Georgia head coach Milton Haig has challenged his side to reproduce the form that they showed to beat Tonga on a more regular basis.

The Lelos began their Rugby World Cup campaign with a surprise 17-10 victory over the Pacific Islanders at Kingsholm Stadium this afternoon, putting them on course for a top-three finish in Pool C and automatic qualification for the 2019 tournament as a result.

However, Haig was keen to temper expectations of his side, insisting that they still have a way to go before they reach the "next level".

"I don't think we've reached the next level. When you can beat a team like Argentina, Scotland or Samoa, then you can talk about getting to the next level," he told reporters.

"It's about being consistent with your Test wins. We're pretty good at winning one every year or two a year against a higher-ranked Test team, but our overall goal is to compete consistently with the top eight teams in the world.

"How we get there, there is still a lot of water under the bridge for that to happen. Today was pretty historic for everybody involved in terms of Georgian rugby and we're very pleased."

The victory was only Georgia's third in World Cup history, and their first against a higher-ranked team.