Is Georgia vs Ireland on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch

Independent

4 hours ago

Ireland take on a Georgia side always pushing for more opportunities as a busy July of international action continues.
With both head coach Andy Farrell and Simon Easterby, his Six Nations stand-in, otherwise engaged on British and Irish Lions duty, former captain Paul O'Connell is at the helm for Ireland this summer.
The ex-lock has installed a fellow Munsterman as captain with Craig Casey given a chance to lead his nation for the first time in this game in Tbilisi.
Georgia, coached by former England hooker Richard Cockerill, are expecting a strong crowd in a rare visit from top tier international opposition.
Here's everything you need to know.
When is Georgia vs Ireland?
Georgia vs Ireland is due to kick off at 6pm BST on Saturday 5 July at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi.
How can I watch it?
The match is not due to be shown live on television in the United Kingdom, though Irish viewers can tune in on Virgin Media.
Team news
The Georgia side has a spine from the domestic Black Lion club running through an otherwise French-drawn squad. Flanker Beka Saghinadze skippers a team with plenty of experience despite a relatively young age profile. A few issues at loosehead have necessitated a call up for Giorgi Tetrashvili to back-up Giorgi Akhaladze, though the presence of experienced Toulon tighthead Beka Gigashvili alongside him on the bench shows the front row depth that one often associates with Georgia.
Their chief threats, though, come out wide: Akaki Tabutsadze has a remarkable 50 tries in 51 Tests and will be eyeing Daisuke Ohata's all-time record - a tally about which there is some doubt - while Davit Niniashvili is one of Europe's most talented full-backs. He'll play under Ronan O'Gara at La Rochelle next season after agreeing a move from Lyon.
Craig Casey leads an Irish side full of real athleticism and size. Wing Tommy O'Brien and lock Darragh Murphy make their debuts in the starting side, with the former joined by namesake Jimmy and Jacob Stockdale in an exciting back three. Sam Prendergast gets the nod over Jack Crowley after the fly halves were both overlooked by the Lions.
Gavin Coombes gets a rare outing at No 8 in the absence of the injured Caelan Doris and Jack Conan, away with the Lions, while there are likely to be debuts off the bench for props Michael Milne and Jack Aungier, as well as Munster's lock or flanker Tom Ahern and Connacht scrum-half Ben Murphy.
Georgia XV: 1 Giorgi Akhaladze, 2 Vano Karkadze, 3 Irakli Aptsiauri; 4 Mikheil Babunashvili, 5 Lado Chachanidze; 6 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Beka Saghinadze (capt.), 8 Tornike Jalagonia; 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 10 Luka Matkava; 11 Sandro Todua, 12 Giorgi Kveseladze, 13 Demur Tapladze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze; 15 Davit Niniashvili.
Replacements: 16 Irakli Kvatadze, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Giorgi Javakhia, 20 Ilia Spanderashvili; 21 Mikheil Alania, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Tornike Kakhoidze.
Ireland XV: 1 Jack Boyle, 2 Gus McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson; 4 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 Darragh Murray; 6 Ryan Baird, 7 Nick Timoney, 8 Gavin Coombes; 9 Craig Casey (capt.), 10 Sam Prendergast; 11 Jacob Stockdale, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 13 Jamie Osborne, 14 Tommy O'Brien; 15 Jimmy O'Brien.