Georgia received a bye into the fourth round of qualifiers, the reward for their strong performances in the European Nations Cup, and knew that one win would see them take the automatic route to Rugby World Cup 2003.
The Lelos, as the national team are known, managed to hold Ireland tryless for 35 minutes in the second half at Lansdowne Road but the damage had already been done and Georgia lost the Pool A encounter 63-14.
However two weeks later, on 13 October 2002, some 45,000 people packed the Boris Paichadze National Stadium in Tbilisi to see Georgia beat neighbouring rivals Russia 17-13 and banish the disappointment of their Repechage defeat by Tonga in 1999.
On that occasion Georgia, whose sevens side had created history as the first national side to qualify for the finals of a major tournament with the World Cup in 2001, lost the first leg 37-6 in Nuku’Alofa before a morale-boosting 28-27 win in Tbilisi.
Georgia will be making their Rugby World Cup debut in Australia, but the Lelos are no stranger to beating RWC sides. Their first ever international in 1989 was against Zimbabwe, qualifiers in 1987 and 1991.
The Lelos also overcame Romania and Spain - who both played in 1999 - to win the European Nations Cup title in 2001 and successes like these mean that the future looks bright with more children playing rugby than ever before.
For the moment, much of Georgia’s success can be attributed to the fact that the bulk of their national squad are based in France, albeit in the lower divisions, having been sent there to improve their rugby skills and facilitate their development by coach Claude Saurel.
Georgia’s strengths lie not only in their hard-hitting forwards, but also in the pride and passion they display in wearing the distinctive jersey.