Key events
Is it better to win ugly or lose beautifully? It’s maybe a silly question. It’s definitely a silly question for the bigger teams like South Africa, France, Ireland and, yes, even England.
But for the smaller sides looking to make a splash, perhaps style matters as much as substance? I’m not suggesting Portugal or Georgia will be satisfied in defeat. But perhaps there’s more to this sport than merely getting a result.
Still not convinced? Maybe Rob Kitson can say it better than I can:
Did you know Portugal’s captain, Tomás Appleton, is also a dentist?
You would if you’d read this great profile by Nick Ames:
Georgia team
They’re big. They’re bearded (really, all of them have facial hair). And they’re out to make a statement.
They still have a shot at qualifying out of the most competitive group in the competition. The loss to Australia in the opening round wasn’t an ideal start, but there’s no reason why they can’t back themselves to shock Wales and Fiji. But first they need to win this one and points differences, and bonus points, could be crucial.
Georgia: Niniashvili; Tabutsadze, Kveseladze, Sharikadze (cap), Todua; Abzhandadze, Aprasidze; Nariashvili, Mamukashvili, Gigashvili, Chachanidze, Mikautadze, Jalagonia, Saginadze, Gorgadze.
Replacements: Zamtaradze, Gogichashvili, Papidze, Cheishvili, Tsutskiridze, Lobzhanidze, Matakava, Tapladze.
Portugal team
It’s a side full of running. Rodrigo Marta on the wing and fullback Nuno Sousa Guedes were both named in this year’s Rugby Europe Championship team of the tournament. They’ll let it rip. No doubting that.
Portugal: Sousa Guedes; Storti, Bettencourt, Appleton (cap), Marta; Portella, Marques; Fernandes, Tadjer, Hasse Ferreira, Madeira, Cerquiera, Granate, Martins, Simoes.
Replacement: Costa, Campergue, Alves, Belo, Wallis, de Freitas, Lucas, Cardoso Pinto.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
On we rumble. Of course most of today’s rugby chat will focus on a particular Frenchman’s face and a titanic clash between the top two teams in the world, but this meeting of two European sides on the rise offers up a few interesting talking points of its own.
The first focuses on Georgia. Perennially consigned to the kids’ table away from the Six Nations, they’ll want to prove they deserve a shot at the top dogs on the continent. They’ve beaten Italy and Wales and this is the sort of game they have to win at a canter to prove they’re better than their global ranking of 13.
As for Portugal, they’ve got some ambitious objectives of their own. Beaten finalists in this year’s Rugby Europe Championship – going down 38-11 to Georgia in the decider in Badajoz – they’re a team on the rise. It was only four years ago that they were playing in the third tier of European rugby. Now they’re pushing the Georgians and Romanians for a shot at the heavy hitters.
This should be an interesting clash of styles. Typically the Georgians like to smash it up with the meaty and bearded forwards while the Portuguese have shown a desire to run the ball from deep.
Kick off at 2pm local time/1pm BST.
Teams and updates to come.
