"We have facilities that nobody has in New Zealand," Haig, 51, told The Times recently. "We have a hotel on the training base, with an artificial pitch and a natural one, a full-size gym and a swimming pool. Bidzina Ivanishvili has single-handedly put more money into developing rugby union than anyone in any country. He's our benefactor and his attitude is 'build it and they will come'. It's true. He's built half a dozen training facilities around Georgia and the game has grown exponentially since I've been there.
"Our goal is to be a top-10 nation within five years. That's realistic. We can match anyone physically - our numbers around strength and conditioning stand up to the best - but it's making decisions under pressure and getting players to perform consistently at a high level that's the difference."
"We're not interested in the Six Nations - we want to play in the Seven Nations. Give us a couple of years and if we're not competitive, we will back out."
That long-term view has led to some disappointed Georgia players following his decision to rest a few for the pivotal match against Namibia in Exeter five days after the All Blacks match. Another win after their opening victory over Tonga in Gloucester, would seal Georgia's best World Cup ever.
Haig said he explained his selection policy to his players months ago.
"We had a plan a year ago in terms of selecting this squad and what our ultimate goal is at this tournament, and Namibia is very important to achieve that goal of qualifying for 2019, so it's a necessary evil that our focus is on the Namibian game," he said today.
"There are a few disappointed guys, obviously, but ... their legacy is to do something that no other Georgia team has done and that's qualify automatically. They understand it."
Haig is trying to turn a naturally tough and forwards-dominated game in Georgia into something a little more creative and that will only happen if they are exposed to a higher class of opposition, he told the Herald.
Asked how tough his players were, and Haig was unequivocal: "It's a country that went through a war five or six years ago so they're tough guys and they come from tough backgrounds. Rugby is an outlet for them to show their aggressiveness in a controlled manner and that's why so many Georgians are flocking to the game these days.
"We need more games against Tier 1 nations. The current competition that we play in - the Six Nations B - is a bit of a waste of time apart from the Romania game, and that's no disrespect to the teams that we do play, but we're looking for more competitive games to put us under pressure."
His contract expires in December and he wants to stay in Georgia and that will surely happen if he gets another win at this tournament. It is unlikely to happen against the world champion All Blacks but it could come against a Namibia team without a World Cup victory.
He told The Times: "My wife's the principal of the international school in Tbilisi and the kids go there. It's a beautiful city and I feel we're starting something very special there."
