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Saturday 17th March 2012 GEORGIA KO: 15:00 RUSSIA Vake Stadium, Tbilisi Facts & Figures HEADLINES HEAD TO HEAD • Georgia come into the match having extended their lead • Saturday’s clash between Georgia and Russia is the 16th at the top of Division 1A with a 19-13 win over Romania meeting between the two sides. Georgia have dominated in Bucharest. Meanwhile Russia bounced back from their the series, winning 13 of the 15 matches. There has been 25-0 loss to Romania last month with a 38-19 victory over one draw between the sides (12-12) in 2002. Ukraine in Sochi. • Despite Georgia dominating the results between the • Saturday’s Test match between Romania and Georgia will teams, there isn’t as big a difference between the sides be a special day for Georgia flyhalf MERAB KVIRIKASHVILI. in terms of points scored as you’d imagine. Georgia have The flyhalf needs just four more points to overtake Pavle scored 338 points in those 15 fixtures while Russia have Jimsheladze (320 points) and become his country’s highest scored 205. points-scorer of all time. KVIRIKASHVILI will also win his • Russia’s only win in the series came in the first 60th cap for Georgia this weekend. international Test between these two sides in 1993 (15-9). • The two teams last played each other in 2011, with STARTING LINE UPS Georgia winning 15-9 at Yug-Sport in Sochi. • Georgia’s last three home games against Russia have • Georgia make three changes from the side that defeated featured fairly comfortable winning margins for the home Romania 19-13 in Bucharest. LEVAN DATUNASHVILI side. Georgia have scored an average of 38 points in the comes into the second row for GIORGI NEMSADZE three matches while Russia have scored an average of while there is also a change in the back row with GIVI only 13 points. BERISHVILI replacing Viktor Kolelishvili at openside flanker. • Georgia’s record score against Russia came in 2006, when Meanwhile there is another change at fullback where they beat them 46-19. The record margin between the IRAKLI KIASASHVILI comes in for Giorgi Shkinin. There is sides was recorded in 2010, with Georgia beating Russia also an alteration on the bench, where Brive prop DAVID 36-8. KHINCHAGISHVILI replaces Mikheil Nariashvili. • Russia make four changes from the team that defeated TRY TIME Ukraine. There are two changes up front, with ANDREY GARBUZOV coming in at openside flanker for PAVEL • With Kingsley Jones as coach, Russia have managed KVERNADZE who drops to the bench. At Number 8 Anton nearly three tries a game while they’ve scored 19 tries Sinitsyn makes way for VICTOR GRESEV. ALEXANDER over the last couple of seasons of European Nations Cup YANYUSHKIN returns to captain the side at scrumhalf action. Georgia coach Milton Haig can boast an identical replacing ALEXANDER SHAKIROV, who is demoted to the try ratio to Jones (2.67 per game) but the Georgians have bench. Meanwhile ANDREY OTROKOV comes in on the left posed more of an attacking threat over the course of the wing for the injured Denis Simplikevich. current European Nations Cup, scoring 32 tries in the • MERAB KVIRIKASHVILI needs just one more successful eight games played. penalty kick to overtake Pavle Jimsheladze (48) and become his country’s most successful penalty marksman of ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? all time. • YURY KUSHNAREV needs just 21 points to become Russia’s • Georgia have the edge on Russia in terms of experience, all-time record points scorer. He is currently second to fielding a total of 524 caps compared to the Russians’ 357. Konstantin Rachov (347). However both sides field teams with similar average ages (27). NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK • Russia’s front row combination is perhaps their most inexperienced sector. ALEXEY VOLKOV, NAZIR GASANOV • MAKSIM STURZA of Russia will win his first cap if he comes and INNOKENTIT ZYKOV have 12 caps between them. off the bench against Georgia. The 24 year-old prop plays • GIORGI CHKHAIDZE wins his 56th cap for Georgia this for Krazny Yar. weekend against Russia. The 31 year-old, who plays in • Winger ANDREY OTROKOV makes his second appearance France with AS Saint-Junien, made his first appearance a for Russia this weekend, following his debut against decade ago this month, against the Netherlands. Ukraine last week. He celebrated his first cap with a try. • The halfback partnership of IRAKLI ABUSERIDZE and • Replacement hooker KIRILL KOPESHKIN and replacement MERAB KVIRIKASHVILI became Georgia’s second most three-quarter PAVEL BUTENKO were other debutants in last capped starting pair when they took the field against weekend’s win over Ukraine and will win their second caps Romania. The pair will start their 19th Test together respectively if they come off the bench against Georgia. against Russia but are still eight appearances short of the all-time record held by ABUSERIDZE and Pavle MAN IN THE MIDDLE Jimsheladze. • With 52 caps, replacement scrumhalf ALEXANDER • French referee Mathieu Raynal referees his third Test match SHAKIROV is Russia’s most experienced player. He made on Saturday, having made his debut on the international his debut in this fixture back in 2004. scene in 2009 when he refereed Malta versus the Netherlands. © International Rugby Board 2012. Data extracted from Rugby Information Management System (16/03/2012 10:00). Page 1 Saturday 17th March 2012 GEORGIA KO: 15:00 RUSSIA Vake Stadium, Tbilisi Team Sheets 15 GEORGIA Irakli IRB RANKING: 15 Kiasashvili Test #: 140 Lelo Replacements 16 Revaz Belkania (US Seynoise) 14 13 12 11 17 David Khinchagishvili (CA Brive-Correze) Irakli David Merab Alexander 18 Giorgi Nemsadze (Valence) Machkhaneli Kacharava Sharikadze Todua 19 Dimitri Basilaia (Valence) Saint Etienne Nice Hartpury College Lelo 20 Giorgi Begadze (Batumi) 21 Lasha Malaguradze (Valence) 10 9 22 Tedo Zibzibadze (Perigueux) Merab Irakli Kvirikashvili Abuseridze (C) AS Saint-Junien Auxerre Key Stats 8 Mamuka # Caps Starting Lineup: 524 Avg Age Starting Lineup: 27 Gorgodze Oldest Player: Irakli Abuseridze (34) Montpellier Herault Youngest Player: Merab Sharikadze (18) 6 Rugby Club 7 Avg Weight Forwards: 107 kg Shalva 5 4 Givi Sutiashvili Berishvili Levan Giorgi Massy Datunashvili Chkhaidze Locomotivi Aurillac AS Saint-Junien Officials 3 2 1 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France) - 2 Tests David Yuri Vasil Kubriashvili ‘Irakli’ Natriashvili Kakovin Tests at Venue: 0 Tests Georgia: 0 Tests RC Toulonnais CA Brive-Correze CA Brive-Correze Russia: 0 Tests Test Debut: 25/04/2009 - Malta v Netherlands Assistant Referee 1: Cedric Marchat (France) Assistant Referee 2: 1 2 3 Salem Attalah (France) Alexey Nazir Innokentiy Volkov Gasanov Zykov Match Commissioner: VVA Podmoskovye Krasny Yar Enisey STM Rossano Faccioli (Italy) 4 5 6 Denis Kirill 7 Antonov Kulemin Artem Andrey Fatakhov Slava CSP Moscow Castres Olympique Garbuzov VVA Podmoskovye Krasny Yar 8 Replacements Victor 16 Kirill Kopeshkin (Imperiya Penza) Gresev 17 Maksim Sturza (Krasny Yar) London Wasps 18 Vladimir Boltenkov (Imperiya Penza) 19 Pavel Kvernadze (Spartak GM Moscow) 9 10 20 Alexander Shakirov (VVA Podmoskovye) Alexander Anton 21 Pavel Butenko (Enisey STM) Yanyushkin (C) Ryabov 22 Dmitry Gerasimov (Enisey STM) VVA Podmoskovye Krasny Yar 11 12 13 14 Andrey Alexey Sergey Mikhail Key Stats Otrokov Makovetskiy Trishin Babaev Krasny Yar Krasny Yar VVA Podmoskovye VVA Podmoskovye # Caps Starting Lineup: 357 Avg Age Starting Lineup: 27 Oldest Player: Artem Fatakhov (32) 15 Youngest Player: Pavel Kvernadze (21) Avg Weight Forwards: 113 kg Yury Kushnarev VVA Podmoskovye RUSSIA IRB RANKING: 22 Test #: 136 © International Rugby Board 2012. Data extracted from Rugby Information Management System (16/03/2012 10:00). Page 2 Saturday 17th March 2012 GEORGIA KO: 15:00 RUSSIA Vake Stadium, Tbilisi Head to Head Recent Results Date Team A Result Team B Venue 19/03/2011 Russia 9 15 Georgia Sochi 20/03/2010 Georgia 36 8 Russia Trabzon 22/03/2009 Russia 21 29 Georgia Mariupol 12/04/2008 Russia 12 18 Georgia Krasnoyarsk 24/03/2007 Georgia 31 12 Russia Tbilisi Summary Georgia 15 Matches (1 Draw) Russia 13 Won 1 338 Points 205 36 Tries 12 22 Conversions 5 33 Penalties 42 5 Drop Goals 3 Player Records For Georgia against Russia For Russia against Georgia 2 Players - 11 Appearances 12 - Vyacheslav Grachev Pavle Jimsheladze - 67 Points 43 - Konstantin Rachkov 3 Players - 3 Tries 2 - Alexander Gvozdovsky Merab Kvirikashvili - 7 Conversions 1 - 5 Players Pavle Jimsheladze - 14 Penalties 12 - Yury Kushnarev 5 Players - 1 Drop Goals 3 - Konstantin Rachkov Player Records in a Match For Georgia against Russia For Russia against Georgia Pavle Jimsheladze on 08/03/2003 - 23 Points 20 - Sergey Boldakov on 20/10/1996 Beso Udesiani on 04/02/2006 - 2 Tries 2 - Alexander Gvozdovsky on 22/03/2009 On 3 Occasions - 4 Conversions 1 - On 5 Occasions Pavle Jimsheladze on 08/03/2003 - 6 Penalties 5 - On 2 Occasions On 5 Occasions - 1 Drop Goals 2 - Konstantin Rachkov on 08/03/2003 Team Records in a Match For Georgia against Russia For Russia against Georgia On 04/02/2006 - 46 Points 23 - On 04/03/2001 On 04/02/2006 - 6 Tries 3 - On 04/03/2001 On 04/02/2006 - 5 Conversions 1 - On 5 Occasions On 08/03/2003 - 6 Penalties 5 - On 2 Occasions On 20/10/1996 - 2 Drop Goals 2 - On 08/03/2003 © International Rugby Board 2012. Data extracted from Rugby Information Management System (16/03/2012 10:00). Page 3 Saturday 17th March 2012 GEORGIA KO: 15:00 Vake Stadium, Tbilisi Head Coach: Milton Haig Recent Matches Debut: 11/02/2012 v Spain (L 18-25) Date Opponent Result Venue Winning Ratio: 66.67% Average Tries per Match: 2.67