Driven by need to secure World Cup future

GEORGIA captain Ilia Zedginidze has warned Ireland his side enter today’s Bordeaux showdown driven by the need to preserve their World Cup future.

Zedginidze has urged organisers not be persuaded by calls to reduce the number of teams competing at the tournament in a bid to make it more competitive.

The “Lelos” would be among the emerging nations struggling to qualify for a reduced 16-team competition if the International Rugby Board do decide to alter the format.

So far this month the likes of Georgia, Namibia, Portugal and Romania have acquitted themselves well in contests that were perceived to be mis-matches.

And Zedginidze insists the only way they will develop into second or even first-tier rugby nations is through the exposure provided by the World Cup.

“Rugby is becoming more and more popular in Georgia,” said the Auch flanker-come-back row, who made his Test debut against Ireland in 1998. “After the first World Cup finished we had more people playing the sport at lower levels and we also began to produce more professionals.

“Now most of the players in our squad are professional and compete in Europe.

“Rugby is a respected sport in Georgia and we want to fill the nation with pride, so it’s important to do well at the World Cups.

“The internal championship isn’t very popular but when the national team play there are always huge crowds coming to watch.

“The World Cup is crucial to this because it increases the sport’s popularity and that means we get more attention from the government,” he said.

“We need funding and structures put in place, as at the moment there are only eight rugby pitches in Georgia.

“We know that when we play Ireland we are not only playing to win, but also to show the potential we have.

“The World Cup is so important to our development. If the World Cup is played with less teams, then sides like us will find it harder to grow.”

Georgia will have helped their cause with Tuesday’s battling 33-3 defeat to Argentina, which only saw the Pumas ease clear in the final 10 minutes.

Whether they have the energy to cause Ireland similar problems seems unlikely given they will be playing their second match in five days.

But Zedginidze, one of only four survivors from the Argentina game as coach Malkhaz Cheishvili attempts to keep his side fresh, insists his team have taken comfort from Ireland’s dreadful display against Namibia.

“We watched the Ireland match as a squad. We were very impressed by Namibia,” he said.

“It was a hard game for Namibia but they did many good things. I don’t think Ireland expected them to play like that and were caught by surprise.

“We’ll try and play like the Namibians did and put pressure on Ireland to see how they react,” he said.