Second string Irish wary of Georgian passion

Ireland may be favoured to win by 40 points over Georgia in their one-off test on Sunday, but Irish flanker Tommy O'Donnell has warned that Georgian pride and passion could prove his country's undoing.
O'Donnell, who will win his sixth cap, is one of 13 changes to the Irish starting line-up from the one that pulled off a shock 29-15 victory over South Africa last Saturday to extend their winning run to five.
Georgia, who like Six Nations champions Ireland will be at next year's World Cup, lost 23-9 to Tonga in Tbilisi.
Nevertheless O'Donnell is not one for looking just at those results when he contemplates what promises to be a titanic tussle in the scrum where the Georgians are historically strong.
The 27-year-old Munster flanker also recalls the fright Georgia gave the Irish -- the most capped Ireland side ever to take the field -- in the disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign which saw them edge the former Soviet Republic 14-10 but still failed to reach the knockout stages.
"I remember watching it thinking we should pull away in the second-half but it didn't happen," said O'Donnell.
"That's what you have to be ready for. This is a team that take pride in playing for their country.
"They have got great depth in prop and backrow. Lots of guys who are good at getting in on the ball.
"They may be a tier-two nation but they play with a hell of a lot of pride, a hell of a lot of passion."
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, who has transformed the team since he replaced Declan Kidney after the 2013 Six Nations, said that the number of changes was not a sign of disrespect to their opponents but simply mindful of the toll taken against the Springboks and the challenge of Australia next weekend.
"The number of changes is probably a mix of the victory last week and the fact we'd always planned to make changes with a six-day turnaround to Australia," said the 49-year-old New Zealander.
"An eight-day turnaround doesn't seem like enough when you've played South Africa. Squeezed in between the two is another physical battle."
Georgia coach Milton Haig, a fellow Kiwi, is well aware of the size of the task that is facing his team who are missing their most high profile player, the outstanding Toulon forward Mamuka Gorgodze.
"This match against the fifth-ranked team in the world is a good benchmark for us," Haig told AFP on Friday.
"I have told the players don't waste the opportunity. We'll front up physically. We just have to do the simple things right.
"It is a fantastic opportunity for us."
Source: AFP