Next stop for the USA on their European tour is Georgia, where the Lelos await to open their own end-of-year test campaign. The Eagles are coming off a dreadful outing in Edinburgh, one of their worst performances of the professional era. An improved showing at the very least will be required to restore some confidence in the program.
Current World Ranking: 11 (74.69 points)
2025-07-19 – South Africa 55, Georgia 10 (Nelspruit)
2025-07-11 – Cheetahs 24, Georgia 20 (Bloemfontein)
2025-07-05 – Georgia 5, Ireland 34 (Tbilisi)
2025-03-16 – Georgia 46, Spain 28 (Tbilisi)
2025-03-02 – Georgia 43, Romania 5 (Tbilisi)
Current World Ranking: 15 (67.40 points)
2025-11-01 – Scotland 85, USA 0 (Edinburgh)
2025-09-14 – USA 29, Samoa 13 (Denver)
2025-09-06 – USA 21, Japan 47 (Sacramento)
2025-08-22 – Canada 34, USA 20 (Calgary)
2025-07-19 – USA 5, England 40 (Washington DC)
 |
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Dato Abdushelishvili | Giorgi Akhaladze |
| 2 | Irakli Kvatadze | Vano Karkadze |
| 3 | Beka Gigashvili | Irakli Aptsiauri |
| 8 | Beka Gorgodze | Ilia Spanderashvili |
| 10 | Tedo Abzhandadze | Luka Matkava |
| 11 | Georges Shvelidze | Sandro Todua |
| 12 | Tornike Kakhoidze | Demur Tapladze |
|
IN | OUT |
| 4 | Tevita Naqali | Vili Helu |
| 8 | Makeen Alikhan | Cory Daniel |
| 10 | Luke Carty | Christopher Hilsenbeck |
| 11 | Rufus McLean | Erich Storti |
| 12 | Tavite Lopeti | Tommaso Boni |
| 14 | Mark O’Keeffe | Mitch Wilson |
- Richard Cockerill has refreshed his lineup following the loss to the Springboks in July… rotation in the front row sees the return of the experienced Beka Gigashvili at tighthead prop, while outstanding loose forward Beka Gorgodze is back after missing the mid-year tour and takes over the captaincy from Beka Saghinadze
- Tedo Abzhandadze will get a chance to reclaim the No10 shirt from the promising Luka Matkava, and it’s an otherwise full strength Georgian backline featuring world class fullback Davit Niniashvili
- Scott Lawrence is opting for a bigger pack this week with Tevita Naqali coming in at lock and Marno Redelinghuys switching to the blindside flank… Makeen Alikhan comes into the starting side but instead of his more familiar flank position he’ll be at the back of the scrum
- Tavite Lopeti was the only USA player to emerge with credit after the Scottish disaster, and he is rewarded with a start in the midfield… the wings are swapped out this week with Toby Fricker switching to fullback
- it’s a highly unusual 7-1 split on the bench for the Eagles, with Michael Baska the only back reserve… he is primarily a scrumhalf but is also comfortable in the back three… there is no obvious flyhalf replacement
- Nafi Ma’afu makes his long-awaited debut but the Montauban lock or No8 will have to wait among the reserves… 23-year-old second row Brandon Harvey is also in line for a first test cap
Scott Lawrence (Head Coach)
“You could look at that game and say everything went wrong, but there are some things that became very clear. Scotland was clinical and exploited a couple areas, and exploited them a number of times. So there are now some common elements that we can take away, where we can show up going forward.”
Jason Damm (Captain)
“We’re just trying to find the fellas, bring them together, and just keep focusing on what we need to, come in tight and stand together. Don’t let the highs get too high and the lows get too low. You don’t find those up and downs affect you as much as maybe people think.”
Near perfect conditions await with sunshine and almost no wind to speak of. The Lelos are known for their powerful scrum and direct play from the forwards, and feature a very powerful loose forward trio. Much of the size plays in France, and there is no shortage of top level experience. The Eagles, frankly, have it all to do and will be crossing their fingers there are no backline injuries. The Lelos were 15 points better in their last meeting and a similar margin would be a relief for USA fans after last week’s showing. Georgia are clear favorites in Batumi.
GEORGIA
1 Dato Abdushelishvili, 2 Irakli Kvatadze, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 4 Mikheil Babunashvili, 5 Lado Chachanidze, 6 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Beka Saghinadze, 8 Beka Gorgadze (capt.), 9 Vaso Lobzhanidze, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 11 Georges Shvelidze, 12 Tornike Kakhoidze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 15 Davit Niniashvili
Replacements: 16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Luka Japaridze, 19 Demur Epremidze, 20 Ilia Spanderashvili, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Luka Matkava, 23 Demur Tapladze
USA
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 2 Kaleb Geiger, 3 Pono Davis, 4 Tevita Naqali, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Paddy Ryan, 8 Makeen Alikhan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Rufus McLean, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Mark O’Keeffe, 15 Toby Fricker
Replacements: 16 Mike Sosene-Feagai, 17 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 18 Tonga Kofe, 19 Brandon Harvey, 20 Nafi Ma’afu, 21 Vili Helu, 22 Christian Poidevin, 23 Michael Baska
Date: Saturday, November 8
Venue: Adjarabet Arena, Batumi
Kickoff: 16:00 local (04:00 Pacific, 07:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 64°F (18°C), wind SW 3-5mph (5-8km/h)
Broadcasts: Paramount+ (USA), DAZN (Canada), RugbyPass TV
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistants: Adam Leal (England) & George Selwood (England)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)
HEAD-TO-HEAD (7): Georgia 4, USA 3
2023-08-19 – Georgia 22, USA 7 (Tbilisi)
2017-11-25 – Georgia 21, USA 20 (Tbilisi)
2017-06-17 – USA 17, Georgia 21 (Atlanta)
2013-11-16 – Georgia 23, USA 25 (Rustavi)
2012-06-17 – USA 36, Georgia 20 (Denver)
2009-11-27 – Georgia 19, USA 17 (Tbilisi)
2009-06-21 – USA 31, Georgia 13 (Denver)
