Jonah praises fantastic Georgia
Sun Sep 16 03:49PM
Another beautiful day in Paris, I had some work on in the morning and was running late to get back to the hotel to watch the All Blacks so my friend took us into a bar called American Dream that was full of rugby fans watching the game, it was a great little bar and the atmosphere was fantastic. It was a great day to watch rugby yesterday with some big surprises and close battles.
It was great to see such support for Portugal at a game which everyone knew they had no chance of winning. To see them fight they way they did was great, they didn't seem to be put off by the occasion. This is a team that is made up of amateur players, accountants lawyers etc and they showed the spirit of an amateur side but played some good pieces of rugby. To be rewarded with a try for all their hard work and a drop goal was fantastic to see. It showed great determination and courage to play like that against the All Blacks. You just had to look at their faces to see the satisfaction. For the All Blacks it was another win but at times they looked disjointed and lacked flow but led by Jerry Collins they posted the biggest score at this World Cup so far.
The second match of the day was set to be the game of the week. The Australians played very well in the first half, a young lookalike Stephen Larkham set the tone and the intentions of the Australian team. Wales on the other hand had the same intentions which made this a great clash between two very competitive teams. Stephen Jones was unlucky to drop such a crucial ball that was kicked and re-gathered by Chris Latham to score a decisive try that defined the final outcome. Wales didn't give up and kept coming at the Australian line with some great innovative moves and slight of hand. It just seemed like Wales found their rhythm and pattern just a little late.
The last match of the day was fantastic. I didn't think Georgia would get that close, leading 10-7 with 25 minutes to go. I think the Georgian side has been underestimated in this tournament, they have improved a lot since 2003, they are well drilled side with a big forward pack and some great runners in their backline. More and more in this competition we are seeing the minor sides challenging the top teams. The Georgian intercept try was amazing and set the tone for the game. Congratulations Georgia you've been fantastic to watch at this tournament.
მგონი ლომუს თავი შევაყვარეთ.
საქართველოს მორაგბეთა ნაკრები მსოფლიო ჩემპიონატზე, RUGBY WORLD CUP 2007
