They're back: Georgia
The world was shown what Georgian rugby is all about in 2007 - and four years on it'll be interesting to see how far they've come against Scotland.
At the foot of the South Island sits Invercargill, where The Lelos begin their World Cup charge in what promises to be a typically robust style.
Head coach Richie Dixon has already described his men as 'made for rugby' and it is not difficult to see why, with their size immediately noticeable.
And the former Scotland boss of the mid-1990s is clearly very confident of ruffling a few of his native feathers when the teams meet on Wednesday.
"Genetically, I think they are made for rugby. They are warrior-type players. The people are fully behind this team. They realise that rugby has become a window to the world for Georgia," he told Press Association Sport about his side, who enter the tournament in New Zealand on the back of an extremely healthy eight-game winning streak.
"I believe Andy (Robinson) and his boys will take that as a wake-up call and they will target us as a team that they will want to put on a much stronger display against."
Confident then, despite his Scottish roots, but he is in no doubt that when it comes to the first whistle at Rugby Park, he will be all Georgian as they go for an upset performance.
"In today's professional world, you can't change your heart," he added.
"Obviously, I'm a Scottish boy but, when I'm with the Georgian boys, I'm 100 per cent with them. It will be another international game."
Scotland meanwhile, go into this following a difficult showing to sum up against Romania. They were struggling to put the minnows away but then a couple of late tries from Simon Danielli saw them pick up the full five points. That result sparked a mass of changes.
Wing Max Evans, prop Allan Jacobsen, Sean Lamont, and Kelly Brown are the only survivors from that opener. Lamont and Brown both make positional changes, with Lamont switching from centre to wing and Brown moving from the blindside flank to number eight.
With Alastair Kellock left out of the 22, scrum-half Rory Lawson will lead. Outside of Dan Parks, Nick de Luca and Graeme Morrison fill the midfield, with full-back Rory Lamont joining brother Sean and Evans in what is a potent back three.
Jacobsen will pack down next to Scott Lawson at hooker, with Euan Murray coming in at tighthead prop while it is no surprise that Robinson has opted for strength and size in the lock department. Jim Hamilton and Nathan Hines form an all-new heavy combination.
Players to watch:
For Scotland: He was on the bench last week but starts this. Rory Lamont is a strong runner with an agile step to boot and will cause Georgia problems if they kick down his throat. Scotland have named what in our opinion is their strongest back-three combo.
For Georgia: 27-years-old, 6ft 5in and 18st 10lb, ladies and gentlemen we give you 'Gorgodzilla'. His full name is Mamuka Gorgodze and he is a human wrecking ball for Montpellier and Georgia. We advise you to keep an eye out for the number seven.
Head-to-head: While the forward battle will be key to how this one pans out, it may be Dan Parks and Merab Kvirikashvili who have the bigger say on Wednesday. Parks is given his first start of the tournament and will want to use his side's more enterprising backline more than going back inside to the pack. Meanwhile, Kvirikashvili will play the patient game with forwards off his shoulder in a midweek clash that should see plenty of ball in hand.
Previous results: N/A
Prediction: If Romania came close, then Georgia won't be too far away. Scotland by 12!
The teams:
Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Max Evans, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Rory Lawson (captain), 8 Kelly Brown, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Al Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Alasdair Dickinson, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Richie Vernon, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Chris Paterson.
Georgia: 15 Revaz Gigauri, 14 Irakli Machkhaneli, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Tedo Zibzibadze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Merab Kvirikashvili, 9 Irakli Abuseridze (capt), 8 Dimitri Basilaia, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Shalva Sutiashvili, 5 Vakhtang Maisuradze, 4 Levan Datunashvili, 3 David Zirakashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 David Khinchagishvili.
Replacements: 16 Akvsenti Giorgadze, 17 David Kubriashvilini, 18 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 19 Viktor Kolelishvili, 20 Bidzina Samkharadze, 21 Lasha Khmaladze, 22 Malkhaz Urjukashvili.
Date: Wednesday, September 14
Venue: Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
Kick-off: 19:30 (7:30 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Simon McDowell (Ireland), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Comments
atg77 says...
@Claudio You are completely delusional. Firstly, this is 2011, not 2007. Secondly this is not the Scotland team that played Romania, Thirdly this is a much bigger Scotland pack than played Romania and outweights the Georgians. Scotland by 20.
Posted 00:21 14th September 2011
muss says...
Georgian tiddlers give 45 kilos away to starting scot tight 5 and when ford and gray come on from the bench it's nearer 80ks! We should be shoving them all over the park!
Posted 17:01 13th September 2011
rognvald says...
Rain, cold and wind will have their say. Anytime you write someone off, especially these redoubtable men from the North, you will at some stage , come short, I count Scotland amongst my sentimental favourites but will chuckle if they get a fright.
Posted 16:33 13th September 2011
atg77 says...
@melkdave If Scotland can stand up to the likes of the Springboks(2010) I'm sure we can do it against Georgia. You might notice the inclusion of Ewan Murray, one of the best tightheads in the game, and a second row weighing just under a quarter Ton. Big victories over the USA and Canada is hardly something to go by.
Georgia are way out of their depth.
Posted 15:40 13th September 2011
melkdave says...
@'atg77
Youve said it yourself IF they can get parity in forwards Scotland will blitz Georgia .I have serious doughts Scotland will espicaaly in the scrum Lineout and brealdown is a differant matter and ull see ive said IF Georgia can match Scotland and ive also said Scotland have the edge in the backs and goal kicking .But for the backs to play they need the ball .Ive watched Geogia for many years and they have beaten both the USA and Canada (aurtum 2010) and this year Russia and Romania convincingly if you go to the GEORGIA NATIONAL RUGBY UNION WIKI PAGE .You will see their record and just how good a teir2 nation they are equal to Samoa / Fiji imo and dont forget they very nearly scalped Ireland in the last RWC
Posted 14:41 13th September 2011
jackler says...
Georgia +18 is the bet
Posted 14:20 13th September 2011
coronach says...
weather, Invercargill the southernmost city in NZ, tomorrow forecast for "Some rain or showers at times. Westerly winds. Temp Min 4C. Max 13C"
These conditions shouldn't upset either team, I think Scotland will be too strong in the last 20 min, win 15-20.
Posted 14:04 13th September 2011
atg77 says...
I find some of your predictions rathar fanciful. OK, so Georgia have a decent pack, but I just thought I'd informt you that there is such a thing called a backline in every rugby team. Do they actually have a single threatening player out wide? If Scotland can get even close to parity up front, play the full 80 and go wide as much as possible, we'll blitz the Georgians.
If its dry, Scotland by 20.
Posted 13:47 13th September 2011
melkdave says...
Will definatly be a hard game for the scottish pack as i really rate the Georgain forwards as 1 of the best scrumming packs in world rugby equal to England -France ect imo the question marks are their lineout and loose play (breakdown)if they can match Scotland there it will be a very very close game as their ball carrying is very good .Saying all that i think Scotland will prevail by 3-7 points as they have the edge in goal kicking and the backs Should be a cracker to watch though and definatly a potential upset is on the cards
Posted 13:24 13th September 2011
scot_rsa says...
I posted recently that I thought Scotland should easily overcome these guys, not often a Scotland fan sounds confident. Gorgodzilla sounds awesome but I think we'll smother him before he gets up a head of steam, we've got a streetwise pack. Our backs are getting better and should have too much, the Lamont brothers especially. Georgia will need to keep the ball in contact and avoid turnovers, don't think they'll do that all day. Great to see Georgia improving (under a Scot!), let's hope they're not Scotland's equal just yet.
Posted 12:21 13th September 2011
papachinzo says...
If Georgia last the 80, I would be tempted to put money on them, but I don't think they will... So Scotland to win it by, between 3 - 10 points I'd say.
Posted 12:00 13th September 2011
TVaddict says...
This will be a very hard match for Scotland as Georgia have the forwards to match the big teams now. This could easily be the world cups first upset, but I think Scotland will just about do it. Scotland by 3.
Posted 11:59 13th September 2011