Georgia poised for win

Wairarapa's adopted sons, Georgia, have done themselves proud in their opening two matches at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Yes, they were beaten by both Scotland and England but you only have to take a cursory glance at the post-match comments made by the respective head coaches of those sides to appreciate the impact made by Georgia.

Scotland won a tryless match 15-6 with a performance their coach Andy Robinson described as ugly, while after England's flattering 41-10 victory, their man in charge, Martin Johnson, was moved to predict they would be going home early if they did not improve.

In many ways, though, it's not what Robinson and Johnson said but what they didn't say which highlights the true worth of the Georgian performances.

Human nature dicates that when they originally scanned the pool B draw, they would have virtually taken it for granted that, as a second-tier rugby nation, Georgia would provide a comfortable win. The maximum five points were practically in the bag.

So when their sides were put through the wringer before achieving success, Robinson and Johnson probably felt obliged to criticise their own sides rather than admit that the ferocity of the Georgian challenge caught them and their players by surprise.

In other words, they stopped well short of giving Georgia the credit they so richly deserved.

Match stats give a real appreciation of how well the Lelos performed in both instances.

Against Scotland, they trailed by only 49 to 50 per cent in the possession battle, while it was 50-50 against England after a first half which saw Georgia ahead by an amazing 75-25.

Scotland had the edge on them for territory and time spent in the opponent's 22 but in the England match, Georgia won the territory 57-43 and were in England's 22 for 10 minutes 50 seconds as against 6 minutes 48 seconds for their opposition.

England, in particular, are a side who rely heavily on forward dominance and they were clearly stunned by the power of an impressively well-drilled Georgian pack. Georgia's Scottish coach Richie Dixon obviously knows a fair bit about the importance of good technique and controlled aggression in that area of the game.

When it came to driving away from the mauls, either through pick-and-gos or short passing rushes, Georgia taught England a thing or two, something which must have had Johnson - a tough bugger in every sense in his playing days - pulling his hair out.

So dominant were the Georgian forwards in that close quarter stuff, in fact, that England were basically forced to stretch the laws beyond breaking point to save face. Unfortunately, Georgia were able to convert only one of five penalty attempts - most from comfortable a range - into points on the board.

What would have happened had those goals been kicked nobody will ever know but it's not an exaggeration to suggest that a vulnerable-looking English side would have been even more at risk of an upset.

It would be wrong, of course, to suggest that their two opening World Cup appearances were all goodness and light for Georgia.

They will know better than anyone that if they are to beat any of the first tier sides, they cannot rely simply on the excellence of their forwards.

Their backs have to be more creative and enterprising in their attacking ploys and the entire team more assured in their defensive structures.

It was very noticeable in the television coverage of the Scotland and England matches that, defensively, they were often caught napping in broken play where the advantage line was consistently breached, invariably because Georgian players were in watching rather than tackling mode. Happily for them, that situation can be easily rectified, and almost certainly will be in the training sessions at Memorial Park over the next few days.

There is no question Georgia won't consider their 2011 World Cup campaign a success if they don't come away with at least the one win.

They would have known a quarter-final spot was highly unlikely and were, in fact, probably encouraged by a pool draw which saw them playing two of the Six Nations sides before taking on Romania on September 28 and Argentina on October 2, both at Palmerston North.

Romania, too, are a second-tier rugby nation and therefore would have to rate as Georgia's best chance of breaking their duck.

This is certain to be a willing contest between two rivals but while there shouldn't be a lot in it, we're prepared to confidently predict it will be Georgia - even allowing for their injury woes - who will grab the spoils. They will have hundreds of Wairarapa fans cheering their every move and if that doesn't spur them on to victory, nothing will.

The Argentina match should be a cracker, especially for those who like to see two sets of forwards going at each other without fear for life or limb.

Argentina are famous for the physicality of their tight five but from what we have seen so far, Georgia have every reason to fancy their prospects of at least holding their own in the front and middle rows.

The past record of the two sides on the international scene will have Argentina as firm favourites - and they could even have the extra incentive of playing for a quarter-final position - but here too we are backing a Georgian squad with the fresh Wairarapa air still in their lungs to pull off what, in this case, would be a victory against the odds.

Two matches to play, two wins to come ... roll on 2015!

The Georgia fact file

The Georgia Rugby Union was founded in 1964 but until the late 1980s it was part of the Soviet Union's rugby federation.

Rugby is one of the most popular sports in Georgia. Their sevens team was established in 1988 and became the first national side from Georgia to compete in a major tournament while their fifteens qualified for the 2003 and 2007 World Cups before the present tourney.

Georgia's first World Cup win was the 30-0 win registered over Namibia at the 2007 tournament played in France.

Georgia's nickname, the Lelos, comes from lelo burti, a traditional Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for try. One standard cheer of Georgian rugby fans is Lelo, Lelo, Sakartvelo (try, try, Georgia).

Georgia is considered a second-tier rugby nation. They participate in the European Nations Cup, winning that trophy four times since 2000.

The bulk of the national squad are based in France, where they play in the Top 14 or lower divisions.

Georgia have achieved outstanding results against Russia. They have met on 15 occasions, with Russia managing only one win and one draw.