Team profile: Russia

Russia head into their maiden World Cup as huge underdogs.

Team bio:
World Cup Appearances: 0
Last World Cup result: N/A
Best-ever RWC: N/A
IRB Ranking: 19
Head Coach: Nikolay Nerush
Key player: Adam Byrnes. He'll certainly have played at the highest standard, albeit in an ordinary team.

Overview:
A large prize for anyone naming the Super 15 player who'll be a key figure in Russia's World Cup debut.

It's Melbourne Rebels lock Adam Byrnes, who is one of two uncapped players in their squad, along with 20-year-old Siberian fullback Denis Simplikevich. Byrnes' maternal grandparents moved from the Soviet Union to Australia after World War II.

How will they fare? A 75-3 tonking from Japan last November doesn't make encouraging reading.

This is likely to be a planting-the-seeds exercise. Australia and Ireland are daunting propositions.

Fullback Vasili Artemiev was an Ireland under 19 international and is at Northampton; lock Andrei Ostrikov is heading for English club Sale.

So the potential might be okay, and you'd expect they'll field a pretty fair-sized pack, but all eyes will be on their clash with the United States in New Plymouth on September 15.

If No 8 Viatcheslav Grachev gets a run he'll become the second oldest player in the cup, at 38.

Winger Andrey Kuzin is on 59 caps. One more equals the national record of Igor Mirono.

Fixtures:
Pool C
Thursday September 15 v USA, Stadium Taranaki (New Plymouth)
Tuesday September 20 v Italy, Trafalgar Park (Nelson)
Sunday September 25 v Ireland, Rotorua International Stadium (Rotorua)
Saturday October 1 v Australia, Trafalgar Park (Nelson)

- HERALD ONLINE