Georgia moved a step closer to securing third place in Pool C and a place at the 2019 Rugby World Cup thanks to a 17-16 victory over Namibia in Exeter.

The Eastern Europeans claimed a second win of the tournament for the first time in their history on Wednesday, with captain Mamuka Gorgodze and Lasha Malaghuradze both scoring second-half tries.

Gorgodze's converted touchdown got Georgia on the scoresheet after Theuns Kotze had kicked two first-half penalties to send Namibia in with a 6-0 lead at the break.

Malaghuradze stretched Georgia's advantage with a well-taken try on the hour and, although Kotze scored a late try in a spirited fightback, Namibia slipped to an 18th World Cup match without a win, although the narrow losing margin earned them their first point in the tournament's history.

Milton Haig's side will now hope New Zealand beat Tonga - a result that would seal their automatic spot in the 2019 tournament.

Namibia's hopes of claiming a memorable victory were given an early boost as Kotze kicked a penalty inside two minutes, but their progress was halted as captain Jacques Burger was substituted soon after with a head injury.

Georgia looked to take immediate advantage of his absence as Gorgodze played Alexander Todua in at the corner, but the wing's effort was ruled out for a knock on.

More piercing runs from the Georgia backs saw them make good ground but further indiscipline allowed Kotze to double Namibia's lead after 18 minutes with another penalty.

A scrappy ending to the first half saw players from both sides sent to the sin bin - Georgia's Jaba Bregvadze was first to go after a high tackle, before Raoul Larson and his replacement Johan Coetzee were both shown yellow to leave Namibia down to 13.

Determined to make their numerical advantage pay, Georgia made a strong start after the break and showed great patience to recycle the ball before Gorgodze picked his spot to touch down.

And their lead was extended further seven minutes later as Giorgi Tkhilaishvili's superb hand-off allowed Malaghuradze to score, Merab Kvirikashvili kicking both conversions.

Kvirikashvili and Kotze exchanged penalties to leave Georgia 17-9 ahead with 10 minutes to play, before Namibia enjoyed a late flourish.

A well-worked move involving Renaldo Bothma – who had earlier been yellow-carded – eventually saw the ball sent out wide, where Kotze sold a dummy before touching down.

He converted the kick to secure the losing bonus point but it was too late for anything more as Georgia clung on for a narrow victory.