[RWC2019][Pool B] Round 3 - Georgia vs. Fiji (03/10/2019)

[ThebigARena]

Fiji showing why they are so capable and ultimately should of been going into the game against Wales with a real chance of qualification, must be kicking themselves after that Uruguay slip up.

 

[Which Tyler]

One thing that Georgia has is Tier 1 level fitness. If the Game is close by 60th minute I expect Fiji to tire and Georgia to win, but it's possible that Fiji will run away early on. So I predict 1st Half Fiji, 2nd half Georgia. whoever wins their half by more wins the game.

Out of interest - what makes you think that the fully professional Fijians won't have fully professional levels of fitness?

 

[Goodey]

Fiji showing why they are so capable and ultimately should of been going into the game against Wales with a real chance of qualification, must be kicking themselves after that Uruguay slip up.

Would have been big pressure on Australia too - Fiji 11 points, Australia 6 with two games to go is gonna get nervy despite the opposition.

This is disappointingly one sided but I'm pleased Fiji got their act together, a team that star studded really ought to be in the next cup.

 

[mdaclarke]

Shows that Georgia are a mile of joining the 6 nations.

 

[TigerBay]

Fiji a great side to watch on their day. A timely reminder to Wales that should hopefully ensure there's no risk of any complacency sneezing in.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

That pass into the prop's head is one of the better things I've seen today. Awesome levels of propness. Completely unaware of where he is or what he is doing. I imagine that's why he's a Fijian prop a position I cannot imagine is the most contested on earth.

I only wish Radrada had a brother named "full".

 

[bushytop]

Scary second half from Fiji, they are more than capable of causing Wales significant problems next Wednesday. If there is ever a game to keep things tight, professional and simply play the percentages it is this coming encounter. Fiji would love nothing more than to go out with a big win against the Welsh... and they are certainly more than capable. Radrada just blows me away, couldn't see why they were playing him on the wing initially this World Cup but it started to make sense today... what a player!

Gutted for my second side Georgia, I had hopes that they would at least be competitive in this fixture but their defence was simply nowhere near the required level when Fiji started ballin' (in fairness a ballin' Fiji would worry any defence but not quite as easily as this I'd imagine). Georgia will continue to improve, the foundations are there and the hard work will continue.

Not the contest I was hoping for but at the very least it will have sharpened Wales' focus for the coming match.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

C'mon Georgia! It looks like this one might go down to the wire.

Shows you what I know..

 

[bushytop]

Shows you what I know..

I made a similar rash statement around the 60 minute mark of the France vs USA game yesterday, France immediately ran in to tries ,

 

[ncurd]

I made a similar rash statement around the 60 minute mark of the France vs USA game yesterday, France immediately ran in to tries ,

Don't worry told my Dad to put the game on just before they did I'm equally culpable.

I did say similar things in Ireland/Japan so I'm currently at 50% strike rate.

 

[Reiser99]

Just caught up with it (not committed enough to get up that early when I can record). Didn't expect that, Fiji showed how well they can play when they are disciplined and keep their structure.

 

[Crags]

I thought that would be close. Suppose the 1st half was.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Fiji is good enough to have made the final, or at least semi.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Haig has probably taken Georgia as far as he can. He seemed a bit obsessed with chasing a top 10 ranking through an almost exclusively pack orientated tactic a few years back, then belatedly started incorporating some of the less one dimensional backs, but hasn't got much out of them. I'm not convinced he is the man to convert the decent Georgia u20s into full internationals, but then those young backs get no opportunity for exposure at a decent level where they can develop themselves.

 

[RedruthRFC]

One thing that Georgia has is Tier 1 level fitness. If the Game is close by 60th minute I expect Fiji to tire and Georgia to win, but it's possible that Fiji will run away early on. So I predict 1st Half Fiji, 2nd half Georgia. whoever wins their half by more wins the game.

Given the weight difference, I guess you would expect this, but given the number of Georgia players who play in France (where taking conditioning seriously means switching to Gauloise Lights) I'm surprised that Georgian fitness is all that impressive. Maybe it's a matter of personal pride for the Georgian players. I have a memory of John Daniell talking about how hard Georgian players worked compared to their native counterparts in his excellent book Confessions of A Rugby Mercenary.

 

[TheOvalBall]

Fiji are glorious to watch with ball in hand.

 

[D0m3]

In this pool all the teams that had only 4 days between their games lost the second game.