Georgia’s forwards yesterday brought Uruguay back down to earth with a shuddering thump as they laid the foundation for a 33-7 bonus-point victory in their Rugby World Cup Pool D clash in stifling heat in Kumagaya, Japan.
Uruguay ended the game with 14 men after 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.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Led by No. 8 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.
Center Giorgi Kveseladze then capitalized 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,” Bregvadze said.
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.
However, the game then meandered between the 22m 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 capitalized with Giorgadze smashing over, but Uruguay 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 center Andres Vilaseca to score.
It was 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.
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