[2018 November Tests] Italy vs Georgia (10/11/18)

[bushytop]

Yay, the audio finally turned up!

 

[bakakumon]

Try for Georgia!
The scoreline is 3-7.

 

[profitius]

18 - 7 to Italy at half time. They blew a few chances too.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

The yellow card for tackling in the air was decisive. 18-7 Italy at the half and Georgia will have to pull out something special. Decent fixture so far, nowhere near as nervy as i thought it would be and three tries from open play.

 

[bushytop]

Italy have definitely looked the classier and fitter side thus far, will be interesting to see if Georgia can impose themselves during the second half as some of their players appeared to be blowing during the final stages of the first half.

 

[Welshdragon2000]

Harsh yellow imo. I thought both players had their eyes only on the ball and I don't think the Georgian 'tackled' the guy in the air. Either way, this phase shouldn't have had to have happened as Matiashvilli missed a simple kick a minute or so before.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Georgia will be frustrated with their ball handling, lots of little offloads that were a bit rushed. I didn't see much from Italy at all to get me enthused for the future. Georgia arguably created the better line breaks and Italy had the much better maul. Not in line with predictions.

It better not be another 15 years until these sides meet again. I saw enough from Georgia here to want to see their upcoming contests against Samoa & Tonga.

28-17 final

 

[Welshdragon2000]

Play Abzhandadze and Aprasidze next time please Haig. Lots of work needed on defending mauls, I'm sure Rowntree will sort this out and the team will be all the better for it by the World Cup. Frustrating result though, so many missed opportunities. I don't think the argument for Georgia to enter the 6 Nations will go away though as they did show signs of promise and are clearly not a million miles off tier 1 level. Lineouts and defending mauls are the big one right now though along with changing the half backs.

 

[NDC89]

Harsh yellow imo. I thought both players had their eyes only on the ball and I don't think the Georgian 'tackled' the guy in the air. Either way, this phase shouldn't have had to have happened as Matiashvilli missed a simple kick a minute or so before.

I'd disagree. He basically ran into the Italian guy full tilt while he was in the air.

I only saw the first half, I'll try and find the second half, but to me, the Italians looked a step above the Georgians. So much more fluid with the ball in attack. The Georgian pack is obviously solid, but it really tells that their backs aren't playing regular high level rugby.

 

[NoCannaNoParty]

Just watched the rerun on Free Sports and whilst Georgia had some good moments on both sides of the ball, Italy were superior and feel they would have a larger margin of victory if they had more timely substitutions to keep the pressure on (i.e ***o Tebaldi played well but was gassed a fair bit before he came off, same as Allan), and there was a stronger referee. There were numerous weak and some bizarre calls made against Italy throughout. The penalty try awarded to Georgia was very tight and the ref had previously not awarded the early tackle until told to look at a slow mo by the TMO for a call in my opinion that was not clear and obvious.

All-round it was a good experience for both sides as Italy need experience of games when they have a real pressure to perform and win and there were a few times when they got white line fever and made wrong decisions, Castello twice took the wrong option when they could have scored. I also thought Italy did well against this much vaunted scrum and completely dominated the lineout and rolling mauls.

I hope Georgia get more opportunities against some of the European Tier 1 nations but think when they come across a strong ref they will suffer with numerous penalties against them. In the last 20 mins the Ref allowed them to pretty much do what they wanted at the breakdown and I imagine this would't happen against the more established nations.

Was great to see a good atmosphere too, including thousands of Georgia fans and also important for the Italian fans to experience matches where there is the exception to win and they can play a part in rallying the team to victory.

 

[Croket66]

Here are some highlights of the game, obviously from a georgian fan.



Watched full game and IMO Georgia was not so far away. They faced a full Tier1 who really played 100% and Italy showed that the gap between Tier1 and Georgia is still not closed.

If Italy missed few first choice team, Georgia too. The second row duo Mikautadze (Montpellier) and Nemsadze (Ospreys) missed a lot to Georgia, considering how difficult were lineouts without them. Also, they are two very powerfull locks, I think any prop would love to have these locks behind them. Both of them, alongside Clermont's flanker Kolelishvili are also strong ball carrier and very usefull to destroy mauls (especially Mikautadze - just check "Mikautadze maul" on YT) . I don't mention Toulon talisman Gorgodze who is retired from international rugby, despite that he is younger than Parisse. Unlike Tier1 teams like Italy, were an injured Pro14 player is replaced by another Pro14 player, Georgia suffers from a lack of depth, as almost every Tier2 team, except for the props. So, these three top level players were replaced by 3 players from french ProD2 and English Championship and this is a proof that Georgia is still a Tier2 team. Georgia also missed these 2 most experienced backs, centre Kacharava and fullback Kvirikashvili, both 100+ caps, and both out of injury.

Despite that, I think that Georgia showed some good display, and made progress from an all-forward oriented game plan to a moste complete style.

Italy played a decent game, and could have scored an 5th try, when Castello just had to run to the corner but made the wrong choice. In another hand, Allan's try (5:06) were scored after Lobzhanidze was hurted with a borderline tackle, then Mchedlidze loss the ball and Allan just had to run where Lobzhanidze is lying down, instead of being able to defend, but well played by Italy. Georgia also had an opportunity to close the gap to 4 points (7:00 on the video) with a great break by Gorgadze, unfortunately followed by a knock on from Aprasidze.

I think that Georgia suffered a lot from the yellow card at min 30., with 10 points conceded during this time and the whole team looked very tired after that. Obviously, most of the players are not used to playing at such intensity, some of them are even amateurs and I think Georgia needs a Pro14 franchise or at least more Tier1 tests like this one to made progress. Also obvious that there is a gap between Italy and Georgia but not so big at all...

Still, Georgia fielded a very young side, with the entire backrow born 1996, as the starting scrumhalf and the right winger while only 3 players in the starting XV are 30 or more. On the bench, Aprasidze born 1998 and Kveseladze born 1997. All these players are already decent and can still progress a lot. Also Georgia can compete with Tier1 teams at U20 level, especially this year, with 2 small loss against France (champions) and South Africa (3d) followed by 3 won against Ireland, Japan and Scotland. But again, the big potentiel of these players can be limited if they stay playing in the amateur georgian championship instead of a georgian Pro14 franchise or whatever professional team.
Another good news for Georgia was the crowd, with more than 10K georgians fans in Florence and thousands in Tbilisi, whatching the game on a big screen. That's a big argument to get more Tier1 tests.

Another thing, there is not a single foreign player in georgian championship and the whole national team raised in Georgia. I do not blame Italy for using foreign players and it is not the team that abuses it the most but still a good advantage for a team when they can't develop a local guy at some position. I mean, the entire italian backrow were born and raised abroad, Negri, Steyn and Meyer learned rugby in South Africa, talisman Polledri in England. But this is an additional reason for Georgia to develop its own players.

Finally, congratulations to Italy for the deserved win, you showed that Georgia is still a Tier2 team who needs to keep working, but I think that Georgia is in the right way to become a strong rugby nation the following years !

 

[Leinster Fan]

Here are some highlights of the game, obviously from a georgian fan.



Watched full game and IMO Georgia was not so far away. They faced a full Tier1 who really played 100% and Italy showed that the gap between Tier1 and Georgia is still not closed.

If Italy missed few first choice team, Georgia too. The second row duo Mikautadze (Montpellier) and Nemsadze (Ospreys) missed a lot to Georgia, considering how difficult were lineouts without them. Also, they are two very powerfull locks, I think any prop would love to have these locks behind them. Both of them, alongside Clermont's flanker Kolelishvili are also strong ball carrier and very usefull to destroy mauls (especially Mikautadze - just check "Mikautadze maul" on YT) . I don't mention Toulon talisman Gorgodze who is retired from international rugby, despite that he is younger than Parisse. Unlike Tier1 teams like Italy, were an injured Pro14 player is replaced by another Pro14 player, Georgia suffers from a lack of depth, as almost every Tier2 team, except for the props. So, these three top level players were replaced by 3 players from french ProD2 and English Championship and this is a proof that Georgia is still a Tier2 team. Georgia also missed these 2 most experienced backs, centre Kacharava and fullback Kvirikashvili, both 100+ caps, and both out of injury.

Despite that, I think that Georgia showed some good display, and made progress from an all-forward oriented game plan to a moste complete style.

Italy played a decent game, and could have scored an 5th try, when Castello just had to run to the corner but made the wrong choice. In another hand, Allan's try (5:06) were scored after Lobzhanidze was hurted with a borderline tackle, then Mchedlidze loss the ball and Allan just had to run where Lobzhanidze is lying down, instead of being able to defend, but well played by Italy. Georgia also had an opportunity to close the gap to 4 points (7:00 on the video) with a great break by Gorgadze, unfortunately followed by a knock on from Aprasidze.

I think that Georgia suffered a lot from the yellow card at min 30., with 10 points conceded during this time and the whole team looked very tired after that. Obviously, most of the players are not used to playing at such intensity, some of them are even amateurs and I think Georgia needs a Pro14 franchise or at least more Tier1 tests like this one to made progress. Also obvious that there is a gap between Italy and Georgia but not so big at all...

Still, Georgia fielded a very young side, with the entire backrow born 1996, as the starting scrumhalf and the right winger while only 3 players in the starting XV are 30 or more. On the bench, Aprasidze born 1998 and Kveseladze born 1997. All these players are already decent and can still progress a lot. Also Georgia can compete with Tier1 teams at U20 level, especially this year, with 2 small loss against France (champions) and South Africa (3d) followed by 3 won against Ireland, Japan and Scotland. But again, the big potentiel of these players can be limited if they stay playing in the amateur georgian championship instead of a georgian Pro14 franchise or whatever professional team.
Another good news for Georgia was the crowd, with more than 10K georgians fans in Florence and thousands in Tbilisi, whatching the game on a big screen. That's a big argument to get more Tier1 tests.

Another thing, there is not a single foreign player in georgian championship and the whole national team raised in Georgia. I do not blame Italy for using foreign players and it is not the team that abuses it the most but still a good advantage for a team when they can't develop a local guy at some position. I mean, the entire italian backrow were born and raised abroad, Negri, Steyn and Meyer learned rugby in South Africa, talisman Polledri in England. But this is an additional reason for Georgia to develop its own players.

Finally, congratulations to Italy for the deserved win, you showed that Georgia is still a Tier2 team who needs to keep working, but I think that Georgia is in the right way to become a strong rugby nation the following years !

No argument that Georgia should be getting more tests. Not ready for the 6N yet IMO but they should play Tier 1 teams at least twice a year.

 

[Toscantus]

No Abzhandadze in the Georgian 23. Come on Haig, he can't be worse than the other fly halves! Georgian pack will wipe the floor with the Italians especially in the front row. Chilacava on the bench along with Zvania and Mamukashvilli too so there will no shortage of impact off the bench! Interestingly, the entire Georgian back row graduated from Georgia U20 rugby championship together and this is the first time they have played together for Georgia. Good players too and each have a bright future. Very young of course, 22, 21, 22 I believe.

I just did a quick check of the weather in Florence for Saturday - beautiful clear skies at around 20 degrees celcius. Italy should look to play in their backs a fair bit and avoid the game being played in the forwards as Georgia would want.

Heard that there's meant to 10,000 Georgians in Florence for this - wow, I initially heard 3-4,000 but 10,000 is amazing!

I cannot wait for this game, I just hope that my own game is cancelled so I can have an afternoon of Italy - Georgia, Scotland -Fiji, England - New Zealand and Wales - Australia. Not to mention Brazil vs Maori All Blacks (40k people estimated to watch!) and then the repechage games on Sunday. I love autumn internationals

Imagine- Abzhandadze/Aprasidze could have had oportunity to play together at least last 20 minutes against azzuri