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AS IT HAPPENED

As it happened: Romania v Georgia

We brought you minute-by-minute live coverage, as Georgia took on Romania in the Rugby World Cup 2011.

Get in contact in the usual ways: email paul@thescore.ie, tweet us or find TheScore on Facebook.

Romania 9-25 Georgia

Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of Romania against Georgia.

Here are the teams:

Georgia: Lasha Khmaladze; Revaz Gigauri, David Kacharava, Tedo Zibzibadze, Alexander Todua; Merab Kvirikashvili, Irakli Abuseridze (capt); Dimitri Basilaia, Mamuka Gorgodze, Giorgi Chkhaidze; Vakhtang Maisuradze, Ilia Zedginidze; David Zirakashvili, Jaba Bregvadze, David Khinchagishvili

Replacements: Goderdzi Shvelidze, Vasil Kakovin, Levan Datunashvili, Givi Berishvili, Bidzina Samkharadze, Irakli Chkhikvadze, Malkhaz Urjukashvili

Romania: Iulian Dumitras, Stefan Ciuntu, Csaba Gal, Tiberius Dimofte, Madalin Lemnaru, Danut Dumbrava, Florin Surugiu; Daniel Carop, Ovidiu Tonita, Mihai Macovei, Cristian Petre, Valentin Ursache, Paulica Ion, Marius Tincu (captain), Mahaita Lazar.

Replacements: Bogdan Suman, Silviu Florea, Valentin Poparlan, Daniel Ianus, Valentin Calafeteanu, Constantin Gheara, Florin Adrian Vlaicu.

The game is underway. Apologies for that slight delay.

PENALTY TO ROMANIA!!!

Georgia are penalised for collapsing the scrum.

PENALTY MISSED!

Poor kick from Danut Dumbrava, who hits it slightly to the right. That was very kickable.

Georgia’s only win ever in the World Cup was in 2007 against Namibia. This is practically their World Cup final.

GEORGIA 3-0 ROMANIA

Kvirakashvili hits it over from just inside the Romania half.

ROMANIA 3-3 GEORGIA

Danut Dumbrava kicks an immediate reprieve for Romania. They’ve been the better team and deserved that.

That’s sloppy. Jaba Bregvadze’s throw in from the line-out isn’t straight, giving Romania a scrum inside the opposition’s 22.

This is quite a scrappy affair, with several errors, as you’d expect from two of the less reputed rugby nations.

Georgia are beginning to come into it more, following Romania’s early dominance.

I’d love to see the penalty count in this game. There has been so many already.

PENALTY TO GEORGIA (the eight of the game so far).

GEORGIA 6-3 ROMANIA: Kvirakashvili makes no mistake with a kick in front of the posts.

These two sides aren’t exactly known for their enterprising rugby and this game isn’t going to change this perception.

Wonderful kick Kvirakashvili brings Georgia inside the Romania 22 for a line-out.

PENALTY TO GEORGIA: They’re opting to kick it.

GEORGIA 9-3 ROMANIA: Kvirakashvili gets what is a far from easy kick to the left, retaining his 100% record in the process.

ROMANIA 6-9 GEORGIA

Georgia will be kicking themselves, as they give a penalty away straight in front of the posts immediately following the restart. Dumbrava slots it over comfortably.

GEORGIA 12-6 ROMANIA: Phew! This is relentless. Kvirikashvili once again kicks over a penalty. He has undoubtedly been Georgia’s best player so far.

Another great kick from Kvirikashvili to find touch deep in Romanian territory. He really has controlled this game with his consummate kicking.

HALF TIME: ROMANIA 6-12 GEORGIA

Hmmm… This really isn’t one for fans of exciting, flowing, attacking rugby. Nevertheless, it has been fascinating to witness these two teams’ decidedly robust styles coming up against each other.

As is a common criticism of the lower-ranked sides, both teams’ backs haven’t really offered much in this game.

Some Romanian fans enjoying the occasion.

We’re back underway again…

Good positive opening to the second half for Romania, as they attack Georgia for a sustained period. However, the full back Dumitras drops a pass all too easily. They need to cut those errors from their game if they ever want to be ranked among the more esteemed rugby nations.

Say what you want about the lack of quality, but there’s no doubting both sides’ commitment. There has been some huge hits in the game, making it the very definition of a bruising encounter.

PENALTY TO ROMANIA!

Dumbrava’s kick falls short – a shame, as Romania deserved something on account of the manner in which they’ve started this second half.

Ooh, that looked nasty. Dumitras jumped for the high ball and collided with a Georgian in the air as he did so.

Wow! The Georgian hooker Jaba Bregvadze has just made about 15 yards with an incredibly powerful driving run. That really epitomises what Georgia are about.

TRY FOR GEORGIA!

GEORGIA 19-6 ROMANIA: Mamuka Gorgodze bundles over the line following a period of Georgian pressure, despite the best efforts of Marius Tincu to stop him, and Kvirikashvili gets a simple conversion.

Sadly, Dumitras has gone off as a result of the aforementioned incident, bringing his World Cup to an end. That’ll be a big loss, as he looked one of Romania’s best players.

PENALTY MISSED! Kvirikashvili misses a kick for the second time in the half. He’s not looking quite as impressive anymore.

Despite the considerable Georgian lead, Romania are still threatening and are not completely out of this game yet. Remember their comeback in the Scotland match?

Romania now have a line-out inside the Georgian 22. They have just destroyed the Georgia scrum.

The ball is ripped away from the Romanian back and Georgia clear it away to safety.

A number of substitutions are now being made with just over 10 minutes remaining.

I can’t really see Romania coming back. They look tired having played a game less than four days ago, and seem incapable of scoring a try.

ROMANIA 22-6 GEORGIA: Kvirikashvili gets another well-struck kick. Surely it’s all over now.

GEORGIA 22-9 ROMANIA: Dumbrava responds immediately with a penalty. They need two converted tries to win it now.

Mamuka Gorgodze, the Georgian try scorer, has been given the man-of-the-match award.

PENALTY FOR GEORGIA!

GEORGIA 25-9 ROMANIA: The substitute Urjukashvili successfully kicks the penalty. I’ll eat my hat if Romania win this one now.

Almost the icing on the cake for Georgia, as a strong run from Vasil Kakovin comes to an end  when he drops it following a strong Romanian tackle, with the try line at his mercy.

FULL TIME: GEORGIA 25-9 ROMANIA

Emotional scenes at the end – there were even tears in the eyes of one of the Georgian players.

Veteran Romanian captain Marius Tincu admitted “the best team won” and said his team were tired, given that they played only four days ago.

Georgia’s Ilia Zedginidze thanks the Georgian public for their support.

All in all that was not one for the purists, but nice to see to nonetheless, especially given how much it meant to the Georgians judging by their reaction at the end. They deserved their victory and recorded the first-ever victory by a Tier 3 side over an upper Tier team in World Cup history.

Okay that’s it from me. I’m off to get a much-needed coffee. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out our Champions League liveblog later today.

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