Persistent rain in the Georgian capital could have made life difficult for an inexperienced Ireland side which featured debutants O’Brien and Darragh Murray in the starting line-up and just 12 caps worth of experience in the front row.
But having scored tries in two Champions Cup knockout games for Leinster in the latter stages of the 2024-25 season, Test rookie O’Brien showed no signs of nerve while crossing twice in the opening eight minutes.
In the second minute, the 27-year-old latched on to Sam Prendergast’s chip over the Georgian defence to cross unchallenged before finishing in the corner on eight minutes after an Irish scrum five metres out from the home side’s tryline.
While O’Brien’s early double produced smiling Irish eyes in the Georgian rain, the hosts shook off a shaky start and thought they had scored through Akaki Tabutsadze, who dove over the line despite Jamie Osborne’s last-ditch tackle.
While the home players celebrated, the winger’s try was ruled out after he was adjudged to have lost control of the ball before touching it down.
From there, the first half descended into a series of scrums, one of which led to an altercation between the two sets of players after Georgia won a scrum penalty.
When Ireland did get moving again, they looked dangerous, with O’Brien turning provider for Prendergast to finish athletically in the corner. The fly-half’s joy at scoring his first international try was short-lived, however, as his foot was correctly ruled to have been in touch before he ground the ball.
There was nothing wrong with Georgia’s try, though, which gave the Irish plenty to ponder as Jalagonia powered his way over the line in the last act of the first half to leave nine points between the sides.
