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LYON - Argentina skipper Agustin Pichot has warned his Pumas teammates, on a high after their stunning World Cup upset of France, not to drop their guard against minnows Georgia here on Tuesday.
Argentina's 17-12 win on Friday blew a huge hole in France's hopes of making the
quarter-finals while providing a boost to their own chances of being one of the two sides who will qualify from a Pool D which also includes Ireland.
"World champions? We can always dream and I love to dream. But the reality is we must win our next game against Georgia (Sept 11)," said Pichot who is playing in his fourth World Cup.
"We know that as Latin players we can beat France but play badly in the next match. We are the only team who have to play twice in four days. It's not fair but that's the way it is."
Coach Marcelo Loffreda has also warned his men not to underestimate Georgia.
"We have to go on and prepare ourselves for the rest of the tournament. We have given ourselves a good start and we need to make advantage of it," said Loffreda who will take charge of English club giants Leicester next season.
Georgia will be hoping to call upon the majority of support in Lyon as all but one of their squad play for French clubs.
"I think we'll have great support from the French fans - second to the French team of course," said flanker Rati Urushadze.
Skipper Ilia Zedginidze hopes that at least one win in the tournament - they have fellow makeweights Namibia in their sights - can boost rugby at home in the former Soviet republic.
"Georgian rugby is continuing to grow. After the 2003 World Cup there were 50 per cent more licences and the popularity of the game increased a lot. I hope it will go up even more after 2007," he said.
Irakli Abuseridze, the vice-captain, believes the Pumas will be a hard act to stop on Tuesday.
"We're realists," he said. "We know where we stand when it comes to Ireland, France and Argentina. Our objective is Namibia. As for the rest, there's nothing to lose. So we just relax and play freely."
Meanwhile, Georgia's French coach Nicolas Foulquier is looking forward to the match against his compatriots in Marseille on September 30.
"They're really looking forward to the game against France in order to thank the French for the rugby experience they've been able to gain from them and to prove their own value to the French nation," said Foulquier.
- AFP