Rookie shines as Ireland ease past Georgia

MATCH REPORT: A first-half brace by debutant Tommy O’Brien helped Ireland register an impressive 34-5 victory over Georgia in Tbilisi.

Ireland were without head coach Andy Farrell and a plethora of players due to British and Irish Lions commitments, but showed their strength in depth with an assured display on a rain-soaked pitch.

O’Brien raced over twice inside the opening exchanges before Craig Casey marked his captaincy debut with a fine try at the start of the second period.

Nick Timoney wrapped up the scoring late on, whilst Sam Prendergast added 14 points during a faultless kicking display under interim boss Paul O’Connell.

Former Ireland Under-20 captain O’Brien only needed two minutes to get off the mark as he latched on to Prendergast’s kick and touched down next to the posts.

Jacob Stockdakle was forced to leave the pitch after an injury to his left arm and Georgia then deservedly got on the scoreboard.

With the clock in the red, the hosts continued to probe the Irish defence and broke through thanks to Tornike Jalagonia in the corner.

It was a poor end to a professional half, but interim captain Casey stepped up after the break.

Casey stormed over inside 60 seconds after he combined with Ryan Baird to mark his first match with the armband with a try.

Another Prendergast conversion was followed two penalties as Ireland established a 22-point advantage by the midway point of the second half.

O’Connell started to shuffle his pack as the seconds ticked away amid heavy rain, with Tom Ahern and Jack Aungier sent on for debuts.

It was followed by a fourth try for Ireland as Timoney collected a bouncing kick to bundle over despite the presence of two Georgian players.

After the TMO was required to intervene, it was eventually awarded and Prendergast landed another fine kick from the touchline to finish with a 14-point haul on a successful night for Ireland’s makeshift team.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Try: Jalagonia

For Ireland:
Tries: T O’Brien 2, Casey, Timoney
Cons: Prendergast 4
Pens: Prendergast 2

Teams: 

Georgia: 15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Demur Tapladze, 12 Giorgi Kveseladze, 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Beka Saghinadze, 6 Luka Ivanishvili, 5 Lado Chachanidze, 4 Mikheil Babunashvili, 3 Irakli Aptsiauri, 2 Vano Karkadze, 1 Giorgi Akhaladze.
Replacements: 16 Irakli Kvatadze, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Giorgi Javakhia, 20 Ilia Spanderashvili, 21 Mikheil Alania, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Tornike Kakhoidze.

Ireland: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Cormac Izuchukwu, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle.
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 Cian Prendergast, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Calvin Nash.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Adam Leal (England) & Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)