So, farewell: Georgia & Canada

Georgia

What little hype the Georgians receieved before the tournament implied that they would be minnows; big, rough, violent minnows, but minnows nonetheless. Little emphasis was placed on their resilience and general ability to grind out games. However, the World Cup showed that there are minnows (I’m looking at you, Romania, Japan and Namibia) and minnows. The Georgians were great value, giving their share of scares and keeping defeats generally down to a minimum, barring the trouncing they receievd from England and the last fifteen minutes against Argentina.

Best moment: hard to pick – from winning against Romania in the “Eastern European Derby” that saw Georgia widen the gap between the two with a 25-9 victory, to the match against Scotland that was won by the Home Nation by 15-6. They also gave the Pumas a scare in the first half of this morning’s game, going in at half-time 7-5 ahead before eventually succumbing to a 25-7 loss.

Worst moment: playing well but losing heavily to England as the English campaign attempted to hit a new gear in the 41-10 victory.

Highest points scorer: Merab Kvirikashvili, their kicker, who scored 28 of the team’s 48 points.

Best player: Mamuka Gorgodze, affectionately known as “Gorgodzilla” by the fans at his club Montpellier, who put in two man of the match performances, against England and Romania.

Canada

The Canadians performed pretty much as expected during the tournament, getting tonked by the big teams and drawing with Japan in a repeat of the 2007 World Cup result between the two. Their crowning moment came in the shock defeat of Tonga, which almost certainly kept Tonga from qualifying at France’s expense. With their big beards and soft hands, Canada shall be missed.

Best moment: the aforementioned shock defeat of Tonga, which looked like the islanders had sewn it up but which ended 25-20 in favour of the North Americans. The last-minute 23-23 draw with Japan was also compelling viewing.

Worst moment: this morning’s 79-15 defeat at the hands of New Zealand, leaving a Canada team that was technically already out thoroughly well beaten in their final game.

Highest points scorer: Ander Monro, the fly-half who scored 22 of Canada’s 82 points, narrowly followed by James Pritchard, the full back who scored 20. Incidentally, Monro is the grandson of Lord Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm, the former President of the Scottish Rugby Union.

Best player: the bearded forward Adam Kleeberger, who was instrumental in the defeat of Tonga.