Georgia untroubled by injuries or egos

They may be winless at Rugby World Cup 2011, but Georgia continue to accentuate the positive as they prepare for Wednesday's match against rivals Romania. Chief among them: neither injuries nor players' personal expectations have had a negative impact when it comes to selecting their team.

"We are fortunate that we didn't have many injuries," Georgia coach Richie Dixon said, looking back at the Lelos' Pool B losses to Scotland and England.

And the Scot was forthright about why Georgia did not draw on the unselected members of their 30-man squad when it came to deciding the starting XV to face Romania, who are winless after three matches.

"We're sticking with the guys who have played very well for us," he said after naming a side with few changes to the team beaten 41-10 by England and also the most experienced Georgia have ever fielded in a RWC match, with 551 Test caps between them.

No sentiment

Dixon, a former Scotland coach, said it was not Georgian team policy to select players simply because they had yet to make an appearance at RWC 2011.

"There's no room for sentiment at the Rugby World Cup as far as I'm concerned," he said.

As a result, there are only three changes to Georgia's starting line-up, although RWC 2003 and RWC 2007 veteran Irakli Machkhaneli, who started against Scotland and England, will miss the match because of a knee injury.

Dixon said team selections were an opportunity to demonstrate the depth of talent in Georgian rugby

"We always try to pick our strongest team as a sign of respect to our opponent and the tournament," he said.

Dixon believes Romania's 67-3 loss to pool leaders England on Saturday, which did not feature the Oaks' best players, was their way of preparing for their pool - and RWC 2011 - finale against Georgia.

Hard game

"Everyone has their own attitude, obviously," he said. "They chose to do it that way and that's their business.

"They left many of their players out and they're where they want to be.

"They are targeting this match and we know this game will be a very, very hard game."
Lelos captain Irakli Abuseridze is adamant his team are ready to claim Georgia's first RWC 2011 points with a victory over Romania at Arena Manawatu.

"We've trained really hard," he said.

"I think we're going to win. Sorry, but it's true."

Georgia and Romania have met 14 times, and while Romania have an 8-6 edge in overall victories, Georgia have won four of the five most recent encounters.