Japan's late penalty defeats Georgia and shakes up world rankings
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A late penalty from the boot of Japan's Lee Seung-sin snatched a 25-23 win against Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday, moving the victors ahead of the hosts in the world rankings and means Japan and Wales go into the World Cup draw as second seeds.
Japan moved up one place to 12th in the rankings, with Georgia slipping from 11th to 13th, and Wales are now guaranteed 11th spot no matter what happens in their game against New Zealand on Saturday or next weekend's match with South Africa.
The draw for the 2027 World Cup, extended to 24 teams and containing six pools of four, will be held on December 3. The six top-ranked teams will be top seeds in the draw, with the next six, including Wales and Japan, going in as second seeds.
Eddie Jones' Japan were stung by a Jarrod Evans penalty after the hooter in a 24-23 loss to Wales last Saturday, but a week later they have earned a last-gasp win themselves, with Lee responsible for 20 of their points.
Georgia trailed 19-6 shortly after halftime, clawed their way back to within touching distance and looked to have earned the win when Tornike Kakhoidze went over for a try three minutes from time and the conversion put the home side one point ahead.
Ill-discipline let the Georgians down in the final minute, however, and Lee held his nerve with the last kick of the match to earn Japan the win and a late move up the rankings. REUTERS
