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Tonga and Georgia will be keen to kick start their World Cup campaigns with a win when they meet at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 9.00pm (AEST).
This game is a must-win for Tonga if they are to have any hope of progressing beyond the pool stages.
For Georgia, the 2015 Rugby World Cup will be another stepping stone for the development of rugby in the country and they will be looking to compete strongly, particularly against Tonga and Namibia.
Tonga gained a morale boost after beating Romania for the first time 21-16 just under two weeks ago in Bucharest.
Georgia lost all three of their warm up games, finishing with a narrow 13-10 defeat to Japan in a match where they led from the 15th minute until the 77th.
This doesn’t bode well for their performance in the Rugby World Cup proper but Georgia coach Milton Haig believes the losses were ‘perfect’ preparation as it puts the side under pressure to perform against Tonga.
Tonga and Georgia have met three times in the past. In November last year, Georgia couldn’t make the most of their home advantage losing 9-23.
The teams played each other twice in 1999 with both teams coming away with a win. First Tonga won 37-6 at home and three weeks later Georgia scraped a victory 28-27 in their capital city of Tbilisi.
A key match-up will be in the forwards between the two capatains, Nili Latu of Tonga and Georgian big man, Mamuka Gorgodze. According to The Telegraph UK, “there are few more terrifying sights in rugby than back-row forward Mamuka Gorgodze in action.”
Georgia is also set to field the youngest ever player at a Rugby World Cup, with scrum-half Vasil Lobzhanidze being 18 years and 340 days old on Saturday.
Although Tonga is the weakest of the Pacific nations, I can’t see them losing to Georgia. My prediction is for Tonga to win by more than three converted tries.
Realistically Georgia has a very small chance of making the quarter-finals but will they feel the pressure to perform and cause an upset against Tonga?
Join The Roar on Saturday night at 9:00pm (AEST) for live scores, updates and debate in our live blog.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.