The 60-13 win by Samoa over Uruguay was a timely reminder for those who have automatically presumed England and South Africa will progress to the quarter finals from Pool C.
The Pacific Islanders will need a repeat agaist a Georgian team that won praise from England if they are to remain in contention to qualify for the quarter final stage.
Form guide
Samoa go into the match as heavy favourites on the strength of the uruguay win at Subiaco Oval in Perth on 15 October.
The Pacific Islanders proved a potent package scoring 10 tries and putting in some big defensive hits in an entertaining match.
Georgia conceded 12 tries in the 84-6 loss to England on the same ground but could prove a handful for the Samoans up front.
The Georgian forwards put up a spirited showing for the first 20 minutes against England, splintering a couple of rolling mauls.
Previous meetings
The two sides have never met before in international rugby.
Ins and outs
Georgia have made four changes to their starting line up from the England game with the most significant being the return of captain Ilia Zedginidze from the fractured skull he suffered in a warm up game against Italy on 6 September.
In other changes, prop Soso Nikolaenko, lock Vano Nadiradze and full back Badri Khekhelashvili have been promoted from the bench, swapping places with Alexandre Margvelashvili, Viktor Didebulidze and Bessik Khamashuridze respesctively.
Samoan coach John Boe has made one change to his starting line up, dropping wing Lome Fa’atau from the squad altogether after his yellow card against Uruguay and giving Ron Fanuatanu his first appearance at Rugby World Cup 2003.
The only other change in the 22 man squad is on the bench where flanker Siaosi Vaili takes the place of Des Tuiavi’i.
Key Players
Georgian coach Claude Saurel says the return of captain Ilia Zedguinidze is a huge boost his the team.
“I am very excited to have the captain back, he is a real leader," Saurel said. "He really brings the team together when he is playing.”
Georgia have put together a more mobile pack of forwqrds with the selection of Soso Nikolaenko and Vano Nadiradze and will be looking to build on the performance they gave early on against the world renowned England pack.
For Samoa several players will be looking to build on a strong opening performance, including flanker Maurie Fa’asavalu and centre Brian Lima who both scored two tries. Another to watch is winger Sailosi Tagicakibau.
What it means
It is crucial for Samoa to carry on the good start to the Tournament with a win and a bonus point to keep them in the three way race with England and South Africa to qualify from Pool C.
Georgia will be looking to keep up the sort of committed forward effort they showed at the start of the England game for longer to stay competitive against Samoa.
What they said
Georgian coach Claude Saurel on Samoa:
"We didn't get any reassurances from watching Wednesday's game against Uruguay. We witnessed what a high level the Samoan players play at.
“It's going to be a privilege for all the players and coaches to play a team of such a high calibre.”
Samoa assistant coach Michael Jones on what his team needs to do:
“We need to take our game up a couple of notches against Georgia. I've watched them closely on tape and from what we saw we were impressed."
"They run hard, scrum well and have good lineouts. They could cause the team a huge amount of trouble if they get past the first phase."
Match details
Samoa v Georgia
20:00 local time, 22:00 AEST
Subiaco Oval, Perth
Match officials:
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch Judges: David McHugh, Donal Courtney (both Ireland)
TV Match Official: Iain Ramage (Scotland)