In their attempts to develop more of a 15-man game, Georgia lost some of their traditional edge up front at the World Cup.
While delighted to be working with “world-class” talents such as young full-back Davit Niniashvili, Cockerill sees one of his main tasks as restoring Georgia’s reputation as one of the most feared units around.
“In the next four years we want to try and dominate the set-piece again,” said former England hooker Cockerill. “By everyone’s admission, that has fallen away a bit; the Georgian scrum hasn’t been the force it has been previously, and that’s a natural cycle, and the dynamics of the team have changed.
“We have to evolve our game and not only be a physical set-piece team but a team that can play all sorts of rugby. And we have some very good backs who can do that, and we have to create the next generation of front rowers and locks to complement that.”
Cockerill has a dual head coach role – overseeing the Black Lion development side as well as the national team. Two jobs are definitely better than none, a position he found himself in after being sacked by Montpellier seven games into the Top 14 season.
Denne historien er fra February 04, 2024-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 04, 2024-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
England can find a little bit of cheer
SO HERE we are on the final day of England’s autumn international series with all of us hoping and expecting Steve Borthwick’s team to win today after three weeks of bitter disappointment.
Stop messing with Marcus - Campese
DAVID Campese believes England are going backwards under Steve Borthwick, who is ‘messing around’ with talisman Marcus Smith.
Being a Lion was the highlight of my career
I PLAYED 19 games and scored 219 points for the Lions, on the tours to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, but I never played in a Test and that was fair enough.
Cook's crew not fazed as they eye tilt at top half
THERE appear to be few signs of second season syndrome at Westcombe Park as captain Nick Cook reveals the group aren’t even contemplating the threat of relegation and are instead targeting a top-half finish.
Forwards pack a punch for the Reds
OLD Redcliffians produced a proud defensive effort to take a bonus-point win.
Tom 'Ailes' the achievements of inspirational skipper Riley
SEDGLEY Park No. 8 Tom Ailes says his team relish the competitive nature of National One and is confident the Tigers can rectify their rocky start to the season in weeks to come.
Strachan confident Ampthill will be firing again soon
FRASER Strachan is determined to put Ampthill’s leaky defensive showings behind them and gain some much needed confidence in the run up to Christmas.
It's a whole new ball game for Rigg
WILL Rigg’s ambition was to become a professional cricketer but it is the oval ball rather than The Oval that is his driver now.
Scarratt leads the way for Lightning
LOUGHBOROUGH won a wet and windy East Midlands Derby after having the bonus point in the bag by half-time.
Becconsall: We need to release pressure
WILL Becconsall says Exeter are not spooked by the threat of relegation as they look to turn around their Premiership campaign after starting with six straight defeats.
