![](https://rugbynews.net.au/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load/images/1x1.trans.gif)
The Shute Shield coaches who guided Georgia to a RWC … and got sacked!
By Jon Geddes
NOTHING could prepare Australian coaches Tim Lane and Damien Cummins for their extraordinary time in charge of the Georgian national rugby team.
The language barrier, a drunk bus driver and arteries of a pig’s heart were some of the challenges faced by the Aussie rugby disciples spreading the gospel in Georgia.
When former Wallabies assistant Lane was appointed Georgian head coach he recruited Cummins to look after the forwards, with their brief to get the team into the 2011 World Cup.
As Los Lelos prepare to take on the Wallabies in their historic Test match on Saturday at Allianz Stadium, “Turtle” Cummins, proud recipient of the prestigious Georgian Medal of Honour, revealed some of their eye-opening experiences in 2009 and 2010.
CLOAK AND DAGGER ROOMS
FOR Cummins, a boy born and bred on Sydney’s northern beaches, life in the Georgian capital Tbilisi was as far removed from Manly’s famous Steyne Hotel as you could get.
“She was prett