Georgia qualifies for World Cup match against All Blacks

Georgia are looking forward to the biggest match in their rugby history after qualifying for a World Cup match against the All Blacks.

Georgia earned the right to play the world champions at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on October 2 next year after beating Romania to win the FIRA-AER European Nations Cup Division 1A title in front of a capacity crowd of 27,000 at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

After the 22-9 victory, Georgia's coach Milton Haig, a New Zealander who is a former coach of Counties, said: ``For Georgia and the guys, to play against the All Blacks - something we've never done before - will be a special occasion. Of course, as a coach and a Kiwi, it will be something I've never dreamed of before and it will be massive.

"But there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before we get to that stage. We'll enjoy this victory and then prepare well for Rugby World Cup. We will be targeting two wins in our pool at least. It is a realistic goal for us. We proved in Argentina that we can be competitive against Argentina, and our first goal in England will be two wins, thus qualifying automatically for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.''

Georgia, who have played in the past three World Cup tournaments, will also face Tonga, Argentina and a yet-to-be-determined Africa qualifier at next year's global tournament in England and Wales.