Sad afternoon in Georgia

THE Zimbabwe Under-20 suffered another defeat at the hands of hosts Georgia on Saturday night in their second game of Pool B of the Junior World Rugby Trophy at Avchala Stadium.
Playing in the main match of the day, the Young Sables put up a better performance than in their opening defeat against Japan but still came unstuck.
The defence was tight and there were barely any holes while the boys were more confident and composed on the ball.
They also went into the tackles and there were minimal misses, but it was size that counted at the end of the day.
Georgia needed seven tries, six of them converted and a penalty to reach the 50 points mark while the Young Sables, who got most of their points in the first half, responded with two tries, two penalties and a drop goal. The hosts drew first blood in the third minute through David Losaberidze’s converted try but Zimbabwe put six points on the board through a drop goal and a penalty, both from Tom Nelson in the seventh and 10th minutes.
The tie was evenly balanced in the first half where Zimbabwe managed to get the ball and played it more in the forwards where they were making beautiful phases and with Charles Jiji releasing, Nelson who opt to kick in a bid to gain ground.
Nelson was forced into kicking more often as Brighton Chivandire’s boys sought to avoid contact with the huge Georgians.
Then Zimbabwe started to run the ball, making good use of the wings where Justin Coles was noticeable and made useful contributions while Kuda Chiwanza showed a big heart in his small frame.
In the 19th minute Young Sables captain and eighthman Marco Mama made a mistake in his own 22yard. With an option to set up fullback Lungile Tshuma, the England-based forward decided to kick for touch.
However, he failed to clear his 22 yard line and the Georgians utilised the line outmaking sure the ball was secure and their tight-head prop Levan Chilichava came off the blind side to plant a try.
Accurate all afternoon, Georgian fullback Bakhva Kobakhidze had no problem with the conversion giving his side a 14-6 lead.
With 30 minutes gone on the clock, Chivandire was forced to make a front two substitution that saw Ian Muza coming out after he pulled a hamstring and Dalroy Sibanda was called in.
Moments later Cheetahs player Coles made a wonderful run, tearing apart the Georgian defence and adding five important points to Zimbabwe’s tally but flyhalf Nelson was struggling with his kicking before a hostile crowd.
The Young Sables kept up the fight with lock Graham Logan hitting hard while hooker Tatenda Karuru was ruthless on the rucks and Takudzwa Mandiwanza was consistent, as was scrumhalf Jiji.
Even Nelson had a fairly good game as his ball distribution was better and took advantage of the windless conditions while the centre pairing of Corey van Rensburg and Dylan Coetzee was stable.
A minute before the break, Zimbabwe got another penalty in the Georgian danger territory and decided to go for the posts and Nelson was again behind the kick that gave saw the score leveled at 14-14.
But the score did not stay like this for long – in the last minute of the first half Zimbabwe conceded yet another try with the hosts driving off the scrum in the Zimbabwe 22 and lock Beka Bitsadze’s try was converted. The Young Sables came back fired up in the second half where they scored first through another well-run ball as Mandiwanza won the ball from a Zimbabwe kick and Chiwanza used his pace to split the Georgian defence on the left.
The conversion was not good and this was the last time the Young Sables got on the scoreboard.
Teams:
Zimbabwe Under-20: Murray Bryce-Rogers, Tatenda Karuru, Ian Muza (Dalroy Sibanda 29th minute), Taku Jaravaza, Graham Logan, Takudzwa Mandiwanza, Tatenda Chikaka, Marco Mama (captain), Charles Jiji, Tom Nelson (Sean Linfield 65th minute), Kuda Chiwanza, Corey Van Rensburg, Dylan Coetzee, Justin Coles, Lungi Tshuma.
Scorers: Tries: Justin Coles (30th minute), Kuda Chiwanza (41st minute)
Penalties: Tom Nelson (2)
Drop Goals: Tom Nelson (1)
Georgia Under-20: Zura Zhvania (Irakli Chomakhashvili 76th minute) , Irakli Chomakhashvili (Merab Matkava 58th minute), Levan Chilichava (Zaza Navrozashvili 71st minute), Beka Bitsadze, Kote Mikautadze (Giorgi Zhgenti 62nd minute), Giga Tkhilaishvili, Giorgi Tkesheliadze, Levan Tkhelidze (Nikoloz Chkhikvadze 23rd minute), Ramaz Jinashvili (Jimi Gambashidze 36th minute), Luka Kvaratskhelia, Levan Gogolashvili, Giorgi Margiani (Ucha Mchedlishvili 62nd minute), David Losaberidze (captain) (Vano Gabroshvili 58th minute), Zura Dzneladze, Bakhva Kobakhidze.