	34	31	0	0	12
ROMANIA	3	3	0	0	73	42	31	0	0	12
PORTUGAL	3	1	0	2	43	56	-13	0	1	5
BELGIUM	3	0	1	2	46	56	-10	0	1	4
RUSSIA	3	1	0	2	36	61	-25	0	0	4
SPAIN	3	0	1	2	45	59	-14	0	1	3

Preview
In the past Russia has been the dominant team in these clashes but Portugal has pushed the Russians very close in recent encounters, which includes a win on Russian soil in 2011.

Whilst neither team looks to be a 1,2 or 3 placing certainty at the end of the competition both teams could easily slip to the bottom of the points table. This would place them dangerously close to relegation mid-2014.

This situation places a win today for either side as crucial.

Last Five Encounters
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)
01.03.2008 Russia 41-26 in Krasnodar (ENC 1)

Portugal Last Five P 5, W 3, L 2
23.02.2013 v Belgium W 18-12 in Lisbon (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
09.02.2013 v Georgia L 12-25 in Tblisi (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
02.02.2013 v Romania L 13-19 in Lisbon (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
17.11.2012 v Chile W 28-22 in Santiago
11.11.2012 v Uruguay W 32-25 in Montevideo

Russia Last Five P 5, W 1, L 4
23.02.2013 v Georgia L 9-23 in Sochi (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
09.02.2013 v Romania L 14-29 in Bucharest (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
02.02.2013 v Spain W 13-9 in Sochi (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
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)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Portugal 18th, Russia 21st
Europe Table-Portugal 12th, Russia 13th

IRB Ranking Points
Russia 60.92, Portugal 59.38

Prediction: A close game, Portugal by 5 points

TEAMS

Portugal

15		Nuno Penha e Costa	CD University Lisboa
14		Frederico Oliveira	CD University Lisboa
13		Carl Murray	CD University Lisboa
12		Francisco Appleton	CD University Lisboa
11		Gonçalo Foro	CD University Lisboa
10		Pedro Leal	Nice, France
9		Samuel Marquea	Albi, France
8		Juan Severino	Chamberry, France
7		Vasco Uva	GD Direito
6		Julian Bardy	Cleremont-Ferrand, France
5		Gonçalo Uva	GD Direito
4		David dos Reis	Châteaurenard, France
3		Juan Murré	A. S. Dijonnais, France
2		João Correia (Capt.)	GD Direito
1		Francisco Fernandes	Beziers, France
16		Miguel Vilcaca
17		Jorge Segurado	GD Direito
18		Anthony Martins	Perigueux, France
19		Aurelien Beco	Colombiers, France
20		Laurent Balangue	Saint Jean De Luz, France
21		Francisco Pinto Malgahaes	CD Univ.Lisboa
22		Jose Lima	Narbonne, France
23		Adérito Esteves	GD Direito
		HEAD COACH: Errol Brain

http://www.fpr.pt/ficheiros_site_fpr/imagens/noticias/conv.jpg

Russia

15		Igor Klyuchnikov	VVA-Podmoskovje
14		Vasily Artemyev	Northampton Saints, England
13		Dmitry Gerasimov	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
12		Alex Makovetsky	Krasny Yar
11		Vladimir Ostroushko	Kuban Krasnodar
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		Alexey Volkov	VVA-Podmoskovye
16		Nazir Hasanov	Krasny Yar
17		Andrei Polivalov	AgroUniversity Kazan
18		Gregory Tsnobiladze	Krasny Yar
19		Pavel Kvernadze	Spartak Moscow
20		Artem Fatakhov	AgroUniversity Kazan
21		Alexey Shcherban	Enisey-STM-Krasnoyarsk
22		Sergey Sugrobov	Slava Moscow
23		Yuri Kushnarev	Kuban Krasnodar
		HEAD COACH: Kingsley Jones

http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4269