Look, it doesn’t always have to be about Eddie Jones. We’re fully aware of that. We know that Australia’s progress at this World Cup will ultimately depend on the 23 players who take the field, and that occasionally the laser focus on their Escher painting of a coach obscures the more subtle development and progress of this team. But then there are times when Jones simply impinges, when he stamps his footprints on a game, writes himself into the plot to the point where he may as well be its author.
This was Australia’s first win in six attempts under his tenure, a bold if not quite a flawless statement of principles, and perhaps the best evidence yet that Jones’s ideas are beginning to take, that Australia can convert their moments of promise into points on the board. It was a little ragged in the second half, and Georgia missed several opportunities to make the game as close as their respective world rankings of No 9 and No 11 might have suggested.
But in a sense the damage had been done earlier, in a sparkling first half-hour that provided a platform for their new stars to make a mark. The winger Mark Nawaqanitawase showed why he is being tipped for a big breakthrough at this tournament, with a try and some superb work under the high ball. The pack held firm against the traditionally strong Georgian scrum. Will Skelton is growing to his role as talisman. The set piece was decent enough. But the star of the show, fittingly, was a Jones gamble: Ben Donaldson, the fly-half picked at full-back to bolster a fragile kicking game, and coming away with 25 points including two tries.
Donaldson was a surprise selection here: released by the Waratahs in the winter, and not even in Australia’s original squad. But clearly Jones sees something he likes here, and despite never before having started a Test at No 15, Donaldson barely made a misstep all game, taking some of the pressure off the starting fly-half Carter Gordon. “He trained the whole Rugby Championship at 15, so we knew what he was capable of,” Jones said. “We felt in a game where there’s going to be a lot of kicking, his long kick was invaluable. He’s a very good decision maker.”
The wider question here is the extent to which Australia were helped by their opponents. Georgia have long been desperate for more chances to prove themselves against Tier 1 opposition, and there will be a bitter disappointment not simply for the points lost but the opportunity missed on the grandest stage of all. There were handling errors, there was poor decision-making, and above all an inability to nail the basics and get their flair players into the game. Only after half-time did they begin to show glimpses of the roof-raising rugby of which they are frequently capable.
By then they were already 21-3 down, courtesy of early tries from Jordan Petaia and Nawaqanitawase, along with a flow of penalties that Georgia were unable to staunch. But despite losing Miriani Modebadze to the sin bin they looked much better in the second half, simpler and cleaner and more direct. Luka Ivanishvili dived over in the corner after a crucial scrum turnover and, with the score 21-8, the next score felt pivotal.
It was at this point that the Lyon full-back Davit Niniashvili went on a devastating run straight through the centre. Nic White wrapped him up, and suddenly with his options winnowing away Niniashvili panicked, flinging the ball straight to Taniela Tupou. Within seconds Tupou had sent Donaldson over, and from potentially reducing the deficit to bonus-point territory, Georgia found themselves 28-8 behind.
To their credit, Georgia kept coming. Donaldson secured Australia a bonus point after a devastating rolling maul, but after several close shaves Tengizi Zamataradze claimed a deserved consolation try. Enough there, at least, for Jones to work on in the coming week, with a head injury to the scrum-half Tate McDermott another potential area of concern. But perhaps, for all the churn and turmoil, the plan may just be coming together. “Round one, you want to be sitting with five points,” Jones declared when asked if he was satisfied. “There’s a real feeling this team can do something.”
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Georgia, too, can take heart from this game. Of course this will feel like a squandered chance, but their basic worth as a rugby nation should not stand or fall on 80 minutes. This is a country rapidly evolving their style of play, who have beaten Italy and Wales in the past 15 months, and who at this crucial juncture need their horizons broadened rather than narrowed. The structures, the enthusiasm and the talent are all there. They just need a little help.
