Lelos run riot as Georgia crush Canada 59-14 in Tbilisi

A scare, then a landslide in Tbilisi

Georgia kept their perfect record in the World Rugby Nations Cup with a commanding 59-14 win over Canada at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi on Saturday, but for the first half-hour the Lelos looked anything but comfortable. Canada led 14-10 after 27 minutes, and the home crowd had reason to worry, before Georgia found their rhythm and scored 49 unanswered points to turn a genuine contest into a rout.

The victory was Georgia's fourth in four matches in the inaugural Nations Cup, and it kept the Lelos top of the European-Africa pool with two rounds still to play. Canada, ranked 22nd in the world, were left to count the cost of a second-half collapse after a first half in which they had matched the 13th-ranked hosts try for try.

Dachi Papunashvili opened the scoring for Georgia in the third minute, finishing a teasing grubber kick from captain Davit Niniashvili in the left corner, but Luka Matkava missed the conversion and the lead stayed at 5-0. Canada hit back seven minutes later when centre Ben Lesage took Jesse Kilgour's short pass and dived over, with Takoda McMullin converting for a 7-5 lead.

Canada's bright start fades fast

Georgia restored their advantage in the 20th minute when Akaki Tabutsadze finished clinically in the right corner, moments after Canada winger Nic Benn had been sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on. It was Tabutsadze's 53rd try in his 64th Test, extending his record as the all-time leading try-scorer in Georgian rugby history, although Matkava again missed the conversion and Georgia led only 10-7.

Canada refused to fold. Second-row Izzak Kelly crossed in the 26th minute, McMullin added his second conversion, and the visitors led 14-10 with the game approaching the half-hour. For a few minutes, an upset looked possible. Then Georgia's forwards took control.

The Lelos' scrum and driving maul began forcing penalties out of the Canadian pack, and the home side's backline did the rest. Niniashvili split the Canadian defence in the 30th minute to score, Matkava converted, and Georgia were back in front at 17-14. In the dying moments of the half, Luka Tabatadze finished a well-worked team try, Matkava converted again, and the Lelos went to the break leading 24-14.

A second half without reply

Whatever Canada planned at half-time, it did not survive the restart. Captain Lucas Rumball was shown a yellow card early in the second half, and Georgia were awarded a penalty try from a scrum in the 44th minute to stretch the lead to 31-14. From there, the floodgates opened.

Replacement prop Beka Gigashvili powered over in the 55th minute, Matkava landing his third conversion to make it 38-14. Tornike Kakhoidze pounced on a clever chip kick from the Georgian scrum-half in the 66th minute, and Matkava's fourth conversion took the score to 45-14. Tabutsadze completed his brace in the 70th minute, his second try of the afternoon taking his Test tally to 54, and Matkava's fifth conversion made it 52-14.

Vano Karkadze dived over in the 77th minute, and Matkava's sixth and final conversion sealed a 59-14 victory. Georgia outscored Canada 35-0 after the break, and the statistics told the story of the second half: the Lelos made 167 carries to Canada's 87 and broke the line 15 times to the visitors' two.

Perfect record intact, Tonga next

Victorious captain Niniashvili was quick to share the credit with the home crowd. "I'm proud of my team and I want to say thank you to all our supporters who were here today," he said. "It's a big motivation for us and we'll be ready for Tonga next week."

Rumball was honest about where the game was lost. "Georgia really showed us what it means to have a strong kicking game," the Canada skipper said. "They put us under pressure and capitalised on our errors, mine included. We did some good things in the first half but we need to be better."

Canada's afternoon ended on a worrying note when replacement Liam James was hurt in a tackle late on following a collision with Georgia forward Mikheili Shioshvili and was taken off on a stretcher. There was a brighter moment for the visitors when Jack Gore came on in the 70th minute to win his first cap.

Georgia now turn to next week's meeting with Tonga, still unbeaten and still setting the pace in their pool. Canada, who were 1-1-1 in their three-game stretch in July, face a must-win match against Hong Kong on November 14 before closing their campaign against Romania in Bucharest on November 20. On this evidence, the gap between the Lelos and the chasing pack in the Nations Cup is still a wide one.