Scotland had to pick strong team to face Georgia but I hope Finn Russell is replaced at half-time

Well, we play South Africa in fifteen days time on Sunday 10th. Omit first choice players today and they would have been without a match for three weeks, too long a gap without match practice. So that's a risk too. Short of match practice a team is likely to start cold. There’s of course a risk of injury in any match and I guess most of us would be happy to see Scotland building up a good lead in the first half and Finn Russell then giving way to Ben Healy. That said, injuries happen as often in training as in a match.

South Africa beat Wales very comfortably last week, but Wales were so weak up front that judgement on the Springboks’ form is difficult. There is certainly room for improvement and their fly-half’s goal-kicking was well below the required international level. Probably just one of those days – he was very lively otherwise. We were also reminded that they have a back three as dangerous as Scotland’s or Ireland’s. Kicking in attack will have to be of a high standard in this Pool. If tries are not to come from counter-attacks.

Writing this on Friday afternoon I guess we’ll have a better understanding of just where South Africa are strong and may be vulnerable after watching their match against New Zealand at Twickenham. Nothing has happened in the last weeks to alter the general opinion that the best four teams in the Cup are France, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand – listed here only in alphabetical order, nothing to do with form. Likewise all recent evidence would put Scotland in fifth place. Nobody surely can now pretend that making the draw for the pool stage of a World Cup based on the ranking of teams three years ago is anything but ridiculous.

England were again very poor in their warm-up in Dublin. So poor indeed that Ireland didn’t have to come close to their best to beat them. Indeed they made more handling errors last weekend than in the whole of the Six Nations. We shouldn’t look for a repeat when we play them in France. As for England, they seem to have the Scottish disease of some fifteen or twenty years ago, their forwards seemingly unable to produce quick clean ball, so that their backs are almost always on the back foot.

There are several reasons for us to be a bit more optimistic than in previous World Cups. Our recent form against everybody except Ireland is one. Another, just as important, is that we go into this tournament with a clear idea of our best starting XV and indeed of the likely match-day squad. Look back at warm-up matches in previous Cups and you see that there was still a lack of such certainty. Then there would be arguments about several positions; not now.

Of course this makes today’s game all the more important. Georgia are a team with the ability and strength to make them awkward opponents. The questions they ask are usually tough, but there aren’t nearly as many as a top team puts – and we have to beat at least one top team when the tournament gets under way next month. All the more reason to look for a handsome win today.