Rugby World Cup: Georgia scores historic try against New Zealand
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Georgia’s national rugby team made history by scoring a try in their first ever game against current world champions New Zealand in last night’s Rugby World Cup game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
The game ended in a 43-10 victory for the All Blacks but the Lelos’ performance against the New Zealand side reignited the "Seven Nations” debate.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING Watch Beka Tsiklauri score #GEO's first ever try against the @AllBlackshttp://t.co/i8DPeQumKkpic.twitter.com/7lhzJMTksn
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 2, 2015
The historic try from the Georgian side was scored in the fifth minute by Beka Tsiklauri. The Georgian's played an extremely courageous match that challenged the world number one side, particularly the forward pack who dominated the scrum.
At first glance New Zealand's 43-10 victory over Georgia appeared to be a runaway win. But the game was extremely close up right up to the 74th minute, where the score was 29-10, but for the last six minutes of the game the world champions showed their dominance and bumped up the score by 14 points, ending in a 49-10 victory over the tier-two nation.
Despite being beaten, Georgia played a phenomenal game.
SUPER STAT #GEO have NEVER missed a conversion in #RWC history, adding the extras to all 12 of their tries #NZLvGEOpic.twitter.com/ED2vd9GV6h
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 2, 2015
Georgia’s captain and talisman Mamuka Gorgodze, also referred to by fans as Gorgodzilla, was subbed off at the 50th minute but was named Man of the Match for his courageous performance on-field.
He can't believe it! Mamuka Gorgodze realises he's Man of the Match & possibly the most popular man in the stadium!https://t.co/ti7BlOvsBf
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 2, 2015
Moreover, the top five tacklers were named after the game and all of them were Georgians.
The All Blacks played a solid game yet they still made many mistakes last night; rugby professionals said this was because Georgia put "so much pressure on them”.
- Following the game the official RWC website wrote: "At first glance New Zealand's 43-10 victory over Georgia in Cardiff on Friday night seems like a runaway win. But in the 74th minute it was a slightly different story, with Georgia trailing the world champions 29-10 - a comfortable but hardly devastating lead for the reigning world champions against a Tier 2 nation.”
At the post-match media conference the question of whether the Six Nations tournament should be expanded to include Georgia was once again posed to Lelos coach Milton Haig.
"It’s certainly something that I’ve been speaking publicly about every opportunity I get," Haig said.
"Something like that is absolutely crucial for our development because in the long run if we are consistently a competitive national side, that’s the kind of competition we need to be in.”
Haig cited Argentina’s progression following its inclusion in the Rugby Championship, where they now played against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
"You can see how far their team has come along. We’d love that opportunity,” said Haig.
"We understand it's a very difficult decision for the six partners to make but I think it would grow the game globally and it would open up a big market in eastern Europe."
After the match All Blacks captain Richie McCaw praised the Georgians' efforts and said they were a strong team. When asked whether he thought tier two nations should have the opportunity to play more games against tier one teams, he responded and said the gap between tier one and tier two nations was closing.
"We’ve seen through this tournament, compared to other tournaments that I’ve played in, that the so-called ‘easy’ games aren’t easy any more,” he said.
"The whole standard of rugby you’ve seen in this tournament is lifted. You see teams that are capable of putting pressure on the so-called top teams, and I think everyone is excited to see that.”
A spirited Georgia lap up a deserved round of applause. Photo from RWC 2015 official Facebook page.
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