Keatley Kicks Emerging Ireland To Hard-Fought Win

Allen Clarke's young Irish side lost their grip on an early 6-0 lead and leaked tries to Giorgi Chkhaidze and Tamaz Mchedlidze as Georgia put in a determined display in front of their vocal home support.

The Lelos, coached by New Zealander Milton Haig, led 15-14 entering the closing stages at Avchala Stadium, but a late streak of indiscipline, with Giorgi Nemsadze ending the game in the sin-bin, allowed Ian Keatley kick Emerging Ireland to a first round victory.

The game failed to catch fire until Georgia produced a rousing finish to the first half with a pushover try from number 8 Chkhaidze handing them a 10-6 lead.

The Tarbes clubman was one of only three survivors from the Georgian team that gave Ireland an almighty fright at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Beka Tsiklauri converted, adding to an earlier penalty, as the rugged hosts rubbed out Emerging Ireland's six-point advantage from two Keatley penalties.

The Irish outfit turned around with a wind advantage and a concerted spell of pressure in the Georgian 22 set up David Kearney for an unconverted try after being fed by scrum half Michael Heaney.

A third Keatley penalty preceded a strong period of play from Georgia with some brittle Irish defending allowing Lasha Malaguradze to shoot through initially and an angled run from winger Mchedlidze secured their second try of the night.

However, full-back Tsiklauri missed the conversion - he left eight points behind him in all - and Emerging Ireland became more cohesive as the match wore on, the decisive period seeing Keatley take his kicking record to five successes from seven attempts.

With Keatley, captain Rhys Ruddock and Michael Bent the three senior-capped players included, Clarke's charges put some early pressure on after Georgian captain Irakli Machkhaneli had kicked out on the full.

The lively Kearney did well to gather two testing high balls and he provided the impetus for a pacy attack which led to Keatley's opening 11th-minute penalty.

The Georgian response was a good one, a run of busy phases earning Tsiklauri his first shot at the posts but the full-back pulled a long range kick wide.

Emerging Ireland soaked up some pressure in a cagey opening quarter, defending smartly with Ulster's Rob Herring, Lewis Stevenson and Michael Allen putting in some hard hits.

A clever kick from Eoin Griffin, gobbled up by his Connacht team-mate Tiernan O'Halloran, sent the Irish back into the hosts' 22 and better structure from the forwards was rewarded by Keatley's second three-pointer.

Tsiklauri got the Georgians off the mark from a left-sided penalty and hooker Revaz Belkania earned his corn when stealing a ruck ball as the Irish pressed from two close-in lineouts.

The initial maul was kept out and lock David Foley was unable to break through on a solo burst, with Georgia turning the tables as the interval approached.

A midfield break from experienced centre Davit Kacharava brought a noisy response from the 2,000-strong crowd and the pack got the nudge on in a late scrum, allowing Chkhaidze to muscle his way over with support from Shalva Sutiashvili.

Emerging Ireland edged back in front within three minutes of the restart, Heaney scooping a long pass wide for Kearney to slip in between two covering forwards and score in the left corner.

Keatley was off target with a difficult conversion attempt, while Georgian place-kicker Tsiklauri fluffed his lines badly when presented with a penalty straight in front of the posts.

A deliberate block by Toulon's Kote Mikautadze on the advancing Kearney allowed Keatley to move the Irish 14-10 ahead nearing the hour mark.

But the Georgians, with ten of their starting line-up playing their club rugby in France, notched a timely second try to set up a tasty final quarter.

Malaguradze took advantage of some poor Irish defence on a fine midfield run, and the tackling was sloppy again when Mchedlidze came in off his wing to touch down - despite some question marks over the grounding of the ball.

Tsiklauri was unable to convert from the right, leaving the Lelos one point to the good. At this point, Emerging Ireland knuckled down with Jack McGrath and replacements Ian Nagle and John Cooney all making an impact as they forced the Georgians onto the defensive.

The wind-assisted Irish pinned the home side back but there were precious few scoring chances, Keatley missing a penalty from the right amid a chorus of boos.

As the visitors pressed for a match-winning try, the grizzled Georgian defence was just about holding firm. Emerging Ireland's decision making was slightly off at times and there was disappointment when Noel Reid's floated pass wide for Robbie Diack proved too high.

But the pressure on the Georgians told in the end as they dropped a scrum and Keatley split the posts with the resulting penalty in a tricky wind.

Back in front at 17-15, Emerging Ireland were now showing greater control of possession - particularly in the forwards - and following replacement lock Nemsadze's sin-binning for an off-the-ball incident, Keatley landed his fifth penalty of the game to seal the result.

Giving his reaction afterwards, Allen Clarke said: "Tonight's game reflected what we prepared for. The Georgians are a very committed, physical and passionate side and they showed they can play a little wider than just up the middle of the field.

"It was a massive challenge for our guys, but all credit to them. They showed great mental character and resilience to get the win."

Milton Haig, the Georgian boss, admitted: "I was happy with the boys' performance. We are playing better rugby and matches like this are good for our development and tonight was another step towards the rugby we want to play."

The South Africa President's XV top the table following their six-try 37-9 victory over Uruguay, and their clash with Emerging Ireland at the same venue next Tuesday (5pm local time/2pm Irish time) could prove to be the title decider.

Keatley did very well and Griffin and TOH seemed to have given good accountants of themselves also. Dave Kearney scored Ireland's only try with the rest coming from Kealtey's boot. That said only 2,000 people went to the game! Surprised the number was so low.

thats why the game been over for some time now ireland won, 20-15.
only seen the last 30 mins, only half looking at it. cant give much account.
griff got subbed around 60mins. TOH did ok.

That explains it! :lol: I was waiting on up-dates on facebook and they froze after half-time! No idea why. Good result for a bunch of guys who've never played together before.

georgian #12 Merab Sharikadze (born 1993) named man of the match.

Griff was massive in defence all along, TOH accurate at the breakdown

connachtexile wrote: Georgia 10 - 6 Emerging Ireland. Can't get the so called link to work to watch the game

thats why the game been over for some time now ireland won, 20-15.
only seen the last 30 mins, only half looking at it. cant give much account.
griff got subbed around 60mins. TOH did ok.

Georgia 10 - 6 Emerging Ireland. Can't get the so called link to work to watch the game

Georgia
1. Irakli Mirtskhulava (Tarbes PR/France)
2. Rezo Belkania (Lelo Tbilisi/Georgia)
3. Levan Chilachava (RC Toulon/France)
4. Vakhtang Maisuradze (SC Albi/France)
5. Kote Mikautadze (RC Toulon/France)
6. Shalva Sutiashvili (RC Massy/France)
7. Vito Kolelishvili (ASM Clermont/France)
8. Giorgi Chkhaidze (Tarbes PR/France)

9. Giorgi Begadze (Batumi/Georgia)
10. Lasha Malaguradze (Stade Bagnérais/France)
11. Tamaz Mchedlidze (Stade Montois/France)
12. Merab Sharikadze (Hartpury College/England)
13. Davit Kacharava (Stade Rodez/France)
14. Irakli Machkhaneli (captain/Armazi/Georgia)
15. Beka Tsiklauri (Lokomotiv Tbilisi/Georgia)

16. Simon Maisuradze (Stade Bagnérais/France)
17. Giorgi Tetrashvili (SC Albi/France)
18. Giorgi Nemsadze (Tarbes PR/France)
19. Givi Berishvili (Lokomotiv Tbilisi/Georgia)
20. Vazha Khutsishvili (Kharebi/Georgia)
21. Lasha Khmaladze (Lelo Tbilisi/Georgia)
22. Tedo Zibzibadze (CA Périgueux/France)

Emerging Ireland team to play Georgia (Tbilisi Cup - Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi, Friday 7thJune - Kick-off 19.00hrs local / 22.00hrs Irish time.)

That time is wrong, 19.00 local time is 16.00 Irish time. Georgia is 3 hours ahead, not behind.

Good to see Diack getting picked he deserves it on form apart from a bad final. Anyone know much of Foley? Don't think I've ever seen him play or if I have he didn't leave an impression. Good to see TOH and Griffin in there as well.

Emerging Ireland Team to Play Georgia

The Emerging Ireland team and replacements has been named to play Georgia in their opening game of the IRB Tbilisi Cup.

Two senior Connacht players have been named in the starting XV. 22-year-old Eoin Griffin has been named at outside centre while his fellow Galway-native Tiernan O'Halloran starts on the wing.

The new annual tournament is part of the IRB’s ongoing strategy of increasing the competition schedule for tier two nations.

The Emerging Ireland side will be battling it out against some of the strongest developing nations in world rugby, Georgia, South Africa Presidents XV and Uruguay. Matches will be played in the Georgian capital with the teams competing in a round robin format.

Emerging Ireland coach, Allen Clarke is looking forward to the game and the challenge of playing an experienced Georgian side.

“The squad has gelled prepared well, it’s a young side and there is huge potential there. The Georgian side are very physical and we have to match that. We are looking forward to the game tomorrow evening”

In squad news, Peter Nelson has come in to the squad replacing Andrew Conway who picked up a calf injury while training.

Emerging Ireland team to play Georgia (Tbilisi Cup - Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi, Friday 7thJune - Kick-off 19.00hrs local / 22.00hrs Irish time.)

15- David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)*
14- Niall Morris (Leicester/Exiles)*
13- Eoin Griffin (Galwegians/Connacht)*
12- Michael Allen (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*
11- Tiernan O'Halloran (Galwegians/Connacht)*
10- Ian Keatley (Young Munster/Munster)
9- Michael Heaney (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*

1- Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s/Leinster)*
2- Robert Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)*
3- Michael Bent (Leinster)
4- Lewis Stevenson (Malone/Ulster)*
5- David Foley (UL Bohemian/Munster)*
6- Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s/Leinster) (Capt)
7- Dominic Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster)*
8- Robbie Diack (Malone/Ulster)*

Replacements:

16-Niall Annett (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*
17-Richard Lutton (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*
18- Ian Nagle (Cork Constitution/Munster)*
19- Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster)*
20- John Cooney (Lansdowne/Leinster)*
21-Noel Reid (Clontarf/Leinster)*
22- Brendan Macken (Blackrock/Leinster)*

N.B. *denotes uncapped player

Emerging Ireland Fixtures – IRB Tbilisi Cup (All times are local) –

Friday 7th June, 19.00 Georgia v Emerging Ireland, Avchala Stadium
Tuesday 11th June, 17.00 Emerging Ireland v South Africa President’s XV, Avchala Stadium
Sunday 16th June, 17.00 Uruguay v Emerging Ireland, Avchala Stadium

Can see the game here :

Several changes in georgian team.

Here is the final squad :

LOOSEHEAD PROPS
Irakli Mirtskhulava (Tarbes PR - ProD2) : 24 years old, 2 caps
Giorgi Tetrashvili (SC Albi - ProD2) : 19 years old, uncapped

HOOKERS
Simon Maisuradze (Stade Bagnérais - Federale1) : 26 years old, 16 caps
Rezo Belkania (Lelo Tbilissi - Georgia) : 30 years old, 11 caps

TIGHTHEAD PROPS
Davit Zirakashvili (ASM Clermont - Top14) : 29 years old, 40 caps
Levan Chilachava (RC Toulon - Top14) : 21 years old, 3 caps

LOCKS
Konstantin Mikautadze (RC Toulon - Top14) : 21 years old, 10 caps
Beka Bitsadze (Army Tbilisi - Georgia) : 22 years old, 5 caps
Vakhtang Maisuradze (SC Albi - ProD2) : 26 years old, 16 caps

FLANKERS
Shalva Sutiashvili (RC Massy - ProD2) : 29 years old, 33 caps
Vito Kolelishvili (ASM Clermont - Top14) : 23 years old, 18 caps
Givi Berishvili (Lokomotiv Tbilisi - Georgia) : 25 years old, 9 caps

EIGHTMEN
Giorgi Nemsadze (Tarbes PR - ProD2) : 28 years old, 25 caps)
Giorgi Chkhaidze (Tarbes PR - ProD2) : 30 years old, 63 caps)

SCRUM HALVES
Giorgi Begadze (Batumi - Georgia) : 27 years old, 10 caps
Vazha Khutsivhili (Kharebi - Georgia) : 19 years old, 3 caps

FLY HALVES
Lasha Khmaladze (Lelo Tbilisi - Georgia) : 25 years old, 25 caps
Lasha Malaguradze (Stade Bagnérais - Federale1) : 27 years old, 37 caps

CENTRES
Merab Sharikadze (Hartpury College - BUCS) : 20 years old, 13 caps
Tedo Zibzibadze (CA Périgueux - Federale1) : 31 years old, 67 caps
Davit Kacharava (Stade Rodez - Federale1) : 28 years old, 61 caps

WINGERS
Tamaz Mchedlidze (Stade Montois - Top14) : 20 years old, 5 caps
Sandro Todua (SC Albi - ProD2) : 25 years old, 35 caps
Irakli Machkhaneli (Armazi - Georgia) : 31 years old, 63 caps

FULL BACKS
Merab Kvirikashvili (AS St Junien - Federale1) : 29 years old, 69 caps
Beka Tsiklauri (Lokomotiv Tbilisi - Georgia) : 24 years old, 5 caps


Key players missing : Vasil Kakovin (loosehead, Stade Toulousain), Mikheil Nariashvili (loosehead, Montpellier), Zurab Zhvania (loosehead, Stade Français), Jaba Bregvadze (hooker, Stade Toulousain), Irakli Natriashvili (hooker, Brive), Davit Kubriashvili (tighthead, RC Toulon), Giorgi Jgenti (tighthead, Montpellier), Anton Peikrishvili (tighthead, Castres), Levan Datunashvili (lock, Aurillac), Mamuka Gorgodze (flanker, Montpellier), Dimitri Basilaia (eightman, Edinburgh)

And on www.irb.com/live/video.html :)

All the tournament matches will be broadcasted live on TV9 and streamed live on their website ( www.tv9.ge/ )

Thought there must be some valid reason ! I would have put Chris Henry ahead of POM as captain as well.

JHW is off in Thailand according to his twitter. I imagine he's recovering from injury, and not being considered