INFINITY PARK

England Saxons prepared for Bear attack in opening match

Issued by Ashley Voss
June 8, 2010

England Saxons prepared for Bear attack in opening match

After a week of training at altitude, England Saxons Head Coach Stuart Lancaster feels his team is ready for its Churchill Cup opener versus the Russian Bears on Wednesday afternoon. (kick off 3 pm MDT, Infinity Park, Glendale).

Lancaster said, "We are all looking forward to the game against Russia on Wednesday. The players have trained well and the whole squad is prepared for a tough week with two games in quick succession.

"Russia performed really well against USA and I am sure they will present a challenge, which we will not be taking lightly.”

Captained by Northampton's Phil Dowson the Saxons front row sees Duncan Bell (Bath Rugby) return to international action alongside Rob Vickers (Newcastle Falcons), with a second row pairing of new cap George Kitchener (Worcester Warriors) and George Skivington (London Wasps).

In the backs Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints) starts at fly half with Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons) at scrum half. Jon Clarke (Northampton Saints) starts in the centre with an international pairing of James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester Rugby) and Tom Varndell (London Wasps) on the wings.

Alex Goode takes his place on the bench with promising youngsters Nathan Catt (Bath Rugby) and Alex Corbiserio (London Irish).

With former England Saxons coach Steve Diamond calling the plays last Saturday, Russia put up an impressive fight against the USA in its Churchill Cup opener.

After leading 15-14 with 40 minutes in the books, the Bears lost steam after the break and eventually fell to the Eagles in a 39-22 final, as a result of an explosive four-try second half from the USA.

Following the loss, Russia has made a several adjustments to the squad ahead of its match versus England Saxons.

Led once again by captain Vladislav Korshunov, the pack features the new addition of Karlo Maglakelidze at loosehead and Evgeny Pronenko retains his place at tighthead. In the second row, Alexander Voytov holds firm at lock, joined by Artem Fatakhov, who makes the move from No. 8.

Kirill Kushnarev gets his first start of the tournament, alongside Victor Gresev at flanker, with Nikita Medkov rounding out the pack at No. 8.

In the backs, Vasily Artemyev slides into the wing after playing fullback on Saturday. Alexey Makovetskiy gets his start at inside center and Igor Klyuchnikov fills the void at fullback.

The match on Wednesday concludes Russia’s pool play while England Saxons must have a quick recovery before playing hometown favorites the USA Eagles when the Churchill Cup pool rounds wrap up in Colorado on Sunday, June 13 (kick off 1 p.m. MDT).

Tickets for the 2010 Churchill Cup are currently on sale through www.churchillcuprugby.net.

ENGLAND SAXONS
1 Nick Wood
2 Rob Vickers
3 Duncan Bell
4 Graham Kitchener *
5 George Skivington
6 Tom Wood
7 Phil Dowson (C)
8 Luke Narraway
9 Micky Young
10 Stephen Myler
11 Tom Varndell
12 Anthony Allen
13 Jon Clarke
14 James Simpson-Daniel
15 Nick Abendanon

Replacements
16 Andy Titterrell
17 Alex Corbiserio*
18 Nathan Catt
19 Kearnan Myall
20 Andy Saull
21 Lee Dickson
22 Alex Goode
*denotes first cap with England Saxons

RUSSIA
1. Karlo Maglakelidze
2. Vladislav Korshunov (C)
3. Evgeny Pronenko
4. Alexander Voytov
5. Artem Fatakhov
6. Victor Gresev
7. Kirill Kushnarev
8. Nikita Medkov
9. Alexander Yanyushkin
10. Yury Kushnarev
11. Dmitry Gerasimov
12. Alexey Makovetskiy
13. Mikhail Babaev
14. Vasily Artemyev
15. Igor Klyuchnikov

 

Replacements
16. Evgeny Mateev
17. Vladimir Boyvinnikov
18. Alexander Khrokin
19. Sergey Sergeev
20. Alexander Shakirov
21. Alexey Korobeynikov
22. Andrey Kuzin

The 2010 Churchill Cup Pools & Schedule

Pool A
Canada
France A
Uruguay

Pool B
England Saxons
Russia
USA

SCHEDULE
June 5
Canada 48 - Uruguay 6
USA 39 - Russia 22

June 9
England Saxons vs Russia 3:00 PM MDT
France A vs Uruguay 5:30 PM MDT

June 13
England Saxons vs USA 1:00 PM MDT
Canada vs France A 3:30 PM MDT

June 19
FINALS DAY at RED BULL ARENA
Noon, 2:45 PM, 5:30 PM EDT

For more information visit www.churchillcuprugby.net.