Ireland in desperate need of a pick-me-up

RUGBY/Ireland v Georgia: Irish eyes aren't smiling out in the squad's suburban, lakeside base. Confidence is low and self-reproach is high; you can almost reach out and feel it. Given the dog-eat-eat rendezvous with the French in a Parisian pressure cooker looms next Friday, they desperately need a pick-me-up.

Ireland are at least returning to familiar territory in the Stade Chaban-Delmas. They have been based here for 10 days and of course are giving another opportunity to the frontliners to find their form; hence they ought not be as rusty or out of sorts and error-prone as against Namibia.

They'll have learnt the perils of spilling the pill or coughing it up in contact, loose kicking or wayward lineout throws, and if they have a chance to put their foot on limited but spirited opponents they need to keep it there.

Provide another gift-wrapped invitation to the opposition to come into the match and, possibly even more than Namibia, Georgia will avail of it.

What's more, the French supporters will be even quicker to weigh in behind the Georgians, in part because they have a vested interested in seeing Ireland again embarrassed, but also because all but four of the Georgian squad are French-based.

Outscrummaging the Namibians was one thing; repeating the trick against Georgia would be a much bigger feather in their cap. A sharper, more decisive lineout would help too, but most of all they need to rediscover a ruthless streak in clearing out ruck ball.

As they underlined in their 33-3 defeat to Argentina in Lyon last Tuesday, the muscular Georgians are liable to bring even more grunt and grind to the collisions, all the more so if it involves their beefy forwards. There's no avoiding that, and Ireland need a good test.

What to make of the Georgians? They slipped into Bordeaux yesterday and cancelled all media briefings. Their selection shows 11 changes from the team that held Argentina to 6-3 at half-time on Tuesday, prompting the theory that this is more akin to their second team. But on closer examination that doesn't stack up.

They have retained their first-choice outhalf and goalkicker, Merab Kvirikashvili, for example and of their nine Top 14 players, five are in their tight five, with captain and lock Ilia Zedginidze (14 tries in 24 tests) and Mamuka Gorgodze retained in the second row.

Against that, Pavle Jimsheladze, Georgia's highest points scorer of all time, will sit out today's match because of a slight muscle injury, while the outstanding tighthead Davit Zirakachvili and winger Iraki Machkhaneli, their standout player in Tuesday's game, are among those rested.

Most likely therefore, true to the words of coach Malkhaz Cheichvili, they are giving everyone a run save for the injured Jimcheladze in their opening two games. This then is perhaps a mix of firsts and, more so, seconds, with a view to targeting their third game against Namibia in 10 days' time, which assuredly offers the Georgians their best chance of a first World Cup win.

Namibia's effort against Ireland may also have alarmed them a tad, if not quite to the extent it alarmed the Irish players, management and increasingly sombre supporters. Even allowing for the 11 changes, Georgia are coming off a game just four days ago. By the last quarter against Los Pumas they were out on their feet.

"In fairness to the Argentinians, they retained their composure and didn't lose patience," observed Eddie O'Sullivan in suggesting what might be a valuable lesson for Ireland.

The Irish management must also surely have noticed the naivety of the Georgian defence, especially out wide, and how limited Argentina were until moving Juan Hernández to midfield and letting him cut loose. Until then, badly missing Agustin Pichot's guiding hand on the tiller, Argentina kept running into brick walls close in, even though at one ruck on Tuesday night Georgia had committed 12 players to the breakdown.

Georgia were beaten 20-17 by Auch in one warm-up game and then 17-6 by a relegated and understrength Agen, and the Agen coach remarked that while Georgia were big and strong up front, "when I watched their backline I was shocked".

Without Iraki Machkhaneli, both their defence and limited potency in the backs should be further exposed.

All the minnows have been in camp extensively and have come here in comparatively better nick than four years ago. But if Ireland walk the walk after all the talk this week, the tries should come as Georgia wilt, with opportunities aplenty off turnovers, crosskicks and counterattacks for Gordon D'Arcy, Brian O'Driscoll, Denis Hickie and a back-in-harness Shane Horgan, all the more so if a high tempo is maintained.

This Irish team need desperately to emerge from the Bordeaux night with a collective smile on their faces.

Ireland: G Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster); S Horgan (Lansdowne/Leinster), B O'Driscoll (UCD/Leinster, capt), G D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster), D Hickie (St.Mary's College/Leinster); R O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster), P Stringer (Shannon/Munster); M Horan (Shannon/Munster), R Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), J Hayes (Shannon/Munster), D O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster), P O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster), S Easterby (Llanelli), D Wallace
(Garryowen/Munster), D Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster). Replacements: J Flannery (Shannon/Munster), S Best (BelfastHarlequins/Ulster), M O'Kelly (St.Mary's College/Leinster), N Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), I Boss (Ballymena/Ulster), P Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster), G Murphy (Leicester).

Georgia: Otar Barkalaia (Figeac, Fra), Giorgi Elizbarashvili (Krasnoiarsk, Rus), Revaz Gigauri (Montlucon, Fra), Davit Kacharava (Bastia, Fra), Giorgi Shkinin (Blois, Fra); Merab Kvirikashvili (Pau, Fra), Bidzina Samkharadze (Farul Constanta, Rom); Mamuka Magrakvelidze (Auch), Goderdzi Shvelidze (Clermont), Avtandil Kopaliani (Bayonne), Ilia Zedginidze (Auch, capt), Mamuka Gorgodze (Montpellier), Ilia Maisuradze (Nantes), Rati Urushadze (Nice), Giorgi Chkhaidze (Massy). Replacements: Akvsenti Giorgadze (Castres), David Khinchagashvili (Brive), Levan Datunashvili (Montlucon, Fra), Zviad Maisuradze (Loc Tbilisi), Irakli Abuseridze (Orleans, Fra), Malkhaz Urjukashvili (Nice, Fra), Otar Eloshvili (Arras, Fra).

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England).

Previous meetings: 1998 - Ireland 70 Georgia 0. 2002 - Ireland 63 Georgia 14.

Handicap betting(Paddy Powers): (Georgia +49pts) 10/11 Ireland; 25/1 Draw; 10/11 Georgia.

Forecast: Ireland to win well.