South Africa continued its undefeated start to Test play in 2025 by seeing off Italy for the second consecutive week. The 45-0 beatdown of The Azzuri in Port Elizabeth was much more like what Rassie Erasmus expects from his charges after a limp second half in Pretoria the previous week. Next up is the challenge of Georgia.
These games act as warm-ups for The Rugby Championship, which kicks off next month.
South Africa VS Georgia Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
South Africa VS Georgia Date: Saturday, July 19
BetXchange South Africa VS Georgia Odds:
History
It will be no surprise that South Africa has a 100% record against Georgia. The sides have met on two previous occasions, with the Boks winning 46-19 at the 2003 Rugby World Cup and 40-9 in a 2021 international.
This is a Georgia team that has been steadily improving. The big issue is their inability to get into the Six Nations, meaning that many of their games are against lower-quality opponents against whom they gain little from playing. That is why one-off Tests like this one in Mbombela are vital for the growth of Georgian rugby and of rugby as a whole.
South Africa
The second Test win over Italy was as clinical as the first was sloppy. In that preview, we mentioned how South African size would be a massive issue for the Italians, which proved to be the case. It has been a minute since we saw lineout-style mauls being set in open play, but Rassie had the Boks doing this frequently, sucking in Italian numbers and launching strike plays off of the forward dominance.
This will be an experimental team, with one eye on building depth and the other on managing the workload of established Boks. The entire front row is uncapped, with Erasmus handing first-time starts to Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe, and Neethling Fouche.
The flank forwards are menacing, with captain Siya Kolisi back in the side to partner the consistently dominant Pieter-Steph du Toit. The five players that retain their places in the starting XV from the win over Italy last week are Du Toit, Ruan Nortje, Grant Williams, Edwill van der Merwe, and Canan Moodie.
Georgia
Georgia began this international window with a 34-4 defeat at the hands of an Ireland side lacking all its players on tour with the B&I Lions. While the result in Tbilisi looks bad on paper, it looks much better when considering that the Irish put 106 points on Portugal last weekend.
Their 24-20 loss to Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last weekend does not bode well, with Georgia likely looking at that 46.5 point handicap as an actual test of where they are when playing at this level.
Fly-half Tedo Abzhandadze’s play will be vital if Georgia wants to stay close towards halftime. His penalty kicking is outstanding, and his decision-making with the ball in hand will need to be just as good to keep South Africa playing in their own 22.
Best Bets
Some of the South Africa score bets might be of interest. The Boks to win by 52 or more points is 36/25. If you think players will keep the hammer down on Georgia to find their way into Rassie’s thinking for The Rugby Championship, that is worth a punt.
