Match Preview – Georgia vs Canada

Canada and Georgia will collide for a second time this year on Saturday as the November test window officially opens. The Lelos took Round 1, a dreary 13-0 result played in horrendous weather at Calgary Rugby Park in June. Round 2 takes place at the Dinamo Arena in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, with the forecast suggesting ideal playing conditions.

Georgia are making a concerted effort towards earning more opportunities to play against Tier 1 sides. To do so they must win games where they are heavily favored, particularly on home soil. Of the starting side named for Saturday all but four are professionals playing abroad, all four found in the backs. Five of the starting pack play in the Top 14 or Aviva Premiership, and two others have played that level previously.

Montpellier duo Mikheil Nariashvili and Kote Mikautadze are the biggest names in the tight five, with Clermont’s Vito Kolelishvili a destructive force on the flank. There is no like-for-like replacement for the retired Mamuka Gorgodze but Lasha Lomidze and Beka Bitsadze are useful options in their own right. Both are rangy, good in the lineout and very confident with ball in hand.

The backs are less fearsome but there is a change of tact from Milton Haig who has picked three youngsters out wide. Giorgi Koshadze is an extra midfielder on the right wing and there are effectively two fullbacks with u20 star Mirian Modebadze, 1.94m tall (6’4″) and making his test debut, and Soso Matiashvili, much smaller but creative and a good left-footed kicking option. Another u20 graduate, powerful midfielder Giorgi Kveseladze, is set to win his first cap from the bench.

Four top-level professionals have arrived to bolster Canada’s lineup. It’s not as many as Kingsley Jones would have liked but it’s a significant improvement on the side that faced the Māori. The strike power in the backs has been cranked up with Ciaran Hearn and DTH van der Merwe partnered in the midfield and Taylor Paris fit to play on the left wing. Brock Staller has been retained on the right wing as primary goal kicker with Hearn providing a long-range alternative.

Up front the return of Jake Ilnicki is welcomed, and Djustice Sears-Duru is recalled to the run-on side with Hubert Buydens dropping out. There are two surprises with debutante Josh Larsen at lock and Lucas Rumball named on the blindside ahead of the more experienced Kyle Baillie and Kyle Gilmour. They will instead settle for a spot in the reserves where Jones has opted for a 6-2 split to combat in anticipation of a fierce forward battle.

It’s unlikely that the Lelos will dramatically alter their style but they could look to counter attack more aggressively given the additional speed out wide. Canada’s strength is in the midfield where Hearn and van der Merwe are superior offensive players though their opposites are each outstanding defenders.

Capitalising on line breaks when they do occur will be the route to victory, an area that was not up to scratch last weekend. Expect this to be closer than the rankings imbalance suggests but Georgia remain firm favorites.

Kickoff is set for 6pm local time, 9am Eastern with a live broadcast available on TSN Go for Canadian subscribers, with a Georgian-language broadcast available via Imedi.

GEORGIA
1 Mikheil Nariashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 3 Levan Chilachava, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 6 Lasha Lomidze, 7 Vito Kolelishvili, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 9 Vaso Lobzhanidze, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 11 Mirian Modebadze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (capt.), 13 Davit Kacharava, 14 Giorgi Koshadze, 15 Soso Matiashvili

Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Soso Bekoshvili, 19 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 20 Giga Tkhilaishvili, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Rezi Jinchvelashvili, 23 Giorgi Kveseladze

CANADA
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Ray Barkwill, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 4 Josh Larsen, 5 Evan Olmstead, 6 Lucas Rumball, 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Tyler Ardron, 9 Phil Mack (capt.), 10 Patrick Parfrey, 11 Taylor Paris, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 13 DTH van der Merwe, 14 Brock Staller, 15 Andrew Coe

Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Anthony Luca, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Kyle Baillie, 20 Conor Keys, 21 Kyle Gilmour, 22 Andrew Ferguson, 23 Guiseppe du Toit

Date: Saturday, November 10
Venue: Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi
Kickoff: 18:00 local (06:00 Pacific, 09:00 Eastern)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Assistants: Alex Ruiz (FFR) & Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Neil Hennessy (WRU)
Broadcasts: TSN Go, Imedi (Georgian)