Scotland turn to Parks as they brace for tough battle with Georgia
Published:A lacklustre 34-24 victory over Romania on Saturday has left punters’ confidence in the Scotland camp at an all time low.
Andy Robinson has made 11 changes to the side that had to come from behind to beat Romania and it’s the inclusion of Dan Parks at number 10 that suggests the Scotland coach is taking nothing for granted.
Georgia pose a formidable threat up front and Robinson’s decision to name six new forwards means this game is going to be tight and the handicap betting will offer all the value for punters.
Match Odds
Scotland may be the 1/12 favourites to win but the match will be a lot tighter than the betting suggests and Dan Parks’ tactical kicking game could prove the difference.
Scotland will play for territory and take the points when on offer, but this Georgian side don’t concede points easily and not team has managed to score more than 22 points against Georgia in their last 18 matches.
That includes games against the A sides of Scotland, Argentina and Italy, and a 18-11 win over Romania earlier this year suggests they will be tough opposition.
Scotland may have run in four tries against Romania but two of them came in the last five minutes against a tiring defence that had put in a sterling effort, and Robinson’s side still have problems crossing the try line.
Georgia may not spend much time in Scotland’s half thanks to Park’s inclusion and so expect their points total to be low, but the 1/1 for Georgia to win with a +19 point start looks very tempting.
The boot of Parks will keep the points ticking over but the 5/6 for under 43.5 points in the match looks a certainty, as does the 1/1 for under 4.5 tries in the match.
It won’t be comfortable for Scotland and so take the 5/1 for Scotland to win by 11-15 points.
