O'Brien double helps youthful Ireland beat Georgia

Georgia (5) 5

Tries: Jalagonia

Ireland (14) 34

Tries: T O'Brien 2, Casey, Timoney Cons: Prendergast 4 Pens: Prendergast 2

Tries from debutant Tommy O'Brien and first-time captain Craig Casey helped an inexperienced Ireland earn an ultimately comfortable Test victory over Georgia in Tbilisi.

O'Brien crossed twice early to put the Irish in the ascendancy before back row Tornike Jalagonia's try brought Georgia back into the contest before half-time.

However, Casey's tidy finish within a minute of the restart and Nick Timoney's try pushed Ireland beyond Georgia's reach and handed Paul O'Connell victory in his first game as interim head coach.

Ireland, who are without head coach Andy Farrell and 16 players on British and Irish Lions duty, finish off their two-Test summer tour against Portugal in Lisbon on 12 July.

Persistent rain in the Georgian capital could have made life difficult for an inexperienced Ireland side which featured debutants O'Brien and Darragh Murray in the starting line-up and just 12 caps worth of experience in the front row.

But having scored tries in two Champions Cup knockout games for Leinster in the latter stages of the 2024-25 season, Test rookie O'Brien showed no signs of nerve while crossing twice in the opening eight minutes.

In the second minute, the 27-year-old latched on to Sam Prendergast's chip over the Georgian defence to cross unchallenged before finishing in the corner on eight minutes after an Irish scrum five metres out from the home side's tryline.

While O'Brien's early double had Ireland smiling in the Georgian rain, the hosts shook off a shaky start and thought they had scored through Akaki Tabutsadze, who dove over the line despite Jamie Osborne's last-ditch tackle.

While the home players celebrated, the winger's try was ruled out after he was adjudged to have lost control of the ball before touching it down.

From there, the first half descended into a series of scrums, one of which led to an altercation between the two sets of players after Georgia won a scrum penalty.

When Ireland did get moving again, they looked dangerous, with O'Brien turning provider for Prendergast to finish athletically in the corner. The fly-half's joy at scoring his first international try was short-lived, however, as his foot was correctly ruled to have been in touch before he grounded the ball.

There was nothing wrong with Georgia's try, though, which gave the Irish plenty to ponder as Jalagonia powered his way over the line in the last act of the first half to leave nine points between the sides.

Jalagonia's score perhaps should have jolted the home side into life, but instead their challenge faded as Ireland pulled clear.

Within a minute of the restart, Calvin Nash - who replaced injured Ulster wing Jacob Stockdale - sent Ryan Baird through the Georgian defence and the back row's clever offload to the onrushing Casey gave Ireland their third try.

It was a satisfying way for Munster scrum-half Casey to mark his first game as an Ireland captain, with regular skipper Caelan Doris out injured and several experienced campaigners with the Lions in Australia.

Prendergast, preferred to Jack Crowley in the number 10 jersey, converted Casey's try and slotted over two penalties to extend Ireland's advantage before Timoney chipped in with the game's final try when he collected a Prendergast kick and bulldozed his way beyond two Georgian bodies.

Timoney's score survived a television match official check for a double movement, but O'Brien was unable to complete his hat-trick when he let the ball slip through his grasp in the corner.

In the build-up to the game, O'Connell warned that Ireland would not deliver a "perfect" performance. He was right. But despite a few issues at the scrum and Stuart McCloskey's late yellow card adding a blot to their copybook, a 29-point win represented a satisfactory return for a makeshift Irish team in testing conditions.

Georgia: D Niniashvili; A Tabutsadze, D Tapladze, G Kveseladze, A Todua; L Matkava, V Lobhanisze; G Akhaladze, V Karkadze, I Aptsiauri; M Babubashvili, L Chacanidze; L Ivanishvili, B Saghinadze (capt), T Jalagonia.

Replacements: I Kvatadze, G Tetrashvili, B Gigashvili, G Ganiashvili, I Spanderashvili, T Abzhandadze, T Kakhoidze

Ireland: J O'Brien; T O'Brien; J Osborne, S McCloskey; J Stockdale; S Prendergast, C Casey (capt); J Boyle, G McCarthy, T Clarkson; C Izuchukwu, D Murray; R Baird, N Timoney, G Coombes.

Replacements: T Stewart, M Milne, J Aungier, T Ahern, M Deegan, B Murphy, J Crowley, C Nash.

Sin-bin: McCloskey (77)

Referee: A Piardi (Ita)