Ireland to bounce back against Georgia

Adam Kyriacou

Ireland will be desperate to get back on the right foot when they end their Autumn Nations Cup group campaign against Georgia at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

Their defeat to England at Twickenham will sting for more than one reason as the Irish were battered both physically and mentally against a strong white wall.

Sunday will therefore provide Andy Farrell’s men a chance to heal some of those wounds and also give opportunities to fringe players who will want to impress. That’s not to say Ireland have gone second string for this game with the Lelos as there’s still plenty of Test experience in their squad for the Dublin clash.

Points to prove will, though, be the order of the day as there’s plenty of players to pick out such as Conor Murray being back at scrum-half, James Ryan looking to lead a recovery as skipper, Billy Burns given a shot to press his case for the 10 shirt and also a rare chance for Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey at number 12.

While the latter is eager to shine and said so earlier this week, playing for the team and not being “too desperate” is the message he has been given by Farrell.

Backing himself

“He’s obviously been frustrated and rightly so because he’s backing himself and thinks he deserves an opportunity,” said Farrell about his hard-running centre.

“We have been chatting for a long period of time now and I have asked Stuart to be patient and keep training well, which he has done throughout this campaign.

“What are we asking from him? We’re asking for him to be himself and not to be too desperate. We are asking him to play the game in front of him – don’t have too many preconceived ideas of making sure that he’s able to deliver what we know that he can do,” he concluded, with McCloskey deserving of this opportunity.

Alongside his Ulster team-mate Burns, McCloskey is set to enjoy a strong afternoon as Ireland will have too much quality on their home patch for a side that has yet to score a point in this year’s Autumn Nations Cup. Farrell should witness the reaction to the England defeat he craves and is excited to see it play out.

“We are excited about this team going out and giving a performance and righting a few wrongs from last week,” he said as they look to end the group on a high.

“The obvious ones are getting some continuity from our set-piece and making sure we play with our heads up and deliver on executing opportunities,” he added.

If they do take their chances and keep things tight without the ball, then it will be a forgone conclusion against a Georgia side that hasn’t yet fired any shots.

Players to watch:

For Ireland: With plenty of the pre-game focus surrounding the inclusion of Stuart McCloskey, it’s hard to ignore him in this section. His form for Ulster over the years has rarely dipped but he has struggled to nail down the 12 jersey at international level, due largely to the quality of player that has been in front of him in the eyes of Joe Schmidt and now Andy Farrell. Sunday is another chance to press his claims and he will be keen to put in a titanic effort in possession, getting Ireland over the gain line as much as possible, which he hopes then makes it impossible for Farrell to leave him out in future games.

For Georgia: The return from injury of Soso Matiashvili at full-back is a significant lift for Georgia as he is a gifted player whose game has grown due to time on the Sevens circuit. Not afraid to chance his arm with risky plays, he’s always a good watch with ball in hand and the Lelos will hope he sees plenty of ball from either loose Irish kicks or their own possession. If Georgia are to end their scoring drought, Matiashvili is likely to be involved in making that happen.

Head-to-head: As mentioned, we are looking forward to seeing Billy Burns given the reins for Ireland and expect him to enjoy a solid day at the office. Burns has relished the environment at Ulster since he moved to Northern Ireland, with his game going from strength to strength being the number one fly-half at Kingspan Stadium. He will be desperate to make this opportunity at Test level count and goes up against Tedo Abzhandadze this weekend, the Georgian who was impressive alongside half-back partner Vasil Lobzhanidze against Wales. At only 21 years of age, this is crucial on-the-job training for Abzhandadze.

Previous results:

2014: Ireland won 49-7 in Dublin
2007: Ireland won 14-10 in Bordeaux
2002: Ireland won 63-14 in Dublin
1998: Ireland won 70-0 in Dublin

Prediction: We can’t see anything but a home win here but it might be ground out more than thrill-a-minute against Georgia. Ireland by 30 points.

The teams:

Ireland: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Hugo Keenan, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Will Connors, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan (c), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Finlay Bealham
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 John Ryan, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Shane Daly

Georgia: 15 Soso Matiashvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Beka Gorgadze, 7 Tornike Jalagonia, 6 Beka Saginadze, 5 Lasha Jaiani, 4 Nodar Cheishvili, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements: 16 Giorgi Chkoidze, 17 Lexo Kaulashvili, 18 Giorgi Melikidze, 19 Giorgi Javakhia, 20 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 21 Mikheil Alania, 22 Demur Tapladze, 23 David Niniashvili

Date: Sunday, November 29
Venue: Aviva Stadium
Kick-off: 14:00 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce, Andrea Piardi
Television match official: Marius Mitrea

 

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