Wales set for Georgia test as autumn fixtures begin to take shape

WALES are set to play Georgia rather than Fiji this autumn as their November fixture schedule starts to take solid shape, writes Simon Thomas.

It had been expected that Wayne Pivac’s team would be grouped with England, Ireland and Fiji in the new Eight Nations tournament which will replace the programme originally planned pre-Covid.

But with Japan dropping out due to logistical complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there has had to be a re-think.

The Brave Blossoms’ place is being taken by Georgia, with speculation about world champions South Africa coming on board proving to be unfounded.

As a result, the groups have now been re-jigged to balance them out.

So Wales’ section will now comprise England, Ireland and Georgia, with the other pool made up of France, Scotland, Italy and Fiji. The format is expected to be officially confirmed this week.

Wales have played Georgia twice before - a narrow 13-6 victory at the Principality Stadium in 2017 and then a convincing 43-14 triumph at the World Cup out in Japan last September.

The Eight Nations tournament will get underway on the weekend of November 14, with retail giants Amazon the front-runners to secure the broadcast rights.

As it’s a new event, it’s open to all comers and subscription channel Amazon Prime looks set to make a big entry into the rugby market.

Wales’ opening fixture in the competition will be away to Ireland at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on the weekend of November 14.

Then the following weekend (Nov 21), they will host Georgia, more than likely behind closed doors on home soil.

Crowds are not allowed in Wales on public health grounds and it’s doubtful whether it would make financial sense to move that fixture to England.

The Principality Stadium won’t be available in time as decommissioning work on the Dragon’s Heart Hospital won’t be completed until November.

So the Georgia match may well be played at Parc y Scarlets, as there would be no issues over potential clashes with football fixtures.

Then comes the big “home” game against England on November 28.

The WRU are still hoping to stage that match in London in front of paying customers to bring in muchneeded revenue.

They haven’t been comfortable with the idea of playing it at England’s traditional home of Twickenham, as that would effectively make it an away fixture.

So a number of football grounds have been mooted as possible venues and the 62,000-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would appear the current favourite.

Spurs are away to Chelsea that weekend, while West Ham and Arsenal – whose grounds were other potential options – are both playing at home.

And Tottenham are understood to be keen for their state-of-the art ground to be seen as a multi-purpose arena.

At the end of the group stage, Wales would have one more match, against a team from the other pool, on the weekend of December 5.

Prior to the eight-team tournament getting underway, they still have this year’s Six Nations to complete.

The home game against Scotland, which was postponed due to the pandemic in March, is to be played on October 31.

Once again, the WRU are looking to move it to England to enable them to bring in vitally needed money from ticket sales.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is out of the equation for that game, as Spurs are at home to Brighton that weekend.

But West Ham’s 66,000-capacity London Stadium - the 2012 Olympic Stadium - would be available, as they are away to Liverpool.

Similarly, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium - which holds 60,000 - could come into the equation, with the Gunners playing Manchester United at Old Trafford that weekend.

One other option would be Twickenham, as England are in Rome on October 31, playing their rearranged Six Nations fixture against Italy.

The Wales-Scotland game would be shown free-to-air on the BBC as it’s covered by the existing TV deal for the Championship.

There has been talk of Pivac’s team playing a warm-up game on October 24, potentially against France in Paris.

But clearly there is still a great deal to be confirmed.

However, it does seem that Amazon are on course to televise November’s Eight Nations tournament in a landmark move.

They have already broken into covering Premier League football and want to move into top-level rugby as well, according to reports.

The Six Nations are in charge of the tender process and are reported to be looking at Amazon’s move for a multi-million pound deal.

Given the financial challenges facing the game due to Covid, maximising the broadcast revenue from this autumn’s Test programme is absolutely vital.