It's a bright start from Ireland as Craig Casey chips the ball forward and Jamie Osborne collects the kick.

Ireland are up to the Georgian 22 and have the penalty advantage.

Right, what do this youthful Ireland side have in the locker?

Sam Prendergast gets us up and running.

Thankfully, someone found the switch for the floodlights and we're able to see what's happening on the pitch.

It's not sold out, but there's a decent crowd on a soggy Saturday night.

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It's time for the anthems.

The sun has set in Tbilisi and the teams are singing their anthems in darkness, just being lit by spotlights.

There are also torches on the crowd. That's a lovely vibe.

Here come the teams! Craig Casey leads out Ireland for the first time.

There's a light show and choir performance before the teams come out at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium.

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Interim head coach Paul O'Connell says his youthful Ireland team's performance in Georgia "won't be perfect".

O'Connell has handed debuts to second row Darragh Murray and wing Tommy O'Brien, while four more players could make first Ireland appearances off the bench.

Ireland are without the 16 players who are in Australia with the British and Irish Lions, and captain Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw are missing through injury.

Although former Ireland lock O'Connell says preparations have "been good", he says learning from mistakes will be part of the process in Tbilisi.

"We're aware of that, even when we play with the most experienced internationals," O'Connell said.

"Trying to make the players aware of that as well is really important and we just have to crack on."

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Ireland captain Craig Casey says the squad are keen to "make it a special week" for the debutants who will face Georgia in Tbilisi.

With 16 players on British and Irish Lions duty, the Munster scrum-half leads the side for this summer's Tests against Georgia and Portugal.

As well as O'Brien and Murray, who make their debuts from the start, props Michael Milne and Jack Aungier, along with Munster's Tom Ahern and Connacht scrum-half Ben Murphy, are also in line to make their senior international bows off the bench.

"It's unbelievable for them to earn their first caps and it's a huge opportunity for all of us. It's a massive privilege for us to put on the Irish jersey at any stage," said Casey in a pre-match media interview provided by the Irish Rugby Football Union [IRFU].

"It's up to us to lay down a marker and make it a special week for them."

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Another new face in the Ireland set-up, Darragh Murray is another youngster who cut his teeth in the Emerging Ireland and Ireland 'A' environments before earning his call-up to the big time.

A 6ft 7in lock from Roscommon, the 23-year-old has firmly established himself in the Connacht second row, starting 11 United Rugby Championship games this season.

Murray, whose older brother Niall is also a Connacht second row, is an effective line-out jumper and ball-carrier.

Having been a talented Gaelic footballer in his youth, Murray looks to have chosen the right sporting path as he closes in on becoming the first Ireland Roscommon international since Jack Carty.

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Back Tommy O'Brien made his debut for Leinster in 2019 but injury setbacks have prevented him furthering his career and international prospects at a faster rate.

The 27-year-old seasoned provincial player has put in impressive displays in the latter end of the 2024-25 campaign, his rich vein of form including a player-of-the match performance against Irish interprovincial rivals Ulster in April.

He scored a spectacular try in that game, also crossing while shining against Glasgow and Northampton in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup to make it try-scoring performances in three successive games.

O'Brien can play on the wing or at centre and represented Ireland Under-20s between 2017 and 2018, captaining the side in 2018.

He also played for Ireland A in their game against their English counterparts in Bristol in February, and will make his senior debut today.

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI

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When Stuart McCloskey last represented Ireland in Georgia, 10 years ago, his world looked a lot different.

Fresh off winning Ulster's young player of the year award at the end of his first full season in senior rugby, he travelled with the Emerging Ireland squad for the now-defunct Tbilisi Cup in 2015.

Then just 22, McCloskey admits he was "pretty naive". Now, with nearly a decade of Test experience and over 200 Ulster caps under his belt, he has a "few more grey hairs" and knows "what I'm about these days".

This much is true. Even within the controlled environment of a news conference, McCloskey is able to show that he is comfortable in his own skin.

Finlay Bealham's British and Irish Lions call-up means he is the elder statesmen of interim head coach Paul O'Connell's Ireland squad.

He jokes that Bealham "absolutely did me in" and admits O'Connell "gets a dig in most days about how old I am", but he seems happy being the only squad member to have celebrated his 30th birthday.

He also likes to tell Ulster team-mates Jacob Stockdale and Nick Timoney he will outlast them.

"I'm happy to be the calm head," says McCloskey, who will turn 33 in August.

"I feel like that's normally what I am in these teams no matter who's playing around me, but there's plenty of guys there like Craig [Casey] and Sam [Prendergast] who've run the backline very well over the last few weeks in here.

"Sam's come in in the Six Nations and done very well so I'll just play off them, give them the space and hopefully they run in a few tries for us."

Ireland Rugby

Interim Ireland head coach Paul O'Connell has handed debuts to Tommy O'Brien and Darragh Murray.

O'Brien has been in impressive form for United Rugby Championship winners Leinster and starts on the wing, and Jimmy O'Brien and Ulster's Jacob Stockdale complete the back three.

The game at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium (18:00 BST) will also see Connacht's Murray handed a first appearance and he will partner Ulster's Cormac Izuchukwu in the second row.

There could also be debuts off the bench for props Michael Milne and Jack Aungier, as well as Munster's Tom Ahern and Connacht scrum-half Ben Murphy, who is the son of Ulster head coach Richie.

Craig Casey will captain Ireland for the first time in Tiblisi and will partner Sam Prendergast, who gets the nod over Jack Crowley at fly-half.

Cian Prendergast is a late withdrawal on the bench with a beg, so his place is taken by Max Deegan.

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.

Weather report in Georgia? It's wet.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

New Zealand delivered an underwhelming performance in Dunedin to narrowly beat France 31-27 for the first time since 2018.

The All Blacks led 21-13 at the break, and despite a depleted French side moving within a point shortly after the restart, the hosts were able to see out the game following a late penalty from Beauden Barrett.

Played under a roof at the Forsyth-Barr stadium, New Zealand faced a French XV that only featured three players from their final match of this year's Six Nations.

Will Jordan scored a try in each half for the All Blacks, with Scott Barrett and Tupou Vaa'i also going over as Beauden Barrett kicked four conversions.

In reply, Mickael Guillard, Gabin Villiere and Cameron Woki all scored for France but they were unable to overturn the deficit.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Scotland held off a Maori All Blacks fightback to hang on to a slender lead and win a nail-biting first game of their summer tour of New Zealand 29-26.

Adam Hastings' first-half penalty proved to be crucial, with both sides scoring four tries and three conversions in Whangarei.

The Scots have not toured New Zealand in 25 years and, although this was a non-capped international, both sides played with typical Southern Hemisphere flair throughout.

The hosts enjoyed more possession, made more metres and rearranged more ribs than their visitors, but Gregor Townsend's side were a little more clinical in attack and produced a huge defensive set at the last to clinch victory.

And, while the side was predominantly made up of Scotland's second-string, with star names such as Jamie Ritchie, Rory Darge, Darcy Graham and Tom Jordan rested for the next two games against Fiji and Samoa, they had to produce their best to see off the Maoris.

Gareth Griffiths
BBC Sport Wales

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Wales' record losing run extended to 18 Tests as they were beaten 24-19 by Japan in extremely hot and humid conditions in Kitakyushu.

The tourists led 19-7 at the break, but wilted in the intense conditions in a match that took two hours to complete.

There were water breaks in each half and an extended half-time period to cope with the extreme weather, with players wearing ice hats to cool down.

Japan coped better with the conditions and scored all the second-half points, with Halatoa Vailea crashing over from a close-range line-out in the 71st-minute to claim the win for Eddie Jones' side.

It was a second victory for Japan against Wales, with Jones also masterminding the first in 2013.

Tom English
BBC Sport at Allianz Stadium

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Huw Jones scored two tries as the error-ridden British and Irish Lions stumbled to an unconvincing 21-10 victory against an understrength Waratahs side in Sydney.

Both of the Scotland centre's tries came in the opening half and Fin Smith converted each time to put the Lions into a 14-0 lead.

Waratahs wing Darby Lancaster responded just before half-time and hooker Ethan Dobbins barged over just after the break to make it a four-point game.

The Lions were playing frantically and without accuracy, but did find their range through the impressive Alex Mitchell, who dummied his way over for the tourists' third try midway through the second half.

Smith made it three from three with the boot but the disjointed Lions could not build on the cushion.

The driven Waratahs, missing a clutch of their best players at the end of a disappointing season, made it a frustrating night for Andy Farrell's team, despite the Lions winning a third successive game on Australian soil.

There's already been plenty of rugby on a very busy Saturday.

Here's what has happened so far.

A number of Irish fans have made their way to the Georgian capital for this one.

They seem to be enjoying themselves anyway.

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The Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi is a new one for a lot of Irish rugby fans but it's a pretty nice ground.

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