This was Merab Sharikadze’s first game since last 12 month, as The Lelos captain was recovering from the knee injury after the Rugby World Cup 2019 – “Buka” played for 58 minutes against Scotland at Murrayfield on October 23.
“I underwent a difficult but effective rehabilitation with the team. I was not bothered by anything and I felt physically well. But more I spend on the pitch the better my game reflexes will be” Said Sharikadze.
IN THEIR EYES!
The game against Scotland was a very first one for Georgia and for the most of players after a long, 8-month pause, and the lack of game time was quite well reflected in the final score – 48: 7 in favour of the hosts.
“This was not an easy game at all, especially after this long pause, which was reflected at the final score as well. We are not trying to justify ourselves at all – we realized our mistakes and take full responsibility, but the fact is fact – it is impossible to fully simulate the game only at training”
“The Scots were well prepared and played effectively. Their players did not have any lack of game practice as the Pro 14 is underway. Unfortunately, we struggled in all components of the game. We had a technical flaw and made many errors, otherwise everyone “fought” and gave everything they could during the whole game. I was with these guys on the pitch and in the dressing room and one would read in their eyes that they put as much as possible into the game. It was a technical flaw, not lack of fighting ability or will to do everything for the team” said Georgia’s captain.
STRONGER AGAINST TOUGHER OPPONENTS
After the team returned from Scotland, The Lelos immediately went back to Shevardeny to continue with preparations for Autumn Nations Cup – Georgia will play their tournament opener fixture against, Rugby World Cup 2019 runners-up, England at the iconic Twickenham on November 14. This will be teams’ first-ever encounter outside of Rugby World Cup, were Georgia and England have played each other twice before.
“We analyzed the past game and identified those fields where we made the most of errors and are working on them. England is a much stronger and tougher opposition than Scotland, however, I hope we will improve the game and put up more resistance against the opponents.”
Sharikadze promises, improved and better performance in the upcoming matches:
“I want to ask our great fans a favour – not to feel disappointed, but to be realistic at the same time too. We are at the level now, where the opposition might have a much bigger advantage in some games. Thus, the rugby world cup runners-up indeed will be big-time favourites against us and yes, the game against them will not be easy at all.”
“Nevertheless, we promise you, that we will be there not just to make numbers, but in full force to play at the maximum of our abilities during every second, we spend at the pitch. We promise that nobody will spare themselves. There might be some technical flaw in our game, and the result might be undesirable, but everything depends on the game day. By all means, we will improve those errors we had against Scotland and in the end, I want to express our big gratitude to our fans who stand by us even when we loose and who are always there encouraging us!”
