Wales v Georgia preview: Warren Gatland’s men to avoid shock Rugby World Cup defeat

Dylan Coetzee
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Split with Wales captain Dewi Lake and Georgian skipper Merab Sharikadze.

Split with Wales captain Dewi Lake and Georgian skipper Merab Sharikadze.

The final round of Rugby World Cup pool action has arrived, with teams making the final push to qualify for the knockouts.

That is not the case for Wales, who were the first team to secure safe passage to the quarter-finals after a strong group stage and now need only one point from their clash with Georgia to top Pool C. Georgia, on the other hand, cannot advance to the next stage and will be playing for pride after a mixed campaign.

It sets up for a very interesting game as last time out Georgia triumphed over Wales for the first time in Cardiff, effectively triggering the sacking of Wayne Pivac as coach. Since then, Warren Gatland has returned to the side and has made a quick impact.

Wales look far more organised, better conditioned and a lot more clear-cut in how they want to play. The team is becoming very hard to beat through work rate and determination, as a team total of 252 tackles against Fiji suggests.

Perhaps more of a challenge for the knockouts was expected from Georgia, but nevertheless, the rapidly improving nation will want to end on a high, especially against a side they have recently beaten.

Last time they met

What they said

Gatland recalled what he saw of the defeat against Georgia last year and underlined that the team is excited for what is ahead.

“I only watched the first half. I was at Twickenham for a game there,” he said. “At half-time, I was confident Wales would win that game.

“It’s a learning process with everything, and unfortunately, everything came unstuck in the last 10 minutes. That sometimes can happen in games. But we don’t look back; we haven’t spoken about that at all. We have just been looking forward from our own perspective.

“We are pleased to be in the position we are in at the moment, progress that has been made as a group, in the coaches and the support staff. We’re excited about where we are, and we are looking forward to going deep into this tournament.”

Meanwhile, Georgian skipper Merab Sharikadze understands that this Wales side is very different to the one they beat last November but insists the objective of winning is the same.

“At the moment, it’s a different team,” he said. “They are playing much, much better than they did last year in November [when Georgia beat Wales], and you can tell.

“There is no other good result than winning; even though we thought we respect Wales, they are an awesome team. We still want to win, and we will try our best to achieve our goal.”

Players to watch

Louis Rees-Zammit is a danger to any defence in the world. His sheer pace is a sight to behold, added to that some impressive physicality and nous on attack, and there is a player who can change the course of a game. Expect him to be a try threat in this one.

Fly-half Gareth Anscombe is a calm operator who is brilliant from the kicking tee and out of hand. The way he moves Wales around the park will be vital, and he will be desperate to give Gatland a selection headache for the quarter-finals.

Another veteran, Taulupe Faletau, has been sensational since his return for Wales, and he appears to have added great balance to the side. The number eight is one of the key ball carriers whilst also a real workman on defence. He will certainly be influential against Georgia.

One of the stars of the tournament for Georgia has been outside back Davit Niniashvili, who has lit up on attack with his dangerous running, particularly on counter-attacks. He has a great offload and is a very positive creative influence. Last weekend, he showed that he can also ping a long shot at goal from inside his own half. He is destined to be a very big player for Georgia.

Meanwhile, up front, the Georgians need a solid shift from their big tighthead, Beka Gigashvili, who will need to put pressure on the Welsh scrum if his team is to have any chance of winning the game.

Prediction

It is going to be a brutal Test with both sets of forwards battling it out for dominance, making for a tight affair certainly in the first 50-odd minutes. From there, things will open up with the scoreboard reflecting the same. Wales have too much momentum for Georgia and will claim the win by 12 points.

Previous results

2022: Georgia won 13-12 in Cardiff
2020: Wales won 18-0 at Parc y Scarlets
2019: Wales won 43-19 at Toyota Stadium
2017: Wales won 13-6 in Cardiff

Teams

Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Mason Grady

Georgia: 15 Lasha Khmaladze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Nodar Cheishvili, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements: 16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Irakli Aptsiauri, 19 Vladimer Chachanidze, 20 Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Demur Tapladze

Date: Saturday, October 7
Venue: Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Kick-off: 15:00 local (14:00 GMT, 13:00 BST)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: James Doleman (New Zealand), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

READ MORE: Ireland v Scotland preview: Andy Farrell’s charges to send Scots packing

Georgia