The first match of what should be an exhilarating weekend of Rugby World Cup action will see Georgia take on Portugal at Stadium de Toulouse on Saturday afternoon.
With the Wallabies set to fight for their lives against Wales later this weekend, Pool C is still wide open halfway through the group stages, and there are still plenty of twists to come that could determine which teams will reach the knockout stages.
Match preview
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Georgia got their tournament started with a disappointing 35-15 loss to Australia at Stade de France last week, with Luka Ivanishvili and Beka Gigashvili each scoring a try in response to the Wallabies four.
Tedo Abzhandadze and Luka Matkava added a combined tally of five points off the boot, but the major positive for the Lelos was at scrum time, where they maintained a 100% success rate.
However, despite losing the match, it says a lot about the progress that Georgia have made and the quality they possess when neutrals are somewhat disappointed by their performance against an established tier-one nation.
Levan Maisashvili's side are known for their solid pack that are rarely overpowered, but they have found some quality at the back of late and look much more likely to cause upsets than in the past.
While their chances of progressing are still fairly slim, a solid win in this match could put them right on the shoulders of the group favourites and keep them in the running in a Pool that looks like it will go down to the wire.
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Meanwhile, Portugal kicked off their World Cup with a 28-8 defeat to Wales, but like many of the matches last weekend, the score did not do justice to the performance that several of the lower-ranked teams delivered.
Nicolas Martins was the sole try-scorer for the Portuguese, and Samuel Marques knocked over a penalty while Vincent Pinto was sent off for a high boot on Josh Adams, which has somewhat controversially resulted in a three-match suspension.
When we take a look at the match stats, though, it starts to show how well Patrice Lagisquet's men did as the territory was shared 50% each across the 80 minutes, while Portugal outperformed Wales at the lineout with a 92% success rate compared to their opponents 69%.
Considering the fixtures to come, Os Lobos will likely treat this as their World Cup final, with the added incentive of getting revenge on the team that denied them the 2023 Rugby Europe Championship earlier this year.
Georgia Rugby World Cup form:
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Portugal Rugby World Cup form:
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Portugal form (all competitions):
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Team News
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Maisashvili has announced as many as eight changes to the starting 15 that he put out against Australia last week, with four players coming into the pack and four in the backline.
Mikheil Nariashvili and Beka Gigashvili will be looking to add extra strength to the front line, with Vladimer Chachanidze and Beka Saginadze given the nod behind them.
Gela Aprasidze and Tedo Abzhandadze make up the new halves pairing for the Lelos, while Alexander Todua will start on the wing and Giorgi Kveseladze lines up in midfield.
As mentioned, Pinto will begin the first of his three-match ban in this one, though he could have that reduced to two games if he completes the Coaching Intervention Programme.
Raffaele Storti will replace Pinto on the right flank, with Pedro Bettencourt coming into the centre as the only change to the Portuguese backline.
Diogo Hasse Ferreira and Jose Madeira are the changes in the pack, with Martim Belo and Anthony Alves dropping to the bench.
Georgia starting lineup: 15. Davit Niniashvili, 14. Akaki Tabutsadze, 13. Giorgi Kveseladze, 12. Merab Sharikadze (c), 11. Alexander Todua, 10. Tedo Abzhandadze, 9. Gela Aprasidze; 8. Mikheil Nariashvili, 7. Shalva Mamukashvili, 6. Beka Gigashvili, 5. Vladimer Chachanidze, 4. Konstantine Mikautadze, 3. Tornike Jalagonia, 2. Beka Saginadze, 1. Beka Gorgadze
Replacements: 16. Tengizi Zamtaradze, 17. Guram Gogichashvili, 18. Guram Papidze, 19. Nodar Cheishvili, 20. Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 21. Vasil Lobzhanidze, 22. Luka Matkava, 23. Demur Tapladze
Portugal starting lineup: 15. Nuno Sousa Guedes, 14. Raffaele Storti, 13. Pedro Bettencourt, 12. Tomas Appleton (c), 11. Rodrigo Marta, 10. Jeronimo Portela, 9. Samuel Marques, 8. Rafael Simoes, 7. Nicolas Martins, 6. Joao Granate, 5. Steevy Cerqueira, 4. Jose Madeira, 3. Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2. Mike Tadjer, 1. Francisco Fernandes
Replacements: 16. David Costa, 17. Lionel Campergue, 18. Anthony Alves, 19. Martim Belo, 20. David Wallis, 21. Thibault de Freitas, 22. Pedro Lucas, 23. Manuel Cardoso Pinto
Head To Head
Familiar foes Georgia and Portugal will meet for the 25th time, although this will be the first meeting between the nations at a Rugby World Cup. Georgia have been the dominant team in this matchup, winning 18 times, while Portugal have won four and three matches ended level.
We say: Georgia 29-15 Portugal
The last time these sides met, the Lelos were the better team by some distance, especially in the second half. While we expect Portugal to put on a better performance in this one, we still feel that the Georgians will come through with the victory.
No Data Analysis info
Devesh Jaganath
