England came away in the second spell to beat Georgia 41-10 at the Otago Stadium. But it could have been closer: after an hour the margin was only 12 points.
"We put an awful lot into the game but didn't get as much out of it," Georgia's coach, Richie Dixon, said.
"We upped our game and played with aggression and commitment. But we didn't turn our pressure into points."
The coach said that his team made three mistakes when deep inside the English 22m that cost tries.
The goal kicking was also astray, with the normally reliable Merab Kvirikashvili landing only one penalty from six attempts.
Georgia certainly gained respect from its English opponent and made a strong case for a better deal for the minnows of world rugby.
When the teams last played in a World Cup, in 2003, England won 84-6.
The man of the match was Georgia openside flanker Mamuka Gorgodze, who made a strong point.
"We need more games like this to perform better," he said.
Dixon would like teams such as Georgia, Romania and Japan to be given more opportunities to play the top-tier nations.
"This is a sore point with us," he said. "We seldom get the opportunity to play against the great teams before a World Cup."
The International Rugby Board is making a start and will hold an Eight Nations under-18 competition over the next three years. It will consist of teams from the Six Nations competition and two teams will be added from the European competition.
"In the fullness of time, this might be a forerunner to what night happen at the elite level," Dixon said.
The Georgian population was becoming more sophisticated about rugby.
"I would be disappointed if rugby does not become the No 1 sport in Georgia within the next two years," Dixon said.