"We just want an opportunity from World Rugby" – Five things we learnt from Italy v Georgia classic in Autumn Nations Series

11/20/2024 04:47 AM

By Charlie Elliott

Following the narrow Italy win against Georgia, there are plenty of questions about where both sides stand at the minute, and with the general discussion of tier two nations and how they are treated.

With Italy facing the All Blacks next week in Turin, this will not have been their idea of good preparation.

Here are five things we learnt from Italy v Georgia. 

1: Georgia deserves a greater chance against Tier 1 nations: 

After narrowly being defeated by Italy, questions again will be raised about whether Georgia should be included in the Six Nations, or at least have more games against the best nations. This will have done them a lot of favours, as they could have easily came out of Genoa with a victory. 

Head coach Richard Cockerill spoke post match about what he wants to see from World Rugby regarding this: 

"We just want an opportunity from World Rugby to get into a competition where we can improve and we can play fixtures like this on a regular basis." 

2. Fundamentals the problem for Georgia in the end 

The game ended up fading for Georgia following an extremely positive first half, which saw them leading 6-17 at half time before conceding 14 unanswered points in the end to lose, with it also being Italy's biggest ever test comeback. 

Head coach Cockerill said this regarding where it went wrong for his side: 

"If you don't do the basic things well you get punished. It was good test for us. We don't look fit enough, we didn’t do the basics well in the second half which we did well in the first." 

3. Mental toughness key for Italy 

Juan Ignacio Brex was one of many Italian players who had an average performance in the first half, but switched it on in the second to eventually get his side over the line. As a tier 1 nation facing less fancied opposition, this poor performance could have been sparked by complac ency. Brex had this to say about what changed from the first to the second half: 

"We talked about what we need to do better, it was our head, we need to put our heads in the field and we did it, so we are happy now" 

4. Italy are in for a rude awakening if they perform similarly against New Zealand 

While they may have got away with one and managed to win against Georgia despite being poor for their standards, with New Zealand as their next test, if they are to get even close to the All Blacks they will need to massively step it up. 

Brex admitted that there is a tough challenge ahead, and that performance levels must rise for the occasion: 

"We need to step up from tomorrow because the men in black are hard, so we are ready" 

5. Breakdown the main issue for Italy again 

Their heavy defeat against Argentina last week had a lot of causes, but one of the most notable ones was their performance at the breakdown. This was again something that Brex believed was one of the main things that needs to be improved ahead of the All Blacks game. It is a worry for Italy that even in victory there is a noticeable lack in certain areas, and their side right now looks a far cry from that of the Six Nations.  

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