ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Throwback To Georgia’s Near Miss vs Ireland At RWC 2007

BY Philip Bendon  ·  Monday Nov 21, 2022

Georgian Rugby has continued to roar in recent years making incredible strides both on an off the pitch.

ADVERTISEMENT

Having for so long been the forgotten power in Europe, Georgia are riding high having taken the scalps of both Italy and Wales in recent fixtures.

Whilst these results are unparalleled in their colourful history, it is worth remembering just how close they have previously come to knocking some of the games traditional big guns.

Casting our memories back to 2007 when Ireland were in the midst of yet another Rugby World Cup hell, the Lelos came within a whisker of compounding Irish issues.

Ireland came into the tournament as one of the favourites to make a deep run with a starting XV as good as just about any at the tournament.

Names such as String, O’Gara, O’Driscoll, O’Connell and O’Callaghan were in their pomp as expectations weighed heavy.

By all accounts however it was not a happy Irish camp starting with the hotel which players have described as “concrete prison on a roundabout” far away from any of the World Cup festivities.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thus, the stage was set for an upset. Having battled past a largely amateur Namibian team whilst Georgia was getting tonked by eventual semi-finalist Argentina, Ireland were clearly in a bad place.

As the first half trudged towards its midpoint Ireland finally got on the board courtesy of Rory Best with an O’Gara conversion nerves were settled ever so slightly.

Unfortunately for Ireland this would be about as relaxing as it would get as Georgia began a siege that saw them come roaring back into the game.

Firstly, it was a penalty kick which was then followed by an intercept try which had the Georgian’s staring down a historic victory.

ADVERTISEMENT

Luckily for Ireland they would manage to battle their way over the line thanks to fullback Gordan Dempsey which again O’Gara converted in the 55th minute.

The final 25 minutes were a slog as Ireland battled back wave after wave of Georgian ball carriers.

Whilst they may have fallen short, the seed of a potential Tier One nation was certainly planted.

Related Articles

  • 116 WEEKS AGO

    Georgia Stun Wales To Makes History In Cardiff...

  • 134 WEEKS AGO

    Georgia Beat Italy Famous Victory



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Flying frenchman scores tremendous try for Toulon

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    Young England hopeful continues to impress with double against Stade Français

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Full throttle Premiership final rematch ends in heartache

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Santiago Carreras scores a blinder in front of thrilled Kingsholm crowd

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Fans in awe as Kildunne finishes off STUNNING team try

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 11 WEEKS AGO

    Wallabies wunderkind Sua'ali' and Scotland captain Tuipulotu clash

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    Ireland 'steal' Argentina's opening try as debate rages

  • 13 WEEKS AGO

    WATCH: The biggest hit from week one of the Autumn Nations Series

  • 17 WEEKS AGO

    'Cheap shot' from Leicester Tigers vs Northampton Saints causing a stir online

  • 17 WEEKS AGO

    Wild moment leads to all in brawl during Welsh derby between Cardiff and Scarlets

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    SHOCK results in the PWR keeps top four race thrilling

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Santiago Carreras scores a blinder in front of thrilled Kingsholm crowd

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Fans in awe as Kildunne finishes off STUNNING team try

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    Supporters can't believe Saracens Sharp's UNBELIEVABLE finish

  • 12 WEEKS AGO

    Fans in awe as Joyce finishes ‘impossible’ solo try

View All

Funnies

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Nightmare blunder from Exeter winger as try goes wanting

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    'A dog with a mallet up its arse could’ve written Johnny’s book' Donnacha O'Callaghan

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    ‘The knee slide was too much’ - Ben Earl reflects on THAT viral moment

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    U.S. Army Special Operations Sergeant Major makes big claim about rugby

  • 13 WEEKS AGO

    “Put that in the book” - Rieko Ioane’s explosive post reignites feud with Sexton

View All

Amateur

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Nightmare blunder from Exeter winger as try goes wanting

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Santiago Carreras scores a blinder in front of thrilled Kingsholm crowd

  • 108 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 108 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 131 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

View All

Player Features

  • 6 WEEKS AGO

    RugbyDump's top five backrows in 2024

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    ‘The knee slide was too much’ - Ben Earl reflects on THAT viral moment

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    Marcus Smith makes big call on his future

  • 11 WEEKS AGO

    'Eligible for England' - Fans react to South African star's contract announcement

  • 11 WEEKS AGO

    The 19-year-old named the 'future' of English rugby after win against Australia A

View All