Georgia kick-off with a big win

Last year's relegated nation sets a benchmark in U19 Division B

Georgia, relegated from last year's U19 World Championship division A, kicked off their 2006 campaign with an impressive 57-3 win over Korea in Sharjah on Tuesday.

Outgunned in every department, the plucky Koreans won the hearts of spectators at Sharjah Wanderers with their never-say-die approach to the game, running the ball at every opportunity in a courageous attempt to outflank their bigger and heavier opponents.

But a late penalty was all they had to show for their efforts and the scoreline sums up the way the Georgians dominated the match from kick-off to final whistle in this Division B encounter.

Georgia captain Guram Kavtidze led from the front, scoring two tries and showing a remarkable turn of speed for a hefty No.8.

Georgia went in 31-0 ahead at half time, and only tenacious tackling by the Koreans kept the score from being even higher, with tries coming from props Anton Peikrishvili and Giorgi Lomsadze, locks David Chichua and Tornike Dzagnidze and scrum half Beka Kupreishvili. Levan Genebashvili converted all four and also kicked a penalty.

Genebashvili failed to convert Kavtidze’s first try early in the second half, but when Dzagnidze added another a few minutes later, the flanker made no mistake with the extras and the floodgates looked like opening for a really massive score.

But the Koreans were still prepared to run the ball, and a series of deft passing moves took them inside their opponents 22-metre area and forced a penalty, easily converted by fly-half Jin Woo Jang to avoid the whitewash.

Tries from Kavtidze and centre Aleksandre Manjavidze, converted by Alexander Todua and Vladimer Kupreishvili respectively, completed the scoring.

Two tries in the opening five minutes put Canada on the way to a comfortable 29-10 win over Namibia in their opening game at the Dubai Exiles, home of the Dubai leg of the IRB Sevens.

Turnover ball on the halfway line was ruthlessly punished as winger Jack Durling dashed away for an early converted score against the run of play.

And Phil MacKenzie, on the opposite flank, also showed good pace to race clear virtually from the restart for an unconverted try to continue Canada’s dream start.

Namibia desperately tried to get back into the game but Canada were next on the board with Durling powering over from close range after good work by centres Ben Grant and Nick Trenkel.

Fly-half Lourens Smit landed a monster 45-metre penalty on the stroke of half time to give Namibia hope. But Canada, with their forwards particularly effective at close quarters, began the second period on top and were soon rewarded with a converted try from MacKenzie who muscled over from close range.

Namibia came back into the match thanks to a superb score from centre Sergio De La Harpe who held on to a loose chip, juggling the ball several times before sprinting away from 50 metres, Smit converting.

But it was Canada’s night and they had the final word when Trenkel burst through at pace from some 30 metres out and just managed to get over the line, despite the close attention of two Namibian defenders.

Tonga kick-started their campaign in fine fashion with a 24-6 victory over Chile, also at the Dubai Exiles Club.

Leading 10-0 at the break, Tonga took control early in the second half to race to a commanding 24-0 buffer.

Chile rallied well though and hit back through the left boot of fly half Benjamin Omegna, who slotted two penalty goals in the second term.

The first half however belonged to Tonga with tries to hooker Lepaola Taueli and wing Michael Uhatahi.

Taueli crashed over following wave after wave of pressure, which finally paid off for the Tongans, who looked dangerous when they had the ball in their hands.

A handy piece of work from fly half Richard Havili saw him link up with the flying Uhatahi who crossed untouched.

Semisi Fotu was the first to score in the second half for Tonga and his try next to the uprights gave Viliami Hakalo an easy shot and Tonga a 17-0 lead.

Havili then pulled off some more magic and slipped an inside ball to Uhatahi who welcomed the opening and scored under the posts for his second try.

Tries either side of half time set the foundation for a convincing 35-3 win by Uruguay in their opening match against the USA at Sharjah Wanderers.

Until then, the USA were still very much in the game, trailing 9-3 to a drop goal and two penalties by Uruguayan scrum half Alberico Passadore, against a long-range penalty in reply from their fly half Chris Lind.

But a try from Alberto Ronan in the closing minutes of the first half, with Passadore adding the conversion, saw the South Americans lead 16-3 at the break.

Within minutes of the restart the Uruguayans went further ahead after No 8 Gonzalo Campomar went over for the try. Passadore again converted to make it 23-3 and put the game effectively out of reach of the USA.

To their credit the USA refused to give up, playing an adventurous open game, but handling errors at critical moments cost them dearly as they failed to capitalise on potential scoring opportunities.

The stronger and heavier Uruguayans dominated possession and territory with only terrier-like tackling preventing more breaches of the tryline.

However sustained pressure took its toll, bringing two late tries by Uruguay – from fly-half and captain Santiago di Meo and Campomar again – the second converted by replacement Jeronimo Etcheverry, to give the South Americans a comprehensive win and an invaluable bonus point to get their tournament off to a flying start.

A physical Russia dominated the second half to seal a 36-14 victory against Chinese Taipei in their opening match, also at Sharjah Wanderers.

Chinese Taipei actually enjoyed most of the first half possession, but found themselves behind after a try apiece from Oleg Khachikyan and Ivan Lysko gave Russia a 14-7 half time advantage.

The physical presence of the Russians helped them maintain possession and turnover the ball at any opportunity, their forwards playing a big part holding up the ball before releasing the backs into the pockets, creating havoc in the opposition lines.

Momentum ran with the Russians as they drove home two more tries before Chinese Taipei fought their way back with a try from Shih-Ming Wu, adding to Jung-Chieh Chang’s first half effort.

As the game progressed Russia grew in confidence and retained the ball for longer periods, while also managing to hold a strong defensive line that physically outmatched their opponents.

Finally, Fiji withstood a late fightback from Italy in a match of changing fortunes to launch their bid for promotion from Division B with an exhilarating 38-30 win.

Third seeds Italy ended the first half 16-13 in front but four unanswered tries in the third quarter saw Fiji, who had to qualify for the tournament, surge 35-16 clear.

The match appeared over but with seven minutes to go Italy gave themselves a lifeline when lock Luca Beccaris was worked over from close range for a converted try.

And further forward pressure was rewarded with a penalty try for repeatedly infringing which Giulio Rubini converted to make the score 35-30.

A shock briefly appeared on the cards but with just a minute to go Fiji were awarded a penalty some 40 metres out and Seremaia Tagicakibu stepped up to land a kick which finally put his side out of sight.

Italy had made a fine start with an early try from hooker Nicola Gatto and a Davide Duca penalty for an eight-point lead before Fiji rallied with a Tagicakibu penalty and converted touchdown from full-back Iliesa Keresonifor a 10-8 lead.

Italy regained the advantage with another Duca penalty while full back Pietro Valcastelli’s try stretched the advantage to 16-10 before Fiji ended the half with another Tagicakibu penalty.

The islanders maintained that momentum in the second period with typically fluid handling paving the way for scores from No.8 Waqabaca Kotobalavu, Keresoni, fly half Rokodaini Bativagone and the hard-working Tagicakibu.

RESULTS – DIVISION B, DAY ONE

Canada 29-10, Namibia, Exiles RFC
Uruguay 35-3 USA, Sharjah Wanderers
Chile 6-24 Tonga, Exiles RFC
Chinese Taipei 14-36 Russia, Sharjah Wanderers
Fiji 38-30 Italy, Exiles RFC
Georgia 57-3 Korea, Sharjah Wanderers