Recap: Scotland vs Georgia LIVE | Summer Series
Follow all the action from the World Cup warm-up match on the RugbyPass live blog as Scotland host Georgia at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.
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Gregor Townsend has warned his Scots side to be on their guard as Georgia’s attempt to wreck their World Cup send-off.
Having beaten France at home and then thumped the Georgians in Tbilisi last weekend, Townsend is desperate to keep the Scots’ momentum building ahead of their tournament opener with Ireland on September 22.
But even though his side were good enough to run in five tries at the Dinamo Arena six days ago, the head coach is worried about them suffering an upset that could spark a crisis of confidence at the worst possible moment.
(Continue reading below…)
He said: “I told the players that we can’t take this game lightly. We put a lot of hard work into last week’s performance, analysed the opposition and focused on what we needed to do to win away from home. But it’s not going to come out this time if we’re complacent in any way.
“Less than two years ago Georgia played at the Principality against Wales and lost by seven points. The last five minutes of that game the Welsh were on their line, defending hard, got a yellow card, gave away multiple penalties and they went down to uncontested scrums.
“So Georgia will do all they can to produce a historic result for them, and they have the players and the power to upset any team in the world.”
'You get the sense Gregor Townsend delights in slinging curveballs and catching onlookers and adversaries alike on the hop’
– @JLyall93 on the difficult task of choosing the @Scotlandteam squad for @rugbyworldcup https://t.co/VkTQJnqjq0— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 4, 2019
Last week’s 44-10 defeat was not how Georgia would have hoped to mark the first-ever visit of a tier one nation to the Caucasus. But Townsend said: “I expect an improved performance this time. What you have seen from probably every team that’s played in the World Cup warm-up matches, that the first game they haven’t been totally at speed
with where they want to be.
“So I’m sure Georgia will be better for that experience of playing one game. They will know the opposition better. What we have seen from them prior to that game and within that game is they have some very powerful ball-carriers. They have an excellent set-piece and some good backline players, so we’re expecting a real tough game.”
'Your hotel team room had two fridges absolutely jam-packed with Steinlager… lads piled into it.’@VictorTait of @Scotlandteam takes @JLyall93 on an amusing trek back to the amateur era of 1987 when the @AllBlacks frightened @rugbyworldcup opposition https://t.co/wEuj8WH18y
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 31, 2019
Townsend has wrapped up a string of his big name players in cotton wool as he looks to protect the likes of skipper Stuart McInally, Fraser Brown, John Barclay, Greig Laidlaw, Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg from the risk of injury. And he admits he has already got a provisional XV in mind for facing Joe Schmidt’s men in Yokohama.
“I suppose I’m reasonably close,” he said. “We’ve seen through training and through games, and what the players have done previously for Scotland, on what would look like a strong 15, a strong 23 for Ireland.
“But there are positions that are still very competitive. There are blends that we’re still looking at, that might suit a team like Ireland but maybe not suit a team like (fellow Group A rivals) Samoa or Russia or Japan. So selection hasn’t been decided, but certainly a lot of players have put their hands up to be in that game.”
WATCH: The RugbyPass stadium guide to Yokohama where Scotland will play their opening game of the World Cup in Japan
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments