Scotland v Georgia is necessary game of risk ahead of Rugby World Cup for Sam Skinner

Gregor Townsend will have Georgia on his mind this weekend but it would be natural for the Scotland coach’s thoughts to stray towards his team’s World Cup opener against South Africa in a fortnight’s time.

Townsend has made a cogent case for taking on this fixture against the east Europeans, stressing that the benefits of building cohesion in his team outweigh the risk of picking up injuries. But the perilous nature of sport was again laid bare on the eve of the match at Murrayfield when Darcy Graham was ruled out with a quad injury. The official line is that it is a “mild strain” and such is Graham’s importance to the national team that there is probably a good deal of relief in some quarters that the winger is not being risked against the muscular Georgians. Townsend has stressed the need for Scotland to be “very physical” against opponents whose fearsome reputation precedes them and there will be a few hearts in mouths among the home support as Finn Russell and co go thundering into contact on Saturday.

The World Cup looms ominously on the horizon and no-one wants to lose key personnel ahead of the mouthwatering opener against the holders in Marseille. For Sam Skinner, it’s an opportunity to stake his claim to be part of the matchday squad to face the Springboks and the Edinburgh lock will push all thoughts of injury risk to the back of his mind.

“We’ve put out a really strong squad and it’s my chance to put my hand up and give it a good crack and I’ll do everything I can to do so,” said Skinner who missed the 2019 tournament in Japan after damaging his hamstring in a warm-up match against France. “I’ve been touching lots of wood and hoping it will be fine. It’s a Test match game, an opportunity to represent your country and give it everything you’ve got. That’s all I will be thinking about. Obviously it’s a contact sport and there are risks but you can’t afford to think like that. You’ve just got to go flat out, play for your country and hope you come out the other side. It’s important we get minutes under the belt and come into that South Africa game as well prepared as we can be. That’s the priority. It’s a brutal sport at times, and that’s the price that people pay sometimes. But it’s the right thing for us all to be playing and to be giving it a good go.”

Sam Skinner will start against Georgia as he looks to impress ahead of Scotland's Rugby World Cup opener against South Africa on September 10. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Skinner speaks from painful experience but is able to be admirably philosophical about what he went through four years ago. “It was disappointing at the time but other players have these tough experiences and it’s just the way of the road,” he said. “You’re not more special or deserving than anyone else, that’s just life. Being a professional rugby player, you have to learn these things and they can keep you pretty humble.”

Skinner will partner Grant Gilchrist in the second row against Georgia and will probably have to do something pretty special to dislodge the Richie Gray-Gilchrist partnership for the South Africa game. Townsend says he has a pretty good idea already of what his team will be to face the Boks and Skinner believes the match with the Georgians will offer a rigorous workout ahead of the tournament in France. “They will be brilliant, they have a really strong scrum and their maul stats are up there with the best in the world,” said Skinner. “We are going to be tested in exactly the areas we need to be tested in, and we need to make sure we front up and not only match them, but try to take it to them ourselves.”

Georgia have won 12 of their last 13 matches and while most of the games have been against Tier 2 nations, they can also include victories over Wales and Italy in that run. They are ranked 11th in the world, two places above the Italians, and a win over Scotland by more than 15 points would see them break into the top 10 for the first time since the rankings began in October 2003.

With a reputation forged on formidable forward strength it was hardly surprising that Townsend identified the scrum and maul as areas in which Georgia will pose a huge threat but the Scotland coach also noted their improving backline. “They’ve got some really talented players and have more to come with the way their under-20s are playing,” he said. “Davit Niniashvili, their full-back from Lyon, is one the best players in the Top 14. Both scrum-halves have been outstanding for Georgia the last few years. The backline players are coming through now more than would have been the case in the past and they do play rugby. So while they want the game to be around the set-piece, like South Africa, when they get quick ball and turnover ball they’re going to move it to the wide channels and get some of their best individuals involved.”

Sam Skinner on the attack against Italy at Scottish Gas Murrayfield during Scotland's World Cup warm-up match against Italy in July. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Scotland have never lost to Georgia in five previous Test matches dating back to a group-stage game at the 2011 Rugby World Cup which finished try-less as Andy Robinson’s side relied on the boot of Dan Parks to win 15-6. Subsequent victories were more convincing, with Scotland overpowering their east European opponents 43-16 at Rugby Park in 2016, and then 44-10 and 36-9 in Tbilisi and Edinburgh respectively ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The last meeting was in October 2020 at an empty Murrayfield in the first game back after the initial Covid lockdown. Townsend’s team won 48-7 and only Duhan van der Merwe and Jamie Ritchie from the run-on XV will start this weekend as Scotland look for a morale-boosting send-off ahead of next month’s jamboree in France.

Scotland v Georgia (Murrayfield, Saturday, 5.30pm. TV: live on Prime Video)

Scotland: 15 Ollie Smith; 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White; 1 Jamie Bhatti, 2 Dave Cherry, 3 WP Nel, 4 Sam Skinner, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 7 Rory Darge, 8 Jack Dempsey. Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Chris Harris.

Georgia: 15 Davit Niniashvili; 14 Aka Tabutsadze, 13 Demur Tapladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Miriani Modebadze; 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze. 1 Misha Nariashvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 4 Lado Chachanidze, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 6 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 8 Tornike Jalaghonia. Replacements: 16 Tengiz Zamtaradze, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Guram Papidze, 19 Lasha Jaiani, 20 Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Giorgi Kveseladze.

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France).