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19th Sep 2015

Brilliant scenes as Georgia claim Tongan scalp at Rugby World Cup (Video)

Wild celebrations

Gareth Makim

This is what the World Cup is all about.

There were joyous celebrations at Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium as rugby minnows Georgia beat Tonga to record only their second ever World Cup victory.

The Georgians, led by back-row Mamuka Gorgodze and featuring the World Cup’s youngest ever player, 18-year-old scrum-half Vasil Lobzhanidze, stormed to a 17-3 lead through the Gorgodzilla’s first-half try and another after the break for back-row mate Giorgi Tkhilaishvili.

From that point it was a heroic defensive effort, with Georgia putting in an incredible 213 tackles to Tonga’s 48 over the course of the match.

Tonga got over the line eventually as Georgia ended the match with 14 men, but the Europeans survived for a result which sparked wild celebrations.