Georgia coach Milton Haig calls for expanded Six Nations tournament

Georgia coach Milton Haig has called for the Six Nations championship to be expanded after his side's physical battle with New Zealand during the 43-10 defeat on Friday.

Facing the All Blacks for the first time, the eastern Europeans prompted the biggest cheers of the night from the 69,000 Millennium Stadium crowd, running in a try and having inspirational captain Mamuka Gorgodze named man of the match.

Despite fielding a virtual shadow side -- keeping their powder dry for next week's final match against Namibia when victory could seal third spot in Pool A and a place at the 2019 World Cup they gave New Zealand a torrid night.

With less than 10 minutes left they only trailed 29-10 before a late All Blacks burst and Haig said it was proof they can mix it with Europe's top teams.

"The Seven Nations, it's certainly something that I've been speaking publicly about every opportunity I get," the New Zealander said.

"Something like this is absolutely crucial for us because in the long run if we develop into a competitive national side consistently, that's the kind of competition we need.

"You can see by Argentina's progress and inclusion in the Rugby Championship how far their team has come along.

"We understand it's a very difficult decision for the six partners to make, but I think it would grow the game globally and it would open up a big market in eastern Europe. It's something they should consider."

With so many changes to the side that beat Tonga, Georgia were expected to be buried by a full-strength New Zealand and when they conceded a try after 73 seconds to winger Waisake Naholo it looked like being a long night.

Within minutes, however, they stunned the crowd with a cheeky equalising try from full back Beka Tsiklauri.

The 26-year-old chased down his own chip and was already celebrating with his arm raised aloft before touching down under the posts.

While New Zealand scored seven tries, Georgia's work at the breakdown and powerful scrums regularly harried their illustrious opponents into uncharacteristic mistakes.

"I asked the boys during the week and before the game to play with a bit of pride, for their country, to show the rugby world what Georgian rugby is about," Haig said.

"For large parts of the game tonight that's what we did. I'm a proud coach. Defensively we put some pressure on the All Blacks tonight and that's not an easy thing. When we got our timing right and our line speed, we ended up making some good tackles."   

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen expressed his satisfaction after the All Blacks booked their quarter-final place with victory in Cardiff.

He said: "There were a lot of things we could have done better, for sure. Our skill-execution at times was not great, but if we had one problem that I would think would be the easiest to fix in this team, it would be skill-execution. We have plenty of talent.

"You don't get any gold medals for winning these games, you just get to qualify. We are in the quarter-finals, which is quite exciting. We've had little bits of problem-solving in the tournament that we needed to do. It's nice to be put under that pressure."

All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw, meanwhile, dismissed any injury fears after he made a 60th-minute exit.

"I just got a couple of bruises on my shin and quad (thigh). I could have carried on. A couple of days rest, and I will be fine," he said.