KUMAGAYA – Georgia's forwards
brought Uruguay back down to earth with a shuddering thump as
they laid the foundation for a 33-7 bonus-point victory in their
World Cup Pool D clash in stifling heat in Kumagaya on Sunday.
Uruguay finished the game with 14 men after replacement
hooker Facundo Gattas was red carded by referee Wayne Barnes for
a high, no-arms, tackle with three minutes remaining.
Amid searing heat and high humidity, the match had two
officially-sanctioned water breaks at the 20 and 60-minute
marks.
Led by number eight Otari Giorgadze and captain Jaba
Bregvadze, the Georgians applied even more pressure on the
Uruguayan pack, who wilted just four days after producing a
massive upset against Fiji in Kamaishi.
Los Teros were unable to reproduce enough of the sparkling
running rugby that earned them that win against the physical
Georgians.
Georgia had secured the bonus point by the 51st minute after
Giorgadze, Bregvadze and tighthead prop Levan Chilachava all
scored tries from close range while winger Alexander Todua
crossed after a simple movement from an attacking scrum.
Centre Giorgi Kveseladze then capitalised on an Uruguay
mistake while clearing the ball at the tryline just before the
second water break.
"We worked really hard and prepared well for this match, we
knew this was going to be a tough game, we wanted to make all
Georgians proud," said Bregvadze.
Georgia were beaten 43-14 by Wales in their opening game and
coach Milton Haig made 12 changes for the clash in Kumagaya
where he hoped his side would get back on track to secure
automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup in France.
They did not deviate from their traditional strength with
their forwards dominating the set piece and proving too strong
in the contact area.
The Europeans had looked like they might run away with the
match when Todua crossed in the eighth minute from a stable
attacking scrum and movement through the backs.
The game, however, then meandered between the 22-metre areas
for much of the next 20 minutes with Uruguay content to spoil
and defend, with several collapsed scrums slowing the pace of
the game down.
It eventually earned the ire of Barnes, who warned the
Uruguay front row that any further collapses would result in a
yellow card and the Georgians capitalised with number eight
Giorgadze smashing over.
Uruguay, however, found some attacking thrust and struck
back with winger Rodrigo Silva receiving an inside pass and
exploiting the gap at the tail of a lineout then passing to
inside centre Andres Vilaseca to score.
It was ultimately the only shot they fired in the match and
after Georgia went into the break with a 12-7 lead they ramped
up the pressure in the second half with tries to Chilachava,
Bregvadze and Kveseladze.
Georgia next face Fiji in Osaka on Thursday for what could
be the decider for third place in the pool and automatic
qualification for France in 2023, while Uruguay play Australia
in Oita on Oct. 5.