Team news for the Rugby World Cup qualifying playoff match between Russia and Uruguay for the final place up for at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in the pool of death.
Russia v Uruguay 
Venue: Central Stadium, Krasnoyarsk
Kickoff: 16:00 (local time), 06:00 (Montevideo), 09:00 (GMT)
For Russia: Coach Raphaël Saint-André has made 4 alterations to the starting line up that bettered Zimbabwe in Krasnoyarsk back in early August. Most notably there are returns for star wing Vladimir Ostroushko who has been the Bears most effective attacking weapon in recent times, as well as veteran lock Kirill Kulemin now in his 11th season of professional rugby in Western Europe with his new club Perpignan.
However the returns of two of the most experienced players have come at the expense of Sale lock Andrei Ostrikov and Denis Simplikevich, both slightly surprising omissions. Ostrikov, who arrives fresh from rampaging through London Welsh defence last weekend, appears to a victim of the fact Alexander Voytov has been backed as captain by Saint-André.
Other changes include the dropping of Igor Klyuchnikov with Dimitri Gerasimov returning in his place and Artemyev shifting to full back. There is also a recall for Evgeni Pronenko at tighthead prop, absent since February he makes his first start for Russia since last November ahead of Andrei Igretsov.
There are just 9 survivors in the starting lineup from the XV which lost to Uruguay in the IRB Nations Cup in June. Russia have really struggled over the past couple of years to make any impact on sides ranked above them, but until the IRB Nations Cup match last June they equally have kept managed to find ways to beat sides ranked below them.
However the returns of two of the most experienced players have come at the expense of Sale lock Andrei Ostrikov and Denis Simplikevich, both slightly surprising omissions. Ostrikov, who arrives fresh from rampaging through London Welsh defence last weekend, appears to a victim of the fact Alexander Voytov has been backed as captain by Saint-André.
Other changes include the dropping of Igor Klyuchnikov with Dimitri Gerasimov returning in his place and Artemyev shifting to full back. There is also a recall for Evgeni Pronenko at tighthead prop, absent since February he makes his first start for Russia since last November ahead of Andrei Igretsov.
There are just 9 survivors in the starting lineup from the XV which lost to Uruguay in the IRB Nations Cup in June. Russia have really struggled over the past couple of years to make any impact on sides ranked above them, but until the IRB Nations Cup match last June they equally have kept managed to find ways to beat sides ranked below them.
Replacements: 16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Andrei Igretsov; 18 Andrei Ostrikov, 19 Pavel Butenko; 20 Ramil Gaisin, 21 Ruslan Yagudin, 22 Denis Simplikevich.
For Uruguay: The Uruguayans have been absent from the World Cup for 11 years now and in this huge game coach Pablo Lemoine (the legendary Teros prop from those tournaments) has finally been able to call upon the only currently active player with World Cup experience in Castres lock Rodrigo Capo Ortega.
Capo Ortega has not played for the Uruguay national team for 5 years. He stepped down from international rugby in 2010 following disagreements with the URU, missing the final stages of qualifying for the 2011 World Cup, but Lemoine has talked him back into returning to the fold. The big lock, who became Top 14 champion in 2013, was supposed to join up with the team for earlier matches but missed them to be at the birth of his child. Now the 33 year old wants to have one last shot at the World Cup.
Capo Ortega is one of just 2 changes to the lineup that beat Hong Kong in wet conditions in Montevideo last month. The other also being at lock, with Santiago Vilaseca returning to the side.
Uruguay technique wise are reasonably efficient and have had a decent year so far, giving the USA a far harder than expected time in the previous World Cup playoff and took the warm up win over Russia in the IRB Nations Cup. With George Clancy (a ref known to be favourable to the home side) in charge and a huge travel to the middle of Russia in near freezing conditions, they will be underdogs for the result here.
Capo Ortega has not played for the Uruguay national team for 5 years. He stepped down from international rugby in 2010 following disagreements with the URU, missing the final stages of qualifying for the 2011 World Cup, but Lemoine has talked him back into returning to the fold. The big lock, who became Top 14 champion in 2013, was supposed to join up with the team for earlier matches but missed them to be at the birth of his child. Now the 33 year old wants to have one last shot at the World Cup.
Capo Ortega is one of just 2 changes to the lineup that beat Hong Kong in wet conditions in Montevideo last month. The other also being at lock, with Santiago Vilaseca returning to the side.
Uruguay technique wise are reasonably efficient and have had a decent year so far, giving the USA a far harder than expected time in the previous World Cup playoff and took the warm up win over Russia in the IRB Nations Cup. With George Clancy (a ref known to be favourable to the home side) in charge and a huge travel to the middle of Russia in near freezing conditions, they will be underdogs for the result here.
Starting XV: 15 Gastón Mieres; 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Joaquín Prada, 12 Alberto Román, 11 Jerónimo Etcheverry; 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustín Ormaechea; 1 Alejo Corral, 2 Nicolás Klappenbach (c), 3 Oscar Durán; 4 Santiago Vilaseca, 5 Rodrigo Capó Ortega; 6 Juan Gaminara, 7 Diego Magno, 8 Alejandro Nieto.
Replacements: 16 Arturo Avalo, 17 Carlos Arboleya; 18 Franco Lamanna, 19 Mathías Palomeque, 20 Juan de Freitas; 21 Leandro Leivas, 22 Alejo Durán.
Thanks for the thorough information. This is a close one to call. Whoever is more up for the challend
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