Time to sign off; I’ll leave you with Jonathan Liew’s match report from a sweltering Stade de France. Bye!
Here is some reaction from the official man of the match, Ben Donaldson, courtesy of Reuters.
“The boys just executed really for the full 80 minutes and in the end it made me look half decent,” he said. “I think some of their reserves came in and really brought it to us, we became a bit slow in the second half but I’m proud of the boys.”
Here’s Jonathan Liew on the All Blacks’ opening-night misery against the hosts, France:
No reaction from Eddie Jones over on ITV here, where they’ve moved swiftly on to the England game. I wonder if he’ll take another swing at the critics, or keep his powder dry until after the Fiji game next Sunday.
Scotland, ranked fifth in the world, have to play Ireland (No 1) and South Africa (No 2) in their pool. They open against the Springboks tomorrow and are hopeful despite getting the worst deal of all in this daftly lopsided World Cup draw.
A reminder that England v Argentina is coming right up in Marseille. Join Luke McLaughlin for live updates.
Full time! Australia 35-15 Georgia
After all the pre-tournament nerves, Australia were in charge of this game from the opening minutes and wrapped up a bonus-point win in the face of an improved Georgia performance in the second half. Both sides can take positives, and both have issues to address – but it’s the Wallabies who get a welcome win.
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TRY! Australia 35-15 Georgia (Gigashvili 79')
For once, they make it look easy when deep in Australian territory, winning the lineout cleanly and setting up Sharikadze to charge forward. He is held up but Beka Gigashvili is on hand to force his way over the line, and Abzhandadze converts.
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79 mins: A Georgian penalty and now a lineout, 5m out. Can they add a second try?
77 mins: The Georgia wing is back on the ball again from another line-break, barrelling down the left but unable to find the key offload. Georgia have had their chances, and the scoreline could easily have been a lot closer than it is.
75 mins: Great feet from Nawaqanitawase once again, this time wide on the right to evade no fewer than four white shirts. Georgia regroup and get the put-in at the scrum, before the unfortunate Tabutsadze sees the ball barged out of his hands again.
73 mins: Georgia denied again after another sweeping move downfield, as Nawaqanitawase makes a superb try-line tackle to force the ball from Akaki Tabutsadze’s hands.
71 mins: Will Skelton, probably the Wallabies’ standout player aside from Donaldson, goes off to be replaced by Langi Gleeson. McDermott is back on the bench after that nasty hit earlier, which is good to see – although his replacement, Nic White, seems to have an issue with his shoulder.
70 mins: Ben Donaldson has scored 25 of Australia’s 35 points – I’d say he has justified his selection. Eddie Jones is keeping a straight face in the coaching booth, but he’ll be delighted. Luka Matkava is heading off, replaced by Tedo Abzhandadze.
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TRY! Australia 35-8 Georgia (Donaldson 68')
It’s a Donaldson double! After some typically tenacious Georgia defending, Australia look for space on the right and Gordon delivers a precise pass to the onrushing full-back. That’s the bonus point wrapped up, and Donaldson adds the extras.
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66 mins: Koroibete, who seems to have ditched the head bandage, goes full force into a tackle while bleeding from above his ear, leaving a patch of claret on his opponent’s shirt. This is gladiatorial stuff, and in the first match of the pool.
64 mins: Another chance gets away from Georgia! From the lineout, a smart offload finds Kveseladze, but the ball bobbles out of his hands with the line in sight. That might have made the finale more interesting …
63 mins: Georgia win the lineout and kick the ball away, not in particularly pretty fashion. Australia push forward again, seeking that fourth try and a bonus point. Aprasidze steps up to force a knock-on though, and Georgia hang in there.
62 mins: Gordon’s crossfield kick is just too high for Vunivalu to claw it into his grasp on the left touchline. Georgia will have a lineout, under pressure and close to their own try line. Koroibete needs a bandage for a nasty cut on his head before we can continue.
60 mins: A much-needed water break as Niniashvili goes off, a lively performance undone by that costly mistake. Giorgi Kveseladze comes on while Robert Leota, sporting a frankly outrageous mullet, replaces Richard Arnold for Australia.
58 mins: Jones sends on Suli Vunivalu to replace the first try scorer, Jordan Petaia, with Matt Faessler on for David Porecki in the front row. For Georgia, Lasha Jaiani replaces the tireless Mikautadze in their pack.
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A dramatic passage of play saw Niniashvili canter into acres of space, but after the tackle he threw the ball hopefully (and carelessly) behind him – where it was collected by Tupou, who rumbled forward and offloaded superbly to Donaldson, who raced clear to score the Wallabies’ third try.
TRY! Australia 28-8 Georgia (Donaldson 56')
This might be the match, as Ben Donaldson profits from a Niniashvili error, with the help of prop Taniela Tupou! The full-back converts his own score, and the gap is 20 points.
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53 mins: The Wallabies keep the ball and Gordon clears coolly downfield to relieve the pressure.
52 mins: Georgia win the lineout and start rolling through the line but Will Skelton stands firm and breaks the maul down as Australia get the penalty and put-in. Frustration for Georgia, who send on Guram Gogichashvili for Abuladze, and a new scrum-half in the shape of Gela Aprasidze.
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50 mins: Schoupp immediately concedes a cheap penalty, and Matkava kicks to set up another push for the line. The crowd are up for this now, getting behind the Georgia fightback …
49 mins: Modebadze returns, with Georgia cutting the gap in his absence. Loosehead prop Angus Bell is off for Australia, replaced by Blake Schoupp.
TRY! Australia 21-8 Georgia (Ivanishvili 46')
Georgia get on the board thanks to a lovely piece of skill from Matkava, looping a pass out wide over Gordon’s head to Luka Ivanishvili, rushing into space to squeeze over the line. Who needs a wing when you’ve got a flanker who can move like that? Matkava can’t add the conversion, though, sending it wide right.
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44 mins: Georgia get the better of the next scrum and Australia are penalised, with Matkava kicking clinically to touch. From the lineout, Georgia surge to within sight of the line, winning another penalty despite a lack of wide options with Modebadze in the sin-bin.
42 mins: Nic White’s box kick into the corner is brilliantly kept out of touch by a scampering Niniashvili. From the lineout, captain Will Skelton rips the ball away but Gordon’s attacking kick downfield is overcooked.
Here we go again
The second half is under way at the Stade de France. A couple of half-time changes: Kerevi is replaced by Lalakai Foketi, while prop Beka Gigashvili is on for Georgia in place of Papidze.
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“Re: Donaldson being brought in for his penalty kicking,” writes Olive O’Brien. “Years ago I saw an interview with the one and only Mike Gibson. He said ‘the first name on any team sheet should be the goal kicker and the second, the backup goal kicker. They are such easy points to get.’ Gibson was right.”
Half time! Australia 21-3 Georgia
So far, so good for the Wallabies, who scored two tries inside the first 10 minutes and are in charge against edgy, error-prone opponents. With Georgia temporarily down to 14 men when they resume, a push for the bonus-point win looks likely. More soon.
Yellow card! Miriani Modebadze completes a hat-trick of indiscretions with a needless offside – and is sent to the sin-bin! That could be costly for Georgia, who have held firm in the last 10 minutes of this half.
39 mins: It’s been a little stop-start since McDermott’s injury. Modebadze concedes a penalty, trying too hard to force the ball from Gordon’s grip – Barnes also chides him for “giving me backchat”. Australia kick for the corner as we head towards the 40-minute mark …
37 mins: Eddie Jones pops up on the big screen during the break, giving all the haters and losers inside the stadium a chance to boo him.
Kerevi is then held up by the pair of burly props, Abuladze and Papidze, who ITV’s Nolli Waterman describe as “like a pair of bouncers kicking you out of a nightclub.” I wouldn’t know, of course.
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35 mins: In that attacking move, McDermott took an almighty whack from Gorgadze, Georgia’s No 8 who is built like an oak tree. Pearce pauses the game and the scrum-half heads off after a medical check, with Nic White on to replace him.
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34 mins: An uncharacteristically slow kick-chase from Australia allows Georgia to get some forward momentum, and Matkava exchanges passes with Modebadze before surging down the left. The neutrals in the ground roar him on, but Nawaqanitawase makes a fine tackle to stop him in his tracks.
33 mins: Tom Hooper smashes through a gap in the defence and sets up Donaldson, who slaloms into yards of space – but Georgia regroup and the move breaks down as McDermott turns the ball over.
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Australia 21-3 Georgia (Donaldson pen) Ben Donaldson converts the three points with ease, taking his personal points tally to 11 as Australia keep the scoreboard ticking over.
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29 mins: When Australia do venture downfield, Lobzhanidze wraps an arm around Tate McDermott’s shoulder to bring the scrum-half down. There’s a check for a high tackle, but it’s just a penalty …
27 mins: Australia hope for a penalty from a midfield scrum but Luke Pearce isn’t interested, instead resetting the scrum. It’s 35 degrees out there, by the way, and without a breath of wind. Rob Kitson, our man in Paris, described the Stade de France as “like a giant concrete microwave”, if that gives you an idea.
25 mins: We get a glimpse of what they can do here though, after Nawaqanitawase fails to climb Lobzhanidze’s swirling high kick. Georgia sweep the ball right to Niniashvili, who finds Tabutsadze and the wing kicks through and absolutely steams downfield. Fortunately for Australia, Donaldson is across to mop up behind the line before he can get there.
22 mins: Georgia have been suspect defensively – can they get anything going in attack? Not really – a deep kick to touch leads to an Australia lineout, which the Wallabies win comfortably. On their next push upfield, Georgia turn the ball over, and they haven’t been able to get their backs involved at all.
Australia 18-3 Georgia (Donaldson pen): The Wallabies had a penalty advantage for offside and after considering another scrum, they opt to kick the regulation three points – and the gap keeps growing.
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19 mins: Can Australia find a different way to cut through their opponents? They test the Georgian pack strength from the scrum, with Skelton hauling them towards the line – but prop Taniela Tupou admits to a knock-on as he went to ground the ball.
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17 mins: This young Australian side are gaining in confidence, with Nawaqanitawase and Petaia flipping the ball between them until a Georgian hand scrambles it away on the line. Australia scrum, five metres out …
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15 mins: Nawaqanitawase’s awkward diagonal kick has Matkava lunging awkwardly to kill the ball behind the try-line. An edgy start from Georgia, in contrast to what might have been expected .
Australia 15-3 Georgia (Donaldson penalty) It’s never in doubt even from that distance. Donaldson was brought in by Jones, replacing Andrew Kellaway, partly to deliver consistent penalty points – and he’s made a good start there.
12 mins: A flying start from Australia and disappointment for Georgia, who really needed to try and grind their opponents down. Instead, it’s been an error-strewn start, with a first penalty conceded tempting Donaldson to go for goal from 46 metres …
TRY! Australia 12-3 Georgia (Nawaqanitawase 9')
Well then! Quick hands from Kerevi and Petaia keep the Wallabies moving, before Mark Nawaqanitawase finds space and bursts through in the right corner! Two tries in 10 minutes, and this time Donaldson nails the tricky extras.
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8 mins: After the first of what could be many punishing scrums, Koroibete makes a terrific surge infield from a weak Georgia kick. He is short of options, though, and Georgia look to hold up the attack …
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Australia 5-3 Georgia: Matkava slots the penalty over from 25 metres out, and the gap is down to two points when it could feasibly have been seven.
4 mins: Ben Donaldson misses the conversion from out wide, and there’s even better news for Georgia as Gordon’s kick is charged down. The fly-half then makes contact with Lobzhanidze in the air as he tries to snatch the ball back. Penalty to Georgia!
TRY! Australia 5-0 Georgia (Petaia 2')
Well, that didn’t take long. Georgia fail to clear their lines from the start and when Australia push forward again, they find gaps in the defence before McDermott swept the ball wide to Jordan Petaia, who twists past two defenders to touch down.
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Here we go!
The Wallabies, in their traditional gold and green, get us under way with Georgia in all-white.
Key event
Time for the anthems, with both teams lined up at a sweltering Stade de France. “Advance Australia Fair” is followed up by a full-bodied rendition of “Tavisupleba” (“Freedom”) – an anthem adopted in 2004 after Georgia’s bloodless revolution.
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Out of Eddie Jones’ 23-man match day squad, 17 have never played a World Cup match. It’s a young, talented squad lacking in big-match experience, with Jones keeping one eye on building towards 2027, when they will host the tournament.
Georgia, by contrast, have bags of World Cup experience in their squad, which has 14 players based in France’s Top 14, the northern hemisphere’s strongest league. They also have Joe Worsley, a World Cup winner in 2003, in their backroom staff.
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Not for the first time, Eddie Jones heads into a World Cup as his team’s biggest hype man – but it just might work if the players believe it too, writes Jonathan Liew.
Here’s Angus Fontaine on Australia’s World Cup prospects:
Our intro focused on the Wallabies, but what about the team trying to cause a shock today? Georgia are playing in their sixth straight World Cup and while they’ve never gone beyond the pool stage, they have held their own – winning twice in 2015, and a solitary game in 2007, 2011 and in 2019.
The bad news is that last time out, in Japan, the Lelos lost pool matches to Australia, Wales and Fiji. They are surely stronger this time out, with a landmark victory in Cardiff last year boosting their Six Nations claims. Their traditional pack power is complemented by back-field flair with the likes of Davit Niniashvili, a 21-year-old full back who could light up this tournament.
Ranked No 11 in the world to Australia’s No 9, they are still firm outsiders today despite their upturn in form and the Wallabies’ ongoing struggles. But they have arguably never had a better chance to shock former world champions than today, and these chances don’t come along often in this sport.
There was another lopsided contest in Pool A, with Italy running in seven tries as they beat Namibia 52-8. Hard to think of a more isolated team in terms of quality at this World Cup than the Azzurri – they will surely thrash Uruguay too, but look unlikely to lay a glove on either France or New Zealand.
Ireland conceded the first try against Romania in Bordeaux, but it’s been one-way traffic since. The world’s No 1 side currently lead 61-8 68-8 with 10 minutes left to play.
Team news
Australia: Donaldson, Nawaqanitawase, Petaia, Kerevi, Koroibete, Gordon, McDermott; Bell, Porecki, Tupou, Arnold, Skelton (c), McReight, Hooper, Valentini.
Replacements: Faessler, Schoupp, Nonggorr, Leota, Gleeson, White, Foketi, Vunivalu
Georgia: Niniashvili, Tabutsadze; Tapladze, Sharikadze (c), Modebadze, Matkava, Lobzhanidze; Abuladze, Mamukashvili, Papidze, Cheishvili, Mikautadze, Jalaghonia, Ivanishvili, Gorgadze.
Replacements: Zamtaradze, Gogichashvili, Gigashvili, Jaiani, Tsutskiridze, Aprasidze, Abzhandadze, Kveseladze.
Preamble
Is rugby union’s old order about to get shaken up? Much of the narrative around this World Cup’s early weeks has focused on the game’s snoozing and stumbling giants, and whether they have spotted the band of Tier 2 nations gathering speed in their rear-view mirror. Teams thankful for a kinder path towards the final are now fretting about even getting to the quarter-finals.
Australia, winners in 1991 and 1999, are certainly among that group. Eddie Jones’ side are narrow favourites to top Pool C, but they’ve got serious competition. Wales, Fiji (the pool’s top-ranked team) and today’s opponents, Georgia, will all see a path to the quarter-finals. The Wallabies, winless in five under Jones, are giants who could crumble with the first sling of a catapult.
An opening trilogy of Georgia, Fiji and then Wales (before facing the pool’s outsiders, Portugal) gives Jones and his callow team nowhere to hide – but that will suit the head coach. Jones has bottled World Cup magic with England, Japan, South Africa and, yes, Australia before – and it could happen again. High hopes and low expectations abound, but we’ll get a glimpse of the reality today. Kick-off is at 5pm BST.
