Rugby World Cup 2011 Match Preview: Scotland take on Georgia
Scotland will face the meagre Georgian side in its second encounter of the Rugby World Cup 2011 on September 14 in Invercargill. Scotland is having a good time in the field for the last few games and enjoying a four match winning streak. Scotland lost its
last match to England during the Six Nations Cup 2011 and after that it has managed to down Italy on two occasions andthen Ireland and Romania. Scotland kicked off their Rugby World Cup 2011 campaign in great fashion while thumping Romania by an impressive
margin of 34-24 at the same venue.
The Scottish side will be expecting another comfortable victory in the current RWC as they are facing a feeble side from Georgia, which has won only one match in the whole history of the global showpiece. Georgia won its sole Rugby World Cup match against
Namibia during the last competition.
The sides will be facing each other for the first time in any rugby match so their weaknesses and strengths remain unveiled to the players. However, Scotland has got six players in their side that played against Georgia A in 2008 and thrashed the opponents
by a humiliating margin of 69-3. With this match, Scotland will become the first team to have play against 20 different rivals.
The Scottish side is currently placed seventh in the IRB World Rankings, whereas Georgia is 16th at the moment. The huge gap between their rankings describes the whole story in a nut shell. However, an upset could turn things very interesting.
Scotland has got a tremendous record, unlike Georgia and has managed to qualify for the quarter-final stages of the last six stalls of the Rugby World Cups.
On the other hand, Georgia has had a poor run in the RWC as they have won just one match in these competitions. The only plus point is that they had eight international victories last year. The side will be seen for the first time in action on Kiwi soil
this year.
Both teams have made a number of changes in their line ups to play their second match in the tournament. Scotland has made eleven positional and player changes in their side as they are expecting a smooth sail over Georgia. Georgia has also changed their
forward and back bunches to a great extent. They have retained just three players from their last outgoing against Namibia. However, Georgia has got some experience in their side as eight of their payers will be participating in the third Rugby World Cup.
The sides will go with the following players in their up coming match:
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.
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