The Ireland team and replacements for the Rugby World Cup Pool C match against Russia in Rotorua International Stadium on Sunday (kick-off 6.00 pm local time/6:00am Irish time) has been announced and shows ten changes, one of which is a positional switch, to the starting XV from Ireland’s game against Australia.

Fergus McFadden makes his first appearance in a Rugby World Cup and starts on the right wing.  Keith Earls moves from the wing to outside centre alongside Paddy Wallace, who also makes his debut in the tournament.  Andrew Trimble is named on the left wing, while Ronan O’Gara and Isaac Boss start as the halfback partnership.

Sean Cronin makes the switch with Rory Best from the replacements to start at hooker, with Tony Buckley also making his first start at tight head prop. There is a change in the back row as Donnacha Ryan starts at blind side in place of Stephen Ferris.  The final change to the side is Leo Cullen, who comes into the team in place of Paul O’Connell and will also have the honour of captaining the team in his first Rugby World Cup appearance.

IRELAND Team & Replacements

(v Russia, 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C, Rotorua International Stadium, Sunday, September 25, kick-off 6:00pm local time/6:00am Irish time):

15 – Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
14 – Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)*
13 – Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
12 – Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)*
11 – Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
10 – Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
9 – Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster)
1 – Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
2 – Sean Cronin (Leinster)
3 – Tony Buckley (Sale)
4 – Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
5 – Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster)* Captain
6 – Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
7 – Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
8 – Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 – Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
17 – Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
18 – Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
19 – Shane Jennings (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
20 – Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
21 – Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
22 – Geordan Murphy (Leicester)

*Denotes RWC Debut

The scans confirmed that D’Arcy and O’Connell have picked up hamstring strains and both players will be monitored over the coming days on the progress of their recovery.  No decision on their availability for the game against Russia will be made until the team is announced at lunchtime (local New Zealand time) on Friday.

In other team news, the Ireland squad enjoyed a down day following the transfer of their team base from Auckland to the beautiful surroundings of Lake Taupo as they prepare for their Rugby World Cup Pool C game against Russia on Sunday.

Ireland second row Donncha O’Callaghan was certainly keen on getting the balance right between rest and work: “With a bit of a longer turnaround this week then we had for the Australia game, it’s great to be able to have that extra day to let the bumps and bruises settle before we hit the training pitch again.  Some guys might head out for a look around Taupo. The area sounds a little bit like Queenstown, with some really good outdoor activities to help the lads relax.   Others might be happy to hang around the hotel, so It’s good to have that flexibility and the down days have been great whether we do something together as a group or do our own thing.

“There was an incredible buzz around the lads when we were setting off from Auckland to come down here (Taupo). You sort of expect that after a good win, but something we have all been chatting about is that we need to remain focused on the job at hand.  Our goal has always been to qualify from our pool and just because we had a big win on Saturday night, it guarantees us nothing.  We have two games left against two teams who will challenge us physically across the park, so we want to get ourselves right for that.

“We worked really hard last week with the coaches both on and off the pitch to get things right.  The work ethic was always very high over the last couple of months, but it was about making sure we did that work justice by delivering it on the pitch.  I think we managed to do that, but the challenge is now to keep the standards of our preparations up this week to reach the Russia game in as good a shape as possible.  We don’t know what the coaches have in mind for selection (for the Russia game), but there is such a good vibe at the moment, with lads busting a gut on the training field wanting to be involved, I don’t think anybody will want to be left out for the Russia game.

O’Callaghan also made a special mention of the support that the team has experienced both on and off the field. “The amount of green in the stadium was incredible on Saturday night in Eden Park, just as it was in New Plymouth.  Even the days before the games, the numbers of expatriates and travelling Irish as well as local people, shops and bars that we saw supporting Ireland was great.  It has all added to create incredible atmospheres and hopefully we can get similar support in Rotorua this weekend.”

Australia v Italy (Auckland, Sunday 11th 04:30 GMT)

A proud sporting nation with a terrific World Cup record, Australia will be hoping to put things straight after a shock quarter final exit in 2007. A convincing win for the Tri Nations champions would lay down the gauntlet to the Irish and should give the Wallabies the momentum to top the pool and hopefully avoid the South Africans in the quarter finals. Italy though have never reached the quarter finals, and feeling is that they’ll target the Ireland game rather than this one. However Italy have given Australia a few scares in past Autumn Internationals, and if they can get the better of the Australian pack and put in the defensive performance of their lives then they could make history. Big ifs though.

Prediction: Australia to win reasonably comfortably.

Ireland v USA (New Plymouth, Sunday 11th 07:00 GMT)

Former Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan will hope his USA Eagles side puts in a performance that makes his former employers stand up and notice. His Ireland team struggled against the minnows fours ago and he wouldn’t mind a similar thing happening to his successors team. This will be an incredibly emotional day for the American players as this game will be played on the ten year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and this emotion could very well inspire the Americans into producing a once in a lifetime performance. However even with all the emotion and sentiment Ireland should still win comfortably. They went into the 2007 tournament with high expectations and fell flat on their faces, and after a winless summer warm up period they will be desperate not to let history repeat itself. When’/if Ireland produce a massive lead expect both teams to make mass substitutions as Ireland will want to conserve strength ahead of the Australia clash, and the USA will do likewise ahead of the more winnable game against Russia on Thursday.

Prediction: Ireland to win comfortably.

Russia v USA (New Plymouth, Thursday 15th 08.30 GMT)

Arguably the most eagerly awaited of all the minnow v minnow clashes. The Cold War may have ended twenty years ago, but Russo-American sporting clashes still remain fiery affairs. This will be Russia’s first ever World Cup match and beating the USA is the perfect way to celebrate it. The USA have the disadvantage of going into this game only four days after playing Ireland, but will be hoping that their experience of the big stage will see them through. Whoever wins this game will throw the kitchen sink at Italy in the hope of automatic qualification for 2015.

Prediction: Depends how the USA recover from the Ireland game but imagine Russia will win a close affair.

TODD CLEVER lifted the Churchill Cup Bowl at Sixways to give the US Eagles a boost ahead of their Rugby World Cup showdown with Russia.

After a shocking start to their Churchill campaign – heavy defeats to England Saxons and Tonga – they salvaged a victory from this afternoon’s victory, courtesy of a try nine minutes from time by Tai Enosa.

US Eagles fly half and man-of-the-match Nese Malifa said: “We knew Russia were going to come out hard and that we had to take the fight to them. Hats off to the boys – it was a big day at the office.”

The teams will meet in New Plymouth, New Zealand on September 15 and Russian boss Kingsley Jones admitted: “If we could have kept hold of the ball more we could have won. USA were smarter than us at the breakdown. We are taking two steps forward and one step back but we need to take the positives out of this tournament.”

Yury Kushnarev and Malifa traded early penalties in an even first 20 minutes before the USA No 10 put a second chance wide.

The Eagles made several breaks and they eventually got through after Andrew Suniula brushed off five tacklers before being hauled down short of the line. The ball was recycled and Malifa sent Paul Emerick over.

Russia hit back to level the scores at 8-8 with a try from Vladimir Ostroushko after taking Kushnarev’s miss pass after a solid scrum platform put the Eagles under pressure.

And the Bears almost scored the try from the end of Sixways when they counter attacked from in front of their own posts and, 80 metres later, only a knock-on prevented the score.        

The Russians, intent on keeping the ball in hand, spurned a penalty chance to go for touch but their endeavour was not matched by their ability to win the subsequent line-out and the chance was lost.

Kushnarev and Malifa added another penalty apiece before Russia grabbed their second try when Igo Klyuchnikov made the break, Ostroushko jinked his way closer down the wing and Alexander Voytov trundled in from Alexander Sahkirov’s pass.

Malifa kept the Eagles in touch when he created a try for Suniula, who checked and sped to the line and it was all USA as Clever intercepted the ball in a flat Russian back line move to race 70 metres and score to put them 25-18 up.

But the Russians weren’t out of it and Vasily Artemyev stepped inside and burrowed over for Kushnarev to convert and level the scores.

USA had a chance from halfway to edge ahead but Clever opted for the lineout which crumbled but they kept up the pressure and Blaine Scully insitigated the counter attack for Emerick and Suniula to combine and send Enosa over.

USA: B Scully; C Hawley (T Enosa 59), P Emerick, A Suniula, K Swiryn;  N Malifa, M Petri (T Usasz 62); M Moeakiola (E Fry 68), P Thiel, S Pittman, J Van der Giessen, S Lavalla, I Basauri (N Johnson 62), T Clever (capt), L Stanfill (P Danahy 78). Reps (not used): C Biller, R Suniula.

Scorers: Tries: Emerick, Suniula, Clever, Enosa; Pens: Malifa (2); Cons: Malifa (3).

Russia:I Klyuchnikov; V Artemyev, M Babaev, A Makovetsky, V Ostroushko;  Y Kushnarev, A Shakirov; S Popov, V Korshunov (capt), I Prishchepenko, A Voytov, D Antonov, A Temnov, A Garbuzov (V Gresev 36-40, A Panasenko 62), V Grachev (Gresev 50). Reps (not used): V Tsnobiladze, A Chernyshev, A Bykanov, A Ryabov, I Galinovsky.

Scorers: Tries: Ostroushko, Voytov, Artemyev; Pens: Kushnarev (2); Cons: Kushnarev (2).

Referee: D Pearson (RFU)

The pair will play the second game of the day following the Bowl final between USA and Russia at midday.

Tonga’s path to the final was cleared with an opening victory over USA (13-44) thanks to winger Viliami Iongi’s tearing apart of the Eagles with four tries at Esher Rugby. The Tongans biggest test followed with title holders and competition favourites England Saxons in their sightsat Kingsholm where, despite an early flurry, the men in red succumbed to the force of the Saxons’ dominance upfront (14-41)
For the Italians, a closely fought win over Russia (19-24) at Kingsholm ensured their place in the Plate final, although with the likes of Marco Bortolami and Mauro Bergamasco on show, the Azzurri will likely rue the missed opportunity having failed to make an impression against finalists Canada at Franklin’s Gardens (26-12). The former of the two Italy players – who have over 180 caps between them – will captain the side at Sixways.

Churchill Cup finals, Saturday June 18, Sixways.

Bowl final: USA v Russia 1200
Plate final: Tonga v Italy A 1415
Cup final: England Saxons v Canada 1630

Tonga: M Malupo; V Helu, S Hufanga, T Sili, V Iongi; E Paea, S Havea; O Fainga’anuku, A. Halangahu, K Pulu, J Afu, E Kauhenga, S Timani, P Kaho, P Mapakaitolo. Reps: S Telefoni, M. Latu, P Koloamatangi, T Ula, D Morath, S Fonua, K Morath

Italy A: D. Gerber, G. Venditi, A. Pratichetti, A. Pratichetti, A. Esposito; R. Bocchino, T.Tebaldi; M Aguero, T. D’Apice, F. Staibano, J. Furno, M Bortolami (C), L. Petillo, F Minto, M. Vosawai Reps: A. Manici, De Marchi, D. Chistolini, V. Bernabo, G. Toniolatti, R Trevisan, N. Belardo

In a preview to the 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C fixture, USA Eagles will face Russia at Sixways on Saturday in a bid to take home some silverware.

O’Sullivan’s Eagles have lost both their Pool A fixtures, suffering a Churchill Cup record defeat (8-87) to England Saxons on the opening weekend at Franklin’s Gardens, followed three days later by a second loss to Tonga (13-44) at Esher Rugby. Despite the losses, the former Ireland head coach insists the tournament has been a worthwhile experience, saying:

“It has been a very valuable Churchill Cup so far as we have had a great opportunity to look at players and combinations very closely for RWC.” commented O’Sullivan.

“The first two games against a very strong Saxons team and Tonga have been tough. The Tonga result was disappointing as we fielded a much more experienced team than against the Saxons. But we looked very ring rusty and made a lot of errors.

“I am confident after our third week in camp we will play with a lot more precision on Saturday. But it will take a big performance as Russia are playing well and were unlucky to lose to Italy A. They have some dangerous backs and a very solid pack so we will need to fire on all cylinders for this one.”

Saturday’s team shows five changes to the starting twenty-two that lost to Tongan, as former Sale Sharks scrum-half Mike Petri is named in replacement of Tim Usasz, who moves to the bench.  Phil Thiel shows the only change in the front row, replacing Chris Biller, while Louis Stanfill moves from the second row to number 8; John Van der Giessen starting at lock.

Churchill Cup finals, Saturday June 18, Sixways.

Bowl final: USA v Russia, 1200

USA: B. Scully; C. Hawley, P. Emerick, A. Suniula, K.Swiryn;  N.Malifa, M. Petri; M. Moeakiola, P. Thiel, S. Pittman, J. Van der Giessen, S. Lavalla, I. Basauri, T. Clever (C), L. Stanfill. Reps: C. Biller, E. Fry, P. Danahy, N. Johnson, T. Usasz, R. Suniula, T. Enosa

Russia: I. Klyuchnikov; V. Artemyev, M. Babaev, A. Makovetsky, V. Ostroushko;  Y. Kushnarev, A. Shakirov; S. Popov, V. Korshunov(C), I. Prishchepenko, A. Voytov, D. Antonov, A. Temnov, A. Garbuzov, V. Grachev Reps: V. Tsnobiladze, A. Chernyshev, A. Panasenko, V. Gresev, A. Bykanov, A. Ryabov, I. Galinovsky

ITALY A survived a second half Russian fight back to book their place in the Churchill Cup Plate final.

The Azzurri led 18-6 at the break but they held on by their fingertips in the last 20 minutes to set up a showdown with Tonga at Sixways on Saturday.

Former Gloucester lock Marco Bortolami said: “It was a tough game and in the second half they put some width of the game. But our scrummage was good and gave us a foundation.”

Senior Italian assistant coach Alessandra Troncon: “It was a very important to win because last week we lost to Canada. Russia arein our pool during the World Cup so to win is a good. The scrum saved us a few times so I think it as key for us today.”

Russia face a Bowl final against their World Cup opponents USA and Bears’ boss Kingsley Jones said: “It’s a game we should have won. These lads can really play rugby but there was some naivety and not being street wise. But there are a lot of positives. A lot of the players showed what they can do in open space. The lineout improved but the scrum was an issue for us.”

Italy led by nine at halftime thanks to tries from Matteo Pratichetti and Giulio Toniolatti, who went into the corner after a drive and deft offload from loosehead prop Alberto de Marchi.

Russia had to rely on the boot of Yury Kushnarev, who kicked two penalties and then added a third early in the second half to close the gap to nine points.

Tito Tebaldi landed a third penalty but then the tide turned as Russia scored the try of the match, a breakaway from their own 22 when Andrey Bykanov scooped up a loose ball, fed Kushnarev and when Rushan Yagudin took the ball on halfway he stepped out of the tackle and raced away.

With Tebaldi in the sinbin for killing the ball after Vasily Artemyev’s break, Riccardo Bocchino stretched the lead.

Kushnarev failed with two attempts that could have put Russia right back into the game and was soon replaced by Anton Ryabov.

Tebaldi missed a penalty and Russia almost hit the killer button when Alexander Shakirov made the break and only a last ditch tackle from Matteo Pratichetti stopped him delivering the final pass to Yagudin.   

Russia had a final crack with a freekick which they ran close to the Italian line but they could not capitalise and the chance was lost. 

Italy A: R Trevisan; G Toniolatti, A Pratichetti, A Pratichetti, M Sepe; R Bocchino, T Tebaldi; A De Marchi, T D’Aspice, F Staibano (D Christolini 47), J Furno, V Bernabo (capt M Bortolami 45), F Minto, M Bergamasco, M Vosawai. Reps (not used): A Manici, M Aguero, D Gerber G Venditti, N Belardo.

Yellow card: Tebaldi 59-69

Scorers: Tries: M Pratichetti, Toniolatti; Pens: Tebaldi (3),Bocchino; Con: Tebaldi;

Russia: I Klyuchnikov; V Artemyev, M Babaev, S Trishin , R. Yagudin;  Y. Kushnarev (A Ryabov 70), A Bykanov (A Shakirov 66); G Tsnobiladze (A Travkin 49), V Tsnobiladze (V Korshunov 66), A Chernyshev (I Prishchepenko 49), A Panasenko, D Antonov, V Gresev, M Sidorov, V Grachev (capt, A Garbuzov 59). Rep (not used): I Galinovsky.

Scorers: Try: Yagudin; Pens: Kushnarev (4); Con:  Kushnarev.          

Referee: D Pearson (England)

Att: 5357

CANADA booked their place in a second successive Churchill Cup final with a five-try victory over Russia at Esher tonight.

Kieran Crowley’s men followed up their opening day 26-12 victory over Italy A with a workman like five-try display against the Russians, scoring 19 unanswered points in the second half.

Tries from Justin Mensah-Coker, Connor Trainor, Ander Munro, Chauncey O’Toole and Matt Evans secured the victory and an 11-day rest before they go for glory at Sixways against England Saxons or Tonga. 

O’Toole, man of the match for the second time in five days, said: “It feels pretty good to be in the final – that was our goal. It was a tough game and we knew that we would have to weather their storm and it was going to take a full 80 minutes against these guys.”

It was O’Toole who set the tone of the Canadian display when he made a break upfield, the ball was moved wide and James Pritchard flipped the ball back inside for Mensah-Coker to dot down.

Pritchard added the extras and then traded penalties with Yury Kushnarev before Canada pressed the self destruct button when Igor Kalinovsky pounced on a loose ball and raced away to score.

That brought the scores level at 10-10 before the Bears went 15-10 ahead through Vasily Artemyev, who pounced on a kick through to dot down.

Trainor cancelled that out when two long passes down the line from Sean White and then Munro found the outside centre, who jinked his way out of clutching hands to cross.

But it was Russia who had the last say in the first half with Kushnarev kicking a second penalty for an 18-15 lead.

Canada regrouped but they had to wait 20 minutes to score the try of the evening – a flowing move down the left which included a Mike Scholz one handed pass out of the tackle – for Munro to cross and Pritchard to add the conversion. 

And they sealed the victory after 70 minutes when O’Toole intercepted Alexander Voytov’s pass as Canada attacked the blind side and the flanker had an easy run to the line.

Evans wrapped up the victory when he took advantage of another loose ball to race away to score behind the posts for Pritchard to convert.

Russia now take on Italy A at Kingsholm on Sunday and Russian boss Kingsley Jones said: “I was very proud of them. They have worked hard in a short space of time. We are working on our strength and conditioning and just imagine how good we can be if we get fitter. Playing at that intensity for 80 minutes is a massive thing.

“It’s a hard lesson for the lads to learn but it was a pleasing night in many ways. Of course we would like to win but we are realistic about where we are as a team.”

Russia: I Klyuchnikov; V Artemyev; I Makovetsky (A Ryabov 53), I Galinovsky, V Ostroushko, Y Kushnarev, S Shakirov (A Bykanov 76); S Popov, V Korshunov (capt, V Tsnobiladze, 73), I Prishchepenko (A Travkin 57), V Boltenkov (A  Panasenko 63), A Voytov, V Boltenkov, A Temnov, A Garbuzov, V Grachev (V Gresev 53). Rep (not used): S Trishin.

Scorers: Tries: Klyuchnikov, Artemyev; Pens: Kushnarev (2); Con: Kushnarev.

Canada: J Pritchard; M Evans, C Trainor (P Mackenzie 56), M Scholz, J Mensah-Coker; A Munro (capt), S White (E Fairhurst 54); T Dolezel (H Buydens 54), R Hamilton (P Riordan 24), S Franklin (A Tiedemann 67) T Hotson, J Cudmore (M Gudgeon 73), J Sinclair (N Dala 66), C O’Toole, A Carpenter.

Scorers: Tries: Mensah-Coker, Trainor, Munro, O’Toole, Evans; Pen: Pritchard; Cons: Pritchard (3).

Referee: N Owens (Wales) 

Att: 2,100

The second seeds have been grouped with Argentina, the USA and France in Pool B of the tournament staged at Twickenham Stadium on May 21-22.

Ben Ryan’s side trail leaders New Zealand by 13 points going into the final two legs of this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series.

Their target is to repeat their 2009 title win at Twickenham to close the gap going into the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens on May 28-29.

If England top their group they will face the runners-up from Pool A – containing New Zealand, Wales, Kenya and Spain – on Day 2 at Twickenham.

"We’re primed for a pretty big assault on the Emirates Airline London Sevens and we need to win the tournament to have a chance to win the series," said England head coach Ryan.

"France are looking to turn things around at sevens and the USA and Argentina sides are improving all the time.

"The strength of the emerging European teams – like Russia and Portugal – means you can argue that this is the most competitive tournament in the series. Who we’re drawn against doesn’t matter too much – we know we’ll have to do our homework and work very hard."

London title-holders Australia face series champions Samoa, Scotland and Canada in Pool C, with South Africa, Fiji, Russia and Portugal in Pool D.

IRB Sevens Manager Beth Coalter said: "Once again the stage is set for a thrilling climax to the season. Last year the crowd, the weather and the rugby combined to make Twickenham an electric and truly memorable weekend of sevens and we can all expect more of the same this year."

England won the 2009 Emirates Airline London Sevens in stunning style, coming from 19-0 down to beat New Zealand 31-26 with Newcastle Falcons scrum half Micky Young scoring the winner.

Australia won last year’s final after Henry Vanderglas’s late try clinched their 19-14 success against South Africa.

Emirates Airline London Sevens
Pool A: New Zealand, Wales, Kenya, Spain
Pool B: England, Argentina, USA, France
Pool C: Samoa, Australia, Scotland, Canada
Pool D: South Africa, Fiji, Russia, Portugal

HSBC Sevens World Series standings: 1 New Zealand 134pts, 2 England 121, 3 Samoa 100, 4 South Africa 92, 5 Fiji 90, 6 Australia 52, 7 Argentina 32, 8 Wales 30, 9 Kenya 12, 10 USA 10, 11 Portugal, Russia, Scotland 8, 14 Canada 5.

The Russian side will enjoy the best of a New Zealand summer when they arrive on 7 January ahead of their first match against a Taranaki XV on Saturday 15 January at New Plymouth’s Tikorangi Park. Russia then heads south to play South Canterbury at Timaru’s Alpine Energy Stadium on Friday 21 January.

The provincial contests will help Russia prepare for what will be the nation’s first appearance at a Rugby World Cup tournament. 

Taranaki Rugby Chief Executive Mark Robinson said Taranaki residents are gearing up to welcome the visitors from Russia offering them opportunities to experience some of the local highlights including farm visits, fishing trips and surfing adventures around the Taranaki coastline.

“We are excited to be able to assemble a team in our off-season to play the Russians and I know the Taranaki region will be great hosts to them while they are here enjoying part of our Taranaki summer,” he added.

South Canterbury Rugby Manager Cam Kilgour said: “It is very exciting for a Heartland team to get the opportunity to play a national side and we jumped at the chance when asked. We are looking forward to hosting the Russian side and treating them to some good old southern hospitality.”

The match details are:

• Taranaki XV v Russia, Saturday 15 January, Tikorangi Park, 5.00pm (Entry by gold coin donation)
• South Canterbury v Russia, Friday 21 January, Alpine Energy Stadium, 7.00pm (Adults $10 and children free)