Given the teams' recent performances and their ongoing rivalry, both sides have reason to view this fixture as a must-win.
Head to Head
Italy and Georgia have faced each other on three occasions, with the Azzurri claiming two victories (2003, 2018) to the Lelos’ one. Notably, all three matches were won by the home side.
Georgia’s sole win over Italy came in July 2022, with a narrow but historic 25-19 victory marking their first-ever triumph over a Tier 1 nation. Since then, they have gone on to claim notable scalps, including a famous win against Wales in the 2022 Autumn Nations Series.
Recent Form
Italy come into this match with a mixed record. They have won four of their last six Test matches, securing victories over Scotland and Wales, and earning a nail-biting draw against France in the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations. During the summer tours, they also defeated Tonga and Japan, winning three of their last five games overall.
Georgia, meanwhile, have won six of their eight Test matches in 2024 (L2). However, their two losses have occurred in their last three fixtures, against Fiji (12-21) and Australia (29-40), a match where they scored an incredible 110-metre try.
Georgia continue to build on their formidable forward play, complemented by an increasingly dynamic backline. Their victory over Italy and Wales in 2022 demonstrated their ability to compete with Tier 1 nations.
Team News
Italy may be without two key players for their grudge match against Georgia. Italian star Ange Capuozzo suffered a head injury in the seventh minute of the game against Argentina.
Federico Ruzza is also a doubt, having left the field in the 44th minute with a rib injury. As with Capuozzo, he will be re-evaluated in the coming days to determine his availability.
Commenting on the Georgia game after last week’s loss to the Pumas, Italy’s Leonardo Marin said: “We will definitely have to be more precise against Georgia. We made a lot of mistakes in some phases of the match against Argentina, with them being good at taking advantage of all the opportunities. It will be essential to be patient against Georgia, trying not to want everything right away.”
"We are definitely better than the performance we showed in Udine against Argentina. The gap in the result is probably too big, but we conceded too much."
Stats Dive
Georgia are a force to be reckoned with in attack. In this year’s Rugby Europe Championship, they averaged the most carries (116), metres gained (446), and defenders beaten (27.6) per game of any side in the competition. In contrast, Italy averaged the fewest in all three categories during this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations (93 carries, 323 metres gained, 16 defenders beaten).
Italy, however, are a formidable defensive unit. They conceded the second-fewest points per entry (2.2) at the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, with only Championship winners Ireland conceding fewer (1.7).
