Saxons finale looms but Kidney’s charges keep Georgia in mind

THE mere mention of Georgia is enough to conjure up recurring nightmares for Irish rugby followers who witnessed the lowest ranked side at the 2007 World Cup come within minutes of beating Ireland in the pool stages on a balmy evening in Bordeaux almost two years ago.

The sands of time have shifted considerably since then; enough that Ireland’s ‘A’ side should encounter little difficulty against the eastern European outfit in their final pool game of the 2009 Churchill Cup at

Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado tomorrow (kick-off 10.30pm Irish time/live on Sky Sports 2).

A win for the Declan Kidney-coached Ireland side will set up a mouthwatering decider against an England Saxons team containing Danny Cipriani amongst other notables on June 21.

Ireland’s bid to land a first-ever Churchill title did suffer a set-back yesterday when highly-rated Leinster flanker Sean O’Brien returned home with a knee injury that, according to an IRFU spokesman, is not believed to be too serious. The Carlow man sustained the injury during the second half of Wednesday’s 30-19 victory over Canada.

Connacht’s Andrew Browne, who can play in the second row or at blindside flanker, has been drafted into the squad as O’Brien’s replacement, but whether the 22-year-old makes his Ireland A debut won’t be known until today when Kidney announces his starting XV.

Jonathan Sexton is fancied to start at out-half following his hugely influential 16-minute cameo against the Canucks, while Frank Murphy may partner the Leinster No 10 having also made a difference upon his introduction against the Canucks.

Sexton’s Heineken Cup winning team-mate Cian Healy should start at loosehead while Munster-bound Felix Jones may come in for Fionn Carr on the right wing.

Ireland A captain, John Muldoon, should come into the back row while Trevor Hogan and Denis Fogarty can also expect to be named in the starting XV.

Georgia made a poor start to their Churchill Cup debut campaign losing 42-10 to Canada, a result that saw them drop two places in the IRB world rankings to 15. They did top the 2009 European Nations Cup table ahead of Russia and Portugal earlier this year, but a repeat of their heroics against Ireland is unlikely at Infinity Park, the first municipally-owned rugby-specific stadium in North America.