The starting lineups for the “Slava” and “VVA-Podmoskovie” teams have been officially announced for the second match of the semi-final series contesting 5th-8th places in the prestigious PARI Russian Rugby Championship.
Slava Rugby Club
Key changes have been made to Slava`s squad for this crucial encounter. Herman Godlyuk returns to his familiar fly-half position, bringing his experience to the playmaking role. Gleb Farkov moves to fullback, adding versatility to the backline, while Morne Huber will feature in the midfield, stepping in for Ilya Datsenko. In the back row, Egor Alekseev replaces Vladislav Lesnikov. Unfortunately, first-row forward Andrey Igretsov will miss the match again due to injury; however, his return is anticipated for the final game of the season.
Slava Starting XV
Forwards:
- 1. Igor Abramov
- 2. Leonid Kalinin
- 3. Anton Nastavshev
- 4. Ramis Safarov
- 5. Vadim Egorov
- 6. Egor Alekseev
- 7. Artem Rybaulin (c)
- 8. Nikolay Pochechuev
Half-backs:
- 9. Oleg Kinosyan
- 10. German Godlyuk
Backs:
- 11. Damir Bayburin
- 12. Morne Huber
- 13. Vladimir Geraskin
- 14. Igor Fedorov
- 15. Gleb Farkov
Slava Replacements
- 16. Nodari Samkharadze
- 17. Alexander Kabanov
- 18. Mikhail Grachev
- 19. Daniil Kruglyk
- 20. Vladislav Lesnikov
- 21. Vladimir Levy
- 22. Ilya Datsenko
- 23. Jan Bazhenov
VVA-Podmoskovie Rugby Club
VVA-Podmoskovie`s squad also features three tactical adjustments compared to their previous encounter. Alexander Ivanov takes Sergey Mysin`s place in the back row, aiming to bolster the forward pack. Dmitry Drozhdin, who previously played fly-half, shifts to fullback, a move that sees Daniil Krylatkin out of the starting XV. The crucial fly-half role (jersey number 10) will now be assumed by Egor Kuleshov.
VVA-Podmoskovie Starting XV
Forwards:
- 1. Alexey Skobiola
- 2. Grant Tovmasyan
- 3. Kirill Sobachkin
- 4. Ivan Kravtsov
- 5. Nikita Arlashov
- 6. Alexander Ivanov
- 7. Mikhail Zhlutkov
- 8. Kirill Panarin (c)
Half-backs:
- 9. Alexander Kazakov
- 10. Egor Kuleshov
Backs:
- 11. Mikhail Babaev
- 12. Alexander Davydov
- 13. Sergey Motov
- 14. Ilya Babaev
- 15. Dmitry Drozhdin
VVA-Podmoskovie Replacements
- 16. Vyacheslav Chervyakov
- 17. Alexander Ageev
- 18. Viktor Kuznetsov
- 19. Dmitry Ogorodnik
- 20. Arslan Bagapov
- 21. Alexander Sukhanov
- 22. Daniil Krylatkin
- 23. Stanislav Shmelev
The return leg of this semi-final series for 5th-8th places in the PARI Russian Rugby Championship will be held on October 4th at Slava Stadium in Moscow.
The match kicks off at 16:00 Moscow time (17:00 Tbilisi time).
Recall that the first match between these two teams concluded with a 34:24 victory for Slava, setting the stage for an exciting second encounter.
