Derby delight for Georgia
Georgia took the honours in the Black Sea derby with an uninspiring 25-9 win over Romania.
Last Updated: 28/09/11 9:52am
Georgia took the honours in the Black Sea derby with a 25-9 win over Romania, but only after a scrappy affair.
Both sides were guilty of making a number of errors, with the indiscipline stopping any flow to the Pool B game.
However, the sure-footed kicking of Merab Kvirikashvili, with the Georgia fly-half slotting 17 points, a penalty from Malkhaz Urjukashvili and a try from Mamuka Gorgodze were enough to seal the win.
There was a moral victory for the Romania pack, though, as they dominated in the scrum. Unfortunately they had just two penalties from Marin Dumbrava and another from Florin Vlaicu to show for their efforts.
A collapsed scrum gifted Dumbrava a simple shot at goal after five minutes but the Romania fly-half failed to find the target.
However, Kvirikashvili, playing in his 11th RWC match, made no mistake with a beautifully struck long-range effort just three minutes later.
Cynical
Dumbrava made amends for his earlier miss to level the scores on 12 minutes, only for Kvirikashvili to slot the Georgians back in front with two penalties.
A cynical infringement by the Georgians at the set-piece saw Dumbrava cut the deficit to 9-6, but Kvirikashvili's fourth successful penalty restored the advantage.
Kvirikashvili had the chance to extend the lead just after half-time, but this time he saw his kick sail wide of the left post - while Dumbrava also failed with another effort.
However, Georgia finally crossed the whitewash on 56 minutes after their only real sustained spell of pressure. With their pack leading the way, Georgia strung together 16 phases before Gorgodze powered over. Kvirikashvili converted.
And although Kvirikashvili missed another penalty, he was on target after 70 minutes to put the result beyond doubt.
Vlaicu did add a penalty for Romania to give them hope, however they never looked like crossing the Georgian line.
And Urjukashvili rubbed salt into the wounds with a regulation three-pointer late on.
