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A second half flop saw the Argentina XV fall to the Georgia XV today in Tbilisi. The 23-22 defeat came despite the Argentina XV having held a 22-7 half time lead.
The fixture was the opening match of the inaugural Rugby Summer Cup. The Georgia XV and the Argentina XV are joined by Racing 92 and Brazil in the competition. For players from both teams involved in the tournament opener the fixture served as a bridge to the test arena.
The Argentina XV’s use of players for the match was varied. Both scrum-halves, Felipe Ezcurra and Tomás Cubelli are the country’s best who did not feature for Los Jaguares in 2018. Diego Fortuny is the official third choice home-based hooker while Ignacio Larrague is the leading home-based second-rower outside of Super Rugby.
The remainder of the roster was a combination of fringe players and youth. The genuine mis-mash was such that recent U20’s players Santiago Carreras, Santiago Grondona, and Mayco Vivas all started. Having recently fallen to Brazil today’s defeat asks the urgent question of who should be representing the Argentina XV.
Today’s defeat resembled the match against Brazil in that the Argentina XV lost after having been in a comfortable position. The opening points of today’s game came via fullback Gastón Arias. An early penalty gave the Argentina XV a 3-0 lead.
The Georgia XV responded to take the lead, doing so by scoring the game’s opening try. Touching down was no 8 Nikoloz Sukhashvili and fly half Tedo Abzhandadze added the conversion to make it 7-3.
The Georgia XV would not score again until the second half. The Argentina XV, in contrast, ran in three tries. Team rookie Facundo Cordero scored the first of these with Rodrigo Bruni and debutant Mayco Vivas also crossing.
The 15 point half time lead failed to transpire into victory. Instead the Georgia XV took total control, dominating the scrum and regularly having more men on hand at the breakdown. Even with the injection of Tomás Cubelli the Argentina XV forwards were unable to put phases together and produce try-scoring opportunities.
An early score in the second half by Sukhashvili narrowed the deficit. Abzhandadze landed the conversion and he would go on to score the remaining points. They came in the form of three penalties, the last of which was from inside his own half.
With the Georgia XV leading by a single point they defended their own 22 in an organized fashion. Upon winning the ball, from a turnover with more men than their opponents, they went about playing pick-and-go. With the referee signaling time up they kicked for touch to confirm their come-from-behind victory.
Both sides play again on Friday. The Argentina XV take-on Racing 92 while the Georgia XV go up against Brazil. Both matches are to also take place in Tbilisi.
SCORERS
GEORGIA XV (23)
Try: Sukhashvili (2)
Conversion: Abzhandadze (2)
Penalty: Abzhandadze (3)
ARGENTINA XV (22)
Try: Cordero, Bruni, Vivas
Penalty: Arias
Conversion: Mensa, Arias (2)
TEAMS
GEORGIA XV
1 Mikheil Oragvelidze, 2 Giorgi Chkoidze, 3 Tariel Donadze, 4 Arsen Trapaidze, 5 Gelan Shalamberidze, 6 Guram Shengelia, 7 Beka Saghinadze, 8 Nikoloz Sukhashvili, 9 Mikheil Alania, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 11 Giorgi Shkinin (capt.), 12 Temur Iremadze, 13 Revaz Jinjinkhadze, 14 Sandro Svanidze, 15 Irakli Svanidze
Replacements: 16 Jorji Saldadze, 17 Goga Khuroshvili, 18 Mikheil Psuturi, 19 Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, 20 Khvicha Bujiashvili, 21 Ilia Spanderashvili, 22 Davit Kldiashvili, 23 Demur Tapladze, 24 Giorgi Chuadze, 25 Beka Mamukashvili
ARGENTINA XV
1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Diego Fortuny, 3 Nicolás Leiva, 4 Franco Molina, 5 Ignacio Larrague, 6 Santiago Grondona, 7 Francisco Gorrissen, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 9 Felipe Ezcurra (capt.), 10 Lucas Mensa, 11 Julián Dominguez, 12 Santiago Carreras, 13 Santiago Resino, 14 Facundo Cordero, 15 Gastón Arias
Replacements: 16 Agustín Maceiras, 17 Franco Brarda, 18 Marco Ciccioli, 19 Federico Gutiérrez, 20 Lautaro Bavaro, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Juan Bautista Daireaux, 23 Leopoldo Herrera, 24 Lucas Favre, 25 Santiago Portillo
