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Calgary Rugby Park will host the first of three home matches for Canada on Saturday. First up on their schedule is the mighty Georgians, the best of the Six Nations ‘B’ group though they fumbled their way to second place in that competition this year on account of a complacent effort against Romania. Nonetheless the Lelos represent a formidable opponent who have sent their strongest possible squad for their historic Americas tour with head coach Milton Haig keen on retaining his side’s 12th overall World Rankings position.
The untimely ‘retirement’ of the legendary Mamuka Gorgodze – he will play one more test in November – left Haig searching for a new leader. Rather than plugging the gap with one of his senior players he has instead opted for 24-year-old midfielder Merab Sharikadze, a more long-term appointment. It’s not necessarily a surprise choice – Sharikadze already boasts an incredible 51 caps and captained an under-strength Georgian side during the first three matches of this year’s Rugby Europe Championship.
Sharikadze will not have to look far for guidance should it be required. His midfield partner against Canada will be former Lelos captain Davit Kacharava, who will be celebrating his 100th test cap, in doing so becoming just the second Georgian player to reach the mark. The first is fullback Merab Kvirikashvili, who will be once again occupying the No 15 shirt on Saturday and keen to add to his 805 test points, good for 13th in test rugby history and only four points shy of former Scotland great Chris Paterson.
While the backs are not short of experience – even 20-year-old scrumhalf Vaso Lobzhanidze as already 21 senior international appearances – they are not the traditional strength of the Georgian side, nor should they be on Saturday. It’s up front where the Lelos will look to dominate, and will field only one home-based player in Giga Tkhilaishvili. The abrasive flanker once trialed with Leicester Tigers and might have been offered a contract but for his poor English-speaking skills.
Rested for the match are the trio who took part in the Top 14 final on the weekend. Hooker Shalva Mamukashvili, tighthead prop Levan Chilachava, and flanker Vito Kolelishvili. Of those Chilachava is the most notable but there is a handy replacement in the form of Cardiff Blues bookend Anton Peikrishvili. The second row of Giorgi Nemsadze and Kote Mikautadze is one of the most experienced pairings in the northern hemisphere and though the back row is perhaps not quite as formidable absent Kolelishvili and the injured Beka Gorgadze, once again there are stand-ins of professional caliber in France-based Beka Bitsadze and new London Irish signing Lasha Lomidze.
Canada meanwhile will take a very different approach to the match. Head coach Mark Anscombe sounded his intentions to play a less than full strength side earlier this year and has followed through on his promise. Left out are top professionals Evan Olmstead, Tyler Ardron, Connor Braid, and DTH van der Merwe while the vastly experienced Aaron Carpenter and Ciaran Hearn are left on the bench. Also missing are domestic regulars Ray Barkwill, Lucas Rumball, Gordon McRorie, and Nick Blevins.
Djustice Sears-Duru is recalled having lost the No 1 shirt to Rob Brouwer during the Americas Rugby Championship, and hooker Benoît Pifféro makes just his fourth test start. He did not suffer the traumatic tour to South America, having been unavailable with work commitments. Brett Beukeboom captains the side for the first time and he partners 20-year-old Conor Keys in the second row, the latter fresh from a short stint in New Zealand club rugby alongside Kyle Baillie. Filling in the back row is England-based flanker Matt Heaton and Burnaby Lake’s Admir Cejvanovic, one of few players to come through the ARC with his reputation enhanced.
The backs are an interesting mixture of youth and experience. World Cup veterans Phil Mack and Conor Trainor are joined by fellow ARC selects Guiseppe du Toit and Dan Moor. Sean Duke is recalled after a three-year test absence and there are highly anticipated debuts for Connacht flyhalf Shane O’Leary and UBC Thunderbirds fullback Andrew Coe. A third newcomer is found on the bench in Burnaby Lake captain Anthony Luca. The 32-year-old could make his test debut after not being part of the original squad announcement with both Brouwer and Hubert Buydens either unfit to take part or simply rested for the Romania match.
Despite Georgia’s rather lofty position in relation to Canada on the World Rugby Rankings – 12th vs 23rd – the Lelos have not traditionally fared well against the Canucks, losing there of their five previous meetings. Their most recent dual was a warm-up match prior to the 2015 World Cup that saw Canada eke out a 16-15 victory at Esher. Georgia’s only previous test match on Canadian soil was also a defeat, a resounding 31-12 loss at Swangard Stadium in 2012.
The match is set to kick off at 3pm local time and will be streamed live on Rugby Canada’s Facebook page.
CANADA
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Benoît Pifféro, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 4 Brett Beukeboom (capt.), 5 Conor Keys, 6 Kyle Baillie, 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Admir Cejvanovic, 9 Phil Mack, 10 Shane O’Leary, 11 Sean Duke, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Conor Trainor, 14 Dan Moor, 15 Andrew Coe
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Anthony Luca, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Liam Chisholm, 20 Aaron Carpenter, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Gradyn Bowd, 23 Ciaran Hearn
GEORGIA
1 Mikheil Nariashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 6 Lasha Lomidze, 7 Giga Tkhilaishvili, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 9 Vaso Lobzhanidze, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 11 Sandro Todua, 12 Merab Sharikadze (capt.), 13 Davit Kacharava, 14 Soso Matiashvili, 15 Merab Kvirikashvili
Replacements: 16 Badri Alkhazashvili, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Soso Bekoshvili, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Otar Giorgadze, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Lasha Malaguradze, 23 Giorgi Chkhaidze
Date: Saturday, June 10
Venue: Calgary Rugby Park, Calgary
Kickoff: 15:00 local (14:00 PT, 17:00 ET)
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistants: Shuhei Kubo (JRFU) & Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Broadcasts: Live Stream
