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England will look to put a contentious week behind them where matters off the field took over and switch the attention back to their World Cup campaign, and they will have no better opportunity than during Sunday’s game against Georgia.
Martin Johnson’s men stuttered to victory against Argentina with a performance that was roundly criticised by the English press, and that was compounded by newspaper revelations of a boisterous night out in a Queenstown nightclub.
Having defended his side’s actions fiercely during the week, Johnson will hope that his much changed side can repay his faith with a convincing performance that will give his side valuable confidence and momentum going into what is shaping up to a defining showdown with Scotland later this month.
Johnson has announced 10 changes to the side that laboured to victory over the Pumas, with Lewis Moody returning to the fold to captain the side having been out of action for six weeks.
The Bath flanker has been blighted by injuries in recent years and has only played for his country once in 2011, however his influence will be needed against a Georgian side with a fearsome reputation for their physicality.
Toby Flood will take up the number ten journey in place of Jonny Wilkinson, who endured a kicking nightmare against Argentina and will look to recreate the magic that saw the Leicester fly-half claim the crucial role as his own during last year’s Autumn internationals and the 6 Nations earlier this year.
England will be without Andrew Sheridan, whose tournament was ended this week after the Sale prop suffered a recurrence of the shoulder injury that has blighted most of his career, while Courtney Lawes will begin his two match ban having been cited for striking Argentinian forward Mario Ledesma last week.
Georgia for their part were unable to get a foothold in their fairly one sided defeat against Scotland last week and will still be hurting from that result. The Lelos failed to impose themselves on a Scottish side that looked a little light up front, and now will hope to at least make sure England know they are in a battle when the two sides met on Sunday.
England will have to be mindful of the threat Mamuka Gorgodze poses – the Montpellier back row forward is a powerful runner who demonstrated the problems he can cause against Scotland.The two teams have only met once before, at the 2003 World Cup, where England scored 84 points on their way to a comprehensive victory.
Winning Margin
It is difficult to look past England for this game, such is their strength in depth compared to Georgia that anything other than a comprehensive victory for Martin Johnson’s side would be a shock. Georgia are 41.00 (40/1) @ SportingBet to pick up a surprise win, but it would perhaps be wiser to bet on the winning margin of the game rather than the winner.
Georgia may be limited in their approach but they were able to keep Scotland from scoring a try, so @ 888Sport’s odds of 3.75 (11/4) for the margin being kept under 44.5 may well be worth a look. @ BetFred are offering 2.60 (8/5) on the margin being over 61 points, a score which may seem slightly unlikely given England’s struggles of late but may be worth your time.
First Try Scorer
England’s backs were criminally underused against Argentina so it may be a case of letting lose against Georgia. Chris Ashton may have broken the try scoring record in the 6 Nations earlier this year but hasn’t had the chance to demonstrate his famous “swan dive” since February, and will be desperate to demonstrate his try scoring ability.
Ashton is 7.00 (6/1) @ Ladbrokes to touch down first, a bet well worth taking given the likelihood of England breaking free of their shackles against a side they are expected to beat easily.
Ben Youngs darted across the line against the Pumas using his trademark burst of pace, and is 15.00 (14/1) to open the scoring on Sunday @ SkyBet.
Recommended Bets
Chris Ashton to score first try: 7.00 (6/1) @ Ladbrokes
Manu Tuilagi any time try scorer: 1.67 (4/6) @ Paddy Power
