Wales v Georgia LIVE: Result and reaction as Louis Rees-Zammit scores hat-trick to confirm top spot in group
Wales 43-19 Georgia: Warren Gatland’s side top Pool C as Rees-Zammit’s hat-trick eased any late nerves
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Your support makes all the difference.Winger Louis Rees-Zammit scored a hat-trick of tries as Wales rugby beat Georgia rugby 43-19 to secure first place in Rugby World Cup Pool C on Saturday and a quarter-final against Argentina or Japan.
Wales, who lost their last match against Georgia 11 months ago, went into halftime with a 17-7 lead after tries by prop Tomas Francis and fullback Liam Williams but then faced a spirited fightback from the Georgians. They had crossed the Wales line before the interval through captain Merab Sharikadze and stunned the Welsh with successive tries after the hour mark from replacement prop Vano Karkadze and wing Davit Niniashvili.
Rees-Zammit and centre George North scored late tries to extend the Welsh lead. Flyhalf Sam Costelow, a last-minute replacement for Gareth Anscombe who was injured in the warm-up, kicked 14 points for Wales. Georgia finished fourth in the pool with no wins and one draw against Portugal despite spirited performances against all their opponents including Australia and Fiji.
Follow all the reaction as Wales defeated Georgia in their final Pool C match plus get all the latest Rugby World Cup odds and tips here:
Wales vs Georgia starting line-ups
Wales XV: 15. Liam Williams, 14. Louis Rees Zammit, 13. George North, 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Rio Dyer, 10. Gareth Anscombe, 9. Tomos Williams; 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Dewi Lake (capt), 3. Tomas Francis, 4. Will Rowlands, 5. Dafydd Jenkins, 6. Aaron Wainwright, 7. Tommy Reffell, 8. Taulupe Faletau
Replacements: 16. Elliot Dee, 17. Nicky Smith, 18. Henry Thomas, 19. Christ Tshiunza, 20. Taine Basham, 21. Gareth Davies, 22. Sam Costelow, 23. Mason Grady.
Georgia XV: 15. Lasha Khmaladze, 14. Akaki Tabutsadze, 13. Giorgi Kveseladze, 12. Merab Sharikadze (captain), 11. Davit Niniashvili, 10. Luka Matkava, 9. Vasil Lobzhanidze; 1. Guram Gogichashvili, 2. Shalva Mamukashvili, 3. Beka Gigashvili, 4. Nodar Cheishvili, 5. Konstantine Mikautadze, 6. Mikheil Gachechiladze, 7. Beka Saginadze, 8. Tornike Jalagonia.
Replacements: 16. Vano Karkadze, 17. Nika Abuladze, 18. Irakli Aptsiauri, 19. Vladimer Chachanidze, 20. Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 21. Gela Aprasidze, 22. Tedo Abzhandadze, 23. Demur Tapladze
Wales vs Georgia team news
Wales make six changes to the starting line-up that beat Australia as hooker Dewi Lake will captain the team, with his co-skipper Jac Morgan rested from the matchday 23.
There are also starts for wing Rio Dyer, fly-half Gareth Anscombe, scrum-half Tomos Williams, lock Dafydd Jenkins and flanker Tommy Reffell, with Anscombe – who scored 23 points in Wales’ record 40-6 win against Australia – starting instead of the injured Dan Biggar.
Georgia head coach Levan Maisashvili has made five changes to the starting side that narrowly went down to Fiji last time out. Guram Gogichashvili and Shalva Mamukashvili return to the front row, Nodar Cheishvili comes into the second row while captain Merab Sharikadze returns at centre to win his 99th Test cap and fullback Lasha Khmaladze makes his first appearance of the tournament.
There are 15 survivors in the matchday 23 from their 13-12 victory in Cardiff last year, including 11 in the starting XV, while kicker of the winning penalty that day, Luka Matkava, starts a fly-half.
How to watch Wales vs Georgia
Wales vs Georgia is due to kick off at 2pm BST on Saturday 7th October at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match on ITV1 with coverage starting at 1.15pm. Registered users will also be able to watch the match online on ITVX.
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Wales vs Georgia
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the Rugby World Cup. Today’s opening fixture sees Wales strive to secure top spot in Pool C having already qualified for the quarter-finals.
Warren Gatland’s men have won all three of their fixtures so far including a stonkingly good 40-6 victory over Australia last time out. They need just one point from today’s match to confirm their place at the top of the pool and Gatland will be hoping to keep the winning run going in order to take some momentum into the knockout rounds.
Georgia meanwhile are going home. They are currently fourth in the pool and cannot progress further up the table even if they do manage to defeat Wales this afternoon. A victory for them would end their campaign on a high but that seems unlikely given Wales’ recent run of form.
Kick off for this one is at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes with the match getting underway at 2pm BST.
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