Georgia emerging from Siberia

The first thing they had to do was get there. In the snowy wastelands of faraway Siberia, winter has yet to release its icy grip. For the rugby men of Georgia, the rugby-loving country that punched so extraordinarily above its weight at last year's World Cup at the expense of, among others, Ireland, last week's trip to Siberia to meet Russia in the European junior Six Nations Championship was an eye opening experience.
The rugby road show rolls on right around the world. At some date in the calendar throughout the 12 months of the year, it seems an international match is being played in some location.
Croke Park, Twickenham, Eden Park or Ellis Park are rather well known as rugby destinations. So, try a run-down stadium somewhere outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Australian Tim Lane and his players did. Lane is based in the Georgian capital Tbilisi and led his men on a merry old trip. They left Tbilisi on Monday morning, flying to Kiev, capital of the Ukraine.
A change of planes there and the Aeroflot flight direct to Moscow. Another change of plane and a five-hour flight across the frozen Russian wastelands to Siberia and the city of Krasnoyarsk. The journey took them 20 hours in all. And when they clambered off the plane, stiff and sore from the long flight in cattle class, a nice welcome greeted them: minus 13 degrees -- in, it was alleged, spring time.
It snowed all night before the game. On Saturday morning the field was covered with snow, so much so that the kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes while officials re-marked the field with red lines and shovelled snow.
For Lane, whose wife lives in Sydney and his son attends school in Cape Town, it has been a nomadic existence these past years, coaching in Australia, South Africa and with French clubs like Clermont-Auvergne, Brive and Toulon. Have ticket (and rugby knowledge), will travel.
The Georgians had done better than others even before the match kicked off. One of the linesmen, from France, had 'missed' his plane; wise fellow. So a Russian was drafted in to run the line.
As the snow flurries fell and feeling in most limbs disappeared in the great freeze that was Krasnoyarsk, Georgia played well.
They handled the ball, ran with it and defended as though their lives were on the line. The Russians kicked high balls all day and when they reached the Georgian 22, tried to barge their way to the line.
Russia v Georgia is not a contest for the faint hearted at any sport, politics included. There were two all-in brawls which the beefy Georgians won and they also won the game, 18-12, with two tries to Russia's four penalty goals
They reckoned they'd scored another try in the first half but the local drafted in as emergency linesman claimed he'd seen the Georgian prop knock-on, and the referee was 'unsighted'!
"Our players said we definitely scored and that the Russian linesman was a cheat," smiled Lane.
But if Georgian delight was unbounded at the final whistle in Krasnoyarsk, back home in Tbilisi the place went wild. The bars in the city were full and after Georgia's win, the celebrations were akin to their winning the World Cup.
And when the weary Georgians finally arrived home at Tbilisi airport, more than 300 people were waiting and cheering as they came out of the gate. That was about 300 more than greeted Ireland when they flew home from Twickenham last month.
Georgia now play Spain in two weeks time. If they win, they will become European Six Nations junior champions, undefeated for the first time ever.