Australia kick off World Cup campaign with comfortable win over Georgia

Well, it’ll do for now. Australia are off and running at this World Cup, with their first win under Eddie Jones and further vital signs of progress. It was a little ragged in the second half, and Georgia missed numerous opportunities to make them extremely uncomfortable in the closing stages. But there was enough on display here in a sparkling first half-hour to suggest that Jones’s ideas are beginning to take, that the world’s ninth-ranked team can be more than mere makeweights at this tournament.

This is a young side, with new pages to write and new stars waiting to hatch. Mark Nawaqanitawase showed why he is being tipped for a big breakthrough at this tournament. The pack held firm against the strong Georgian scrum. The set piece was decent enough. But the star of the show, fittingly, was a Jones gamble: Ben Donaldson, the fly-half picked at full-back to bolster a fragile kicking game, and coming away with 25 points.

The wider question here is the extent to which Australia were helped by their opponents. Georgia have long been desperate for more chances to prove themselves against Tier 1 opposition, and there will be a bitter disappointment not simply for the points lost but the opportunity missed on the grandest stage of all. There were handling errors, there was poor decision-making, and above all an inability to nail the basics and get their flair players into the game.

The first thing to say about all this is that Georgia’s basic worth as a rugby nation should not stand or fall on the basis of 80 minutes. They have beaten Italy and Wales in the last 15 months, caused Scotland plenty of problems at Murrayfield a fortnight ago, and can boast a clutch of Top 14 players. Rather their progress over recent years should be the impetus to broaden their horizons rather than narrow them. The structures, the enthusiasm and the talent are all there. They just need a little help.

And if there was a frustration here for Georgia it was that they showed glimpses of the roof-raising rugby of which they are frequently capable. Luka Ivanishvili’s try early in the second half, with Miriani Modebadze still in the bin and Georgia down to 14, was one of the plays of the match. They dominated the third quarter of the game and had their lightning young full-back Davit Niniashvili not thrown Australia a needless try they may even have run things close.

It was a shame, then, that by the time they finally arrived at the stadium, Australia had already begun to run up the score. Jordan Petaia went over within two minutes after a superb 50-22 from Nawaqanitawase. Next Nawaqanitawase scored himself after a scintillating diagonal burst from Marika Koroibete. With Georgia unable to staunch the flow of penalties, Australia were finding the gaps with ease and when Will Skelton decided to go for the three points with Australia 18-3 up, he was roundly booed.

But it was a much better Georgia who emerged after the break, and perhaps a simpler Georgia too, with a gameplan that played more to their crash-bang strengths. Their try began with a crucial scrum turnover, then a prickly spell of pressure, and finally a neat switch down the short side, wrong-footing Australia’s rush defence and allowing Ivanishvili to dive over in the corner. Briefly, Georgia camped themselves in Australian territory and forced them to close ranks. The next score felt pivotal.

It was at this point that the Lyon full-back Niniashvili received the ball close to his own line and went on a devastating run straight through the centre that brought the crowd to its feet. Nic White wrapped him up, and suddenly with his options winnowing away Niniashvili panicked, flinging the ball straight to Taniela Tupou. Within seconds Tupou had sent Donaldson over, and from potentially reducing the deficit to bonus-point territory, Georgia found themselves 28-8 behind.

To their credit, Georgia kept coming. Donaldson secured Australia a bonus point after a devastating rolling maul, but after several close shaves Tengiz Zamtaradze claimed a deserved consolation try to have the last word. And so it was probably a fair scoreline in the end: Georgia largely outplayed, but still piercing the Australian line often enough to give Jones a few problems to solve in the days ahead.

The probable loss of Tate McDermott for the Fiji game, taking a blow to the head after a poor tackle on Beka Gorgadze in the first half, will also hurt. But as opening engagements go, you could do worse. And as Australia’s sweat-drenched players dragged themselves from the pitch at full time, it was with the satisfaction of a team who feel like their plan may just be coming together.