Russia name squad for World Cup preparations

Russia have all but confirmed their squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Head coach Lyn Jones has named a 32-man squad to prepare for this weekend’s warm-up match against Italy in San Benedetto del Tronto, with the group to then spend time training with Guinness Pro Championship club Zebre.

Barring injury only one player will be trimmed ahead of the September 8 deadline to submit the final 31-man selection for Japan. With 18 forwards and 14 backs named, it appears the decision will come down to either a back row forward or an outside back. 24 of the 30 players that finished 2nd in the Nations Cup are included.

The team is captained by former Leinster academy and Northampton outside back Vasili Artemiev, with former Wasps loose forward Viktor Gresev the vice-captain. Gresev is one of two test centurions in the side along with flyhalf Yuri Kushnarev. 94-cap second row Andrei Garbuzov is also named.

Only two players are currently based outside of Russia. Both loosehead prop Valeri Morozov and second row Andrei Ostrikov played for Sale Sharks in the English Premiership this past season. Ostrikov will move to French club Grenoble following the World Cup.

Among those who did not make the cut from the original 50-man extended group are Enisei STM prop Innokenty Zykov, versatile halfback Alexei Shcherban, and VVA center pair Sergei Trishin and Mikhail Babaev. All four boasted more than 45 caps worth of experience.

The Bears defeated a Russian Premier League XV 40-0 in Moscow this past weekend. Following the match against Italy they will return to Russia to play against RFU Championship club Jersey Reds on August 27. A test against Georgia was cancelled due to political tension between the two nations.

FORWARDS
Azamat Bitiev (Krasny Yar), Kirill Gotovtsev (Krasny Yar), Valeri Morozov (Sale Sharks, UK), Vladimir Podrezov (VVA), Andrei Polivalov (VVA), Sergei Chernyshev (Slava), Evgeny Matveev (VVA), Stanislav Selskiy (Enisei STM), Evgeny Elgin (Enisei STM), Bogdan Fedotko (Krasny Yar), Andrei Garbuzov (Krasny Yar), Andrei Ostrikov (Sale Sharks, UK), Tagir Gadzhiev (Kuban), Viktor Gresev (Krasny Yar), Roman Khodin (Kuban), Anton Sychev (Metallurg), Nikita Vavilin (Slava), Vitali Zhivatov (VVA)

BACKS
Vasili Dorofeev (Krasny Yar), Dmitri Perov (VVA), Ramil Gaisin (Enisei STM), Yuri Kushnarev (Krasny Yar), Sergei Yanyushkin (Lokomotivi), Igor Galinovski (Krasny Yar), Dmitri Gerasimov (Enisei STM), Kirill Golosnitskiy (Krasny Yar), Vladimir Ostroushko (Kuban), German Davydov (VVA), Denis Simplikevich (Enisei STM), Vladislav Sozonov (VVA), Vasili Artemiev (capt., Krasny Yar), German Godlyuk (VVA)