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Georgia
საქართველო

File:Georgie.svg
Union	Georgian Rugby Union
Nickname(s)	The Lelos ბორჯღალოსნები
Emblem(s)	Crepuscular rays
Ground(s)	Boris Paichadze National Stadium
Coach(es)	Milton Haig
Captain(s)	Irakli Abuseridze
Most caps	Irakli Abuseridze (85)
Top scorer	Merab Kvirikashvili (435)
Most tries	Irakli Machkhaneli (22) Mamuka Gorgodze (22)
Team kit Change kit
First international
Zimbabwe 3 – 16 Georgia (12 September 1989)
Largest win
Georgia 98 – 3 Czech Republic  (8 April 2007)
Largest defeat
England 84 – 6 Georgia (12 October 2003)
World Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 2003)
Best result	One Win, 2007, 2011

The Georgia national rugby union team represents Georgia in international rugby union. Rugby union in Georgia is administered by the Georgian Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual European Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years.

Georgia is currently considered a second tier rugby union nation and is one of the world's fastest growing rugby nations. The Lelos participate in the European Nations Cup, winning the tournament in 2001, 2007-08 and 2008-10 seasons. Famously the Georgians, lacking the resources of the major nations, made scrum machines from old Soviet tractors. The bulk of the national squad are based in France, in both the Top 14 and lower divisions. This is a practice that was popularized by former national team coach, Claude Saurel, a Frenchman, who later coached neighbouring rivals Russia.

Rugby union is one of the most popular sports in Georgia. The Georgian national sevens team became the first national side from Georgia to compete in a major tournament, playing in the International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens World Cup in Argentina. However, the full national team would go onto qualify for the 2003 Rugby World Cup - playing against rugby powers such as Ireland and France. In 2006 the Lelos qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, they beat Namibia by 30-0 for their first ever World Cup win. As of 27 May 2013, Georgia are ranked 17th in the world by the IRB.

Georgia also has a Georgia A national rugby union team.

History

Soviet era

There were unsuccessful attempts to introduce rugby union into Georgia in 1928 and also in 1940 and in 1948.

Rugby's popularity in Georgia might be explained by its resemblance to the traditional Georgian game named "Lelo" or "Lelo Burti" (meaning "Field Ball"). This game was played in Georgia from ancient times and is still played on occasions in rural areas. A field ("Lelo") was selected between two river creeks which represented a playing ground. Two teams, usually consisting of the male population of neighboring villages, would face each other. The number of players from each side was not set, but included any able men each village could summon. A large, heavy ball was placed in the middle of the field and the goal of the game was to carry it over the river creek of the opposing side.

The Georgia Rugby Union was founded in 1964, but until the late 1980s it was part of the Soviet Union's rugby federation. The rugby union connection between France and Georgia started as links were established by the then powerful French Communist Party and many other left-wing organisations. Georgia initially did not have its own team and its best players would play for the USSR team.

In 1988 Georgia produced their first national sevens side. In September 1989, Georgia got together with other FIRA countries to host a tour by Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's first match on the tour was in the wet against Georgia in Kutaisi, west of Tbilisi, which Georgia won 16–3. The next year Georgia went to Zimbabwe where they played two tests, losing the first in Bulawayo and winning the second 26–10 in Harare.

1990s

On 9 April 1991 Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union. Georgia was now a rugby union nation but getting matches was not easy, the old Soviet team continued under the name Commonwealth of Independent States. Georgia were limited to the odd game against Ukraine until they gained membership of the IRB in 1992.

French coach, Claude Saurel, first arrived in Georgia in 1997 with a brief to assess the standard of sport; he and his development team have helped boost the profile of the sport to the extent that it is now considered the country's most popular team sport, even ahead of football. Saurel went on to work with the Rugby Sevens team, until he was appointed as the national coach in the summer of 1999.

Georgia's 1998 loss to Romania saw them play a two legged repechage play-off against Tonga to qualify for the 1999 World Cup. On that occasion Georgia lost the first leg 37–6 in Nukuʻalofa before a 28–27 win in Tbilisi. This was not enough and Georgia failed to qualify.

2000s

After France and Italy dropped from the reborn European Nations Cup, Georgia became a major force in the tournament. In the 2000, Georgia finished second in the competition, finishing behind Romania. The following year, Georgia improved upon this, winning all five of their matches during the 2000/1 tournament, and thus finishing at the top of the table. They clinched the title by beating Romania away 31–20 on the final day. Rugby union took off in the country, the travel and opportunities to land lucrative contracts in France made rugby union a glamorous pursuit in Georgia. Georgia placed second in the 2001-2002 tournament. When Georgia played Russia in the European Nations Cup 65,000 people crammed into the national stadium in Tbilisi.

Georgian first made an impact at Rugby Sevens by finishing a respectable 10th in the 2001 edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Argentina.

Aftermath of the World Cup

In 2008, Georgia cemented its place at the top of the European hierarchy (beneath the Six Nations), and augmented its claim to be ranked the seventh best European national rugby union team, when it won, for the second time, the 2007-8 FIRA-AER European Nations Cup, with nine wins and a single loss, to perennial rival Romania, over a two-year campaign. Since there is no system of promotion and relegation between the Six Nations Tournament and the ENC, Georgia remains in Division One for the 2008–10 campaign. Georgia is set to play the All Blacks on 30 November 2013 for the first time in Tbilisi.

Lelo

The team's nickname, The Lelos, comes from lelo burti, a traditional Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for "try" (the highest-valued score in rugby). One standard cheer of Georgian rugby union fans is Lelo, Lelo, Sakartvelo (Try, Try, Georgia).

Lelo has its roots in pagan times; the ball symbolized the Sun, one of the cesestial bodies worshipped throughout the Middle East. The game used to be a proven form of military exercise, it was adopted by the Orthodox Church to such an extent that the Priest used to bless a red - the most revered Christian colour - ball at Easter and throw it up to the players. Village vied with village, Uppies with Downies, married men with betrotheds and bachelors, and sometimes teams were selected on tribal lines. The goal of the Lelo-burti was to bring the ball to a pre-marked place, that is Lelo. Hence, both an 'in-goal area' and a 'try' in contemporary Georgian are referred to as 'Lelo'

European Nations Cup

Georgia compete annually in the European Nations Cup. They won the tournament four times in 2001, 2007-08, 2009 and 2011.

European Nations Cup All-Time Table (2000-2012)

Nation	Champs	Games	Won	Draw	Lost	Win/Lose Percentage
Georgia	5	65	50	3	12	80.65%
Romania	4	65	47	1	17	73.44%
Portugal	1	65	32	2	31	50.79%
Russia	0	59	33	3	23	58.93%
Spain	0	55	16	1	38	29.63%

Rugby World Cup

The two nations would contest another match at the same venue in October 2002, in what was at the time one of the most important clashes ever between the two national sides. The victorious nation would head to the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and the loser would be relegated to fight it out for a repechage position. Neither nation had ever been to a World Cup, though Georgia had come close in 1999. 45,000 turned out to the national stadium, with another one and a half million Georgians watching it on national television. Both nations kicked penalty goals in the first half, but Russia moved ahead with a 13–9 lead through a Konstantin Rachkov try, but Georgia were able to score a try of their own just before half time, with Levan Tsabadze putting them in front 14–13 at the break. Georgia held on, winning 17–13, a victory which sparked celebrations throughout the capital.

Three of the 75 French-based Georgian players were denied permission to play in the tournament and were suspended. Another five were sacked and arrived in Australia as free agents. In a warm-up game held in Asti the Georgians held the Italians to 31–22. They were grouped into pool C alongside giants - South Africa and England. They suffered their heaviest ever defeat when beaten by England 84–6 in their opening game. In their second match, Samoa comfortably eased to a 9–46 victory. Although they performed well against the Springboks (losing 46–19) they were disappointingly defeated by Uruguay 24–12, in a match that they were expected to win. They lost all four of their matches but had impressed against South Africa. Despite the sad financial state of their union, qualification has seen the sport's profile rise throughout Georgia.

The Barbarians beat Georgia 28–19 in Tbilisi on 4 June 2006 in front of some 10,000 spectators. The Barbarians led 14–7 at half-time and the Lelos pulled back to 14-all early in the second half, but the Barbarians added two more tries before the Lelos got their third just before the end. Paliko Jimsheladze, playing as a fullback, became the first Georgian to win 50 caps. In recognition of this feat he was presented with a commemorative cap by Nodar Qipiani, the first captain of a Georgian national team. After the match the Barbarians presented £10,000 for the development of rugby union in Georgia.

In the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Georgia performed strongly, holding Argentina 6-3 at half time, and in the next match did even better, losing to Ireland 14-10, which included a disallowed try, three missed drop goals, and spent the last 5 minutes just metres from the Irish line, allowing Ireland to scrape through. Georgia secured its first World Cup win with a convincing 30-0 victory over Namibia. Georgia's final try in the match came in injury time with an interception by Davit Kacharava.

World Cup Record

World Cup record									World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	P	W	D	L	F	A		P	W	D	L	F	A
1987	Not invited								-
1991	Did not enter								Did not enter
1995	Did not qualify								2	0	0	2	15	38
1999									6	4	0	2	138	94
2003	Pool Stage	4	0	0	4	46	200		2	1	0	1	31	76
2007	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	50	111		14	10	1	3	426	182
2011	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	48	90		10	8	1	1	326	132
2015	To be determined								-	-	-	-	-	-
2019									To be determined
Total	3/5	12	2	0	10	144	401	34	23	2	9	936	522

2003

Georgia has competed in three Rugby World Cup tournaments. Their first appearance was in 2003 when they were placed in Pool C with eventual winners England, South Africa, Uruguay and Samoa.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	BP	Pts
England	4	4	0	0	204	47	3	19
South Africa	4	3	0	1	184	60	3	15
Samoa	4	2	0	2	138	117	2	10
Uruguay	4	1	0	3	56	255	0	4
Georgia	4	0	0	4	46	200	0	0

12 October 2003	England	84–6	Georgia	Subiaco Oval, Perth
19 October 2003	Georgia	9–46	Samoa	Subiaco Oval, Perth
24 October 2003	South Africa	49–19	Georgia	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
28 October 2003	Georgia	12–24	Uruguay	Aussie Stadium, Sydney

2007

Georgia recorded their first win in a rugby world cup with a 30-0 win over Namibia in their rain-affected Pool D match at Stade Felix-Bollaert. The foundation for the three-tries-to-none victory was laid by Georgia's experienced forward pack who wore down their opponents at the breakdown. Dominating territory and possession in the first half it took 37 minutes for Georgia to break Namibia's defensive line, hooker Akvsenti Giorgadze, in his 50th international, pushing his way over after good lead-up work from his forwards. Two penalties and a conversion from the boot of fly half Merab Kvirikashvili contributed to Georgia's 13-0 lead at the break, the number 10 becoming Georgia's record point-scorer in rugby world cups. Georgia's forward pack continued to dominate at the breakdown in the second stanza but Namibia's defence held strong. It was another Kvirikashvili penalty in the 68th minute that got the scoreboard ticking over again. Wing Irakli Machkhaneli then raced 30m to score in the 70th minute after knocking the ball loose in a bonecrunching tackle. Centre Davit Kacharava put the finishing touches on the win intercepting a pass and scooting 40m to score on the final whistle. Namibia's RWC 2007 campaign was over with the Georgia honourable 7-64 defeat to hosts France on 30 September.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	BP	Pts
Argentina	4	4	0	0	143	33	2	18
France	4	3	0	1	188	37	3	15
Ireland	4	2	0	2	64	82	1	9
Georgia	4	1	0	3	50	111	1	5
Namibia	4	0	0	4	30	212	0	0

11 September 2007	Argentina	33–3	Georgia	Stade de Gerland, Lyon
15 September 2007	Ireland	14–10	Georgia	Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
26 September 2007	Georgia	30–0	Namibia	Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
30 September 2007	France	64–7	Georgia	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille

2011

Georgia began their 2011 Rugby World Cup preparations with a two-match tour in France, the playing base of most of its World Cup player pool, against sides in the country's second-tier league, Pro D2. They won 28-24 against Stade Aurillac on 13 August, followed by a 28-15 win over CS Bourgoin-Jallieu on 19 August.

Georgia were drawn in a very tough Pool B. The pool included 2007 silver medallists England, 2007 bronze medalists Argentina and 2007 quarter finalists Scotland, as well as local rivals Romania. Despite the close nature of their pool, Georgia were very impressive in all matches, including a tight match against Scotland which was lost 15-6, thus missing a bonus point narrowly, and a 41-10 loss against England, which featured a man-of-the-match performance by flanker Mamuka Gorgodze. Georgia went on to record only their second ever Rugby World Cup win against Romania, winning 25-9 with another man-of-the-match performance by Mamuka Gorgodze. Georgia finished their campaign with a strong showing against Argentina, leading 7-5 at half time before conceding 20 unanswered points to lose 25-7. Thus Georgia finished their campaign with 1 win, and 3 losses.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	BP	Pts
England	4	4	0	0	137	34	2	18
Argentina	4	3	0	1	90	40	2	14
Scotland	4	2	0	2	73	59	3	11
Georgia	4	1	0	3	48	90	0	4
Romania	4	0	0	4	44	169	0	0

14 September 2011	Scotland	15–6	Georgia	Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
18 September 2011	England	41–10	Georgia	Otago Stadium, Dunedin
28 September 2011	Georgia	25–9	Romania	Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
2 October 2011	Argentina	25–7	Georgia	Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North

Results Against Russia

Georgian national rugby team has an outstanding series of results to the Russian Rugby team. Georgia and Russia have played 16 games from which Russia managed to win only once and one match ended in a draw. Tensions between Russia and Georgia remain high after a brief war in August 2008. The ensuing battle over perception of the conflict, marked by politicians openly lambasting each other on all sides, has resulted in the scheduling of such head-to-head sporting events on neutral soil. In March 2009 in Mariupol, Ukraine, the Georgians beat the Russians 29-21 as the teams faced off for the first time since the armed conflict. The zeitgeist is one of mixed feelings. While politicians try to remain circumspect about the game, most people are vocal about its significance. Georgian Rugby Union President George Nijaradze said it's always a tough game between the teams despite friendly relations between the players because they are citizens of two rival countries. When the Russian and Georgian rugby teams played for the first time after the brief war, both teams felt immense pressure to take home a victory. Although things were calmer this time around, Lelos Head Coach Tim Lane, who hails from Australia, said "there is a type of hatred from Georgia toward Russia because of the war two years ago and their history."

Date	Tournament	Location	Home Team	Score	Away Team
23 February 2013	European Nations Cup	Sochi, Russia	Russia	9-23	Georgia
17 March 2012	European Nations Cup	Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	46-0	Russia
19 March 2011	European Nations Cup	Sochi, Russia	Russia	9–15	Georgia
20 March 2010	European Nations Cup	Trabzon, Turkey	Georgia	36–8	Russia
22 March 2009	European Nations Cup	Mariupol, Ukraine	Russia	21–29	Georgia
12 April 2008	European Nations Cup	Krasnoyarsk, Russia	Russia	12-18	Georgia
24 March 2007	European Nations Cup	Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	31-12	Russia
4 February 2006	European Nations Cup	Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	46-19	Russia
20 November 2004	European Nations Cup	Krasnodar, Russia	Russia	15-27	Georgia
20 March 2004	European Nations Cup	Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	9-3	Russia
28 November 2003	European Nations Cup	Krasnodar, Russia	Russia	13-17	Georgia
March 19, 2002	European Nations Cup	Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	12-12	Russia
4 March 2001	European Nations Cup	Krasnodar, Russia	Russia	23-25	Georgia
29 November 1998	World cup qualification	Krasnodar, Russia	Russia	17-29	Georgia
20 May 1998	World cup qualification	Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	12-6	Russia
20 October 1996	Friendly	Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	29-20	Russia
25 May 1993	Friendly	Gdansk, Poland	Russia	15-9	Georgia

 Georgia vs opponent

Men's World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 30 as of 9 December 2024

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1		South Africa	092.78
2		Ireland	090.78
3		New Zealand	090.36
4		France	088.51
5		Argentina	084.97
6		Scotland	083.34
7		England	082.31
8		Australia	081.52
9		Fiji	080.07
10		Italy	078.64
11		Wales	074.01
12		Georgia	073.85
13		Japan	072.95
14		Samoa	072.68
15		United States	070.02
16		Portugal	068.82
17		Uruguay	067.06
18		Spain	065.98
19		Tonga	065.46
20		Romania	063.01
21		Chile	061.72
22		Hong Kong	059.49
23		Canada	059.18
24		Netherlands	058.56
25		Russia	058.06
26		Namibia	057.87
27		Zimbabwe	057.16
28		Brazil	056.53
29		Belgium	056.51
30		Switzerland	056.04

1. Change from the previous week

{{{2}}}'s historical rankings

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. See or edit source data.

Opponent	Wins	Loss	Draw
Argentina		3
Belgium	1
Bulgaria	1
Canada	1	2
Chile	1	1
Croatia	1
Czech Republic	8
Denmark	1
England		2
Fiji		1
France		1
Germany	3
Ireland		3
Italy		3
Japan		2
Kazakhstan	1
Latvia	1
Luxembourg			1
Moldova	1
Morocco	1
Namibia	3	1
Netherlands	3	1
Poland		2
Portugal	11	4	2
Romania	8	8	1
Russia	15	1	1
Samoa		1
Scotland		1
South Africa		1
Spain	9	3	1
Switzerland	1
Tonga	1	1
Ukraine	9
Uruguay	2	2
United States	1	2
Zimbabwe	2	1
36 Countries	86	47	6

 Georgia vs opponent (Unofficial play)

Opponent	Wins	Loss
Argentina XV	2
Barbarians		1
Ireland Wolfhounds		1
Emerging Ireland		1
French Universities	1
Italy A	2	2
Scotland A	1	1
South Africa A		4
South Africa President's XV		1
9 Unofficial	6	11

Current Squad

Georgia 28-man squad for the 2013 end-of-year rugby union tests against Canada, United States and Samoa.

Head Coach: Milton Haig
Caps Updated: 24 October 2013

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Revaz Belkania	Hooker	(1982-12-16) 16 December 1982 (age 42)	17	Lelo Tbilissi
Simon Maissuradze	Hooker	(1986-09-14) 14 September 1986 (age 38)	19	Stade Bagnérais
Shalva Mamukashvili	Hooker	(1990-10-02) 2 October 1990 (age 34)	11	RC Armia
Levan Chilachava	Prop	(1991-08-17) 17 August 1991 (age 33)	7	Toulon
Davit Khinchagishvili	Prop	(1986-07-24) 24 July 1986 (age 38)	29	Racing Métro
Davit Kubriashvili	Prop	(1986-03-12) 12 March 1986 (age 38)	28	Stade Français
Mikheil Nariashvili	Prop	(1990-05-25) 25 May 1990 (age 34)	11	Montpellier
Zura Zhvania	Prop	(1991-09-23) 23 September 1991 (age 33)	2	Stade Français
Givi Berishvili	Lock	(1987-08-10) 10 August 1987 (age 37)	12	RC Locomotive Tbilisi
Levan Datunashvili	Lock	(1983-01-18) 18 January 1983 (age 42)	54	Aurillac
Kote Mikautadze	Lock	(1987-01-07) 7 January 1987 (age 38)	12	Toulon
Dimitri Basilaia	Flanker	(1985-11-27) 27 November 1985 (age 39)	26	Edinburgh
Mamuka Gorgodze	Flanker	(1984-07-14) 14 July 1984 (age 40)	51	Montpellier
Shalva Sutiashvili	Flanker	(1984-01-24) 24 January 1984 (age 40)	36	RC Massy
George Chkhaidze	Number 8	(1982-06-24) 24 June 1982 (age 42)	66	Tarbes
Viktor Kolelishvili	Number 8	(1989-10-09) 9 October 1989 (age 35)	21	Lyon
Giorgi Begadze	Scrum-half	(1986-03-04) 4 March 1986 (age 38)	13	RC Batumi Batumi
Vazha Khutsishvili	Scrum-half	(1992-09-02) 2 September 1992 (age 32)	6	RC Kharebi Rustavi
Merab Kvirikashvili	Fly-half	(1983-12-27) 27 December 1983 (age 41)	69	Vienne
Lasha Malaghuradze	Fly-half	(1986-01-02) 2 January 1986 (age 39)	41	Stade Bagnérais
Davit Kacharava	Centre	(1985-01-16) 16 January 1985 (age 40)	65	Yenisey-STM
Lasha Khmaladze	Centre	(1988-01-20) 20 January 1988 (age 37)	21	RC Lelo Tbilisi
Merab Sharikadze	Centre	(1993-05-17) 17 May 1993 (age 31)	16	RC Hartpury College
Tedore Zibzibadze	Centre	(1980-08-06) 6 August 1980 (age 44)	69	Périgueux
Irakli Kiasashvili	Wing	(1985-02-18) 18 February 1985 (age 39)	14	RC Aia
Irakli Machkhaneli	Wing	(1981-07-18) 18 July 1981 (age 43)	66	RC Armazi Tbilisi
Tamaz Mchedlidze	Wing	(1993-03-17) 17 March 1993 (age 31)	8	Bressane
Beka Tsiklauri	Fullback	(1989-02-09) 9 February 1989 (age 35)	9	RC Locomotive Tbilisi

Individual all-time records

Most caps

Last updated: Argentina vs Georgia, 22 June 2013. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most tries

Last updated: Argentina vs Georgia, 22 June 2013. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most points

Last updated: Argentina vs Georgia, 22 June 2013. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most points in a match

#	Player	Pos	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Merab Kvirikashvili	Full Back	32	2	11	0	0	Germany	Tbilisi	06/02/2010
2.	Paliko Jimsheladze	Fly-half	23	1	0	6	0	Russia	Krasnodar	09/03/2003
	Merab Kvirikashvili	Fly-half	23	1	9	0	0	Czech Republic	Tbilisi	07/04/2007
4.	Merab Kvirikashvili	Fly-half	22	1	1	5	0	Japan	Tbilisi	17/11/2012
5.	Malkhaz Urjukashvili	Fly-half	20	0	7	2	0	Czech Republic	Kutaisi	12/06/2005
	Lasha Malaghuradze	Fly-half	20	1	6	1	0	Spain	Madrid	28/02/2009
7.	Malkhaz Urjukashvili	Full Back	19	1	4	2	0	Spain	Tbilisi	28/10/2006
8.	Paliko Jimsheladze	Fly-half	18	0	9	0	0	Netherlands	Tbilisi	03/02/2002
	Malkhaz Urjukashvili	Wing	18	1	2	3	0	Romania	Tbilisi	06/04/2002
10.	3 players on 17 points

Last updated: Argentina vs Georgia, 22 June 2013. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most tries in a match

#	Player	Pos	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Paliko Jimsheladze	Wing	15	3	0	0	0	Bulgaria	Sofia	23/03/1995
	Archil Kavtarahvili	Wing	15	3	0	0	0	Bulgaria	Sofia	23/03/1995
	Mamuka Gorgodze	Lock	15	3	0	0	0	Czech Republic	Kutaisi	12/06/2005
	David Dadunashvili	Hooker	15	3	0	0	0	Czech Republic	Tbilisi	07/04/2007
	Malkhaz Urjukashvili	Centre	15	3	0	0	0	Czech Republic	Tbilisi	07/04/2007
	Mamuka Gorgodze	Lock	15	3	0	0	0	Spain	Tbilisi	26/04/2008
7.	41 players on 2 tries

Last updated: Argentina vs Georgia, 22 June 2013. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most matches as captain

Last updated: Argentina vs Georgia, 22 June 2013. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Youngest players

#	Player	Pos	Age	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Malkhaz Urjukashvili	Wing	17 years and 18 days	Croatia	Tbilisi	12/10/1997
2.	Irakli Chkhikvadze	(Wing)	18 years and 38 days	Chile	Tbilisi	12/11/2005
3.	Mamuka Gorgodze	(Number 8)	18 years and 223 days	Spain	Tbilisi	22/02/2003
	Otar Barkalaia	Fly-half	18 years and 223 days	Ireland	Lansdowne Road	28/09/2002
5.	Vito Kolelishvili	(Number 8)	18 years and 255 days	Italy A	Bucharest	20/06/2008
6.	Giorgi Elizbarashvili	(Wing)	18 years and 265 days	Russia	Tbilisi	13/10/2002
7.	Merab Sharikadze	Centre	18 years and 270 days	Spain	Madrid	11/02/2012
8.	Irakli Giorgadze	(Centre)	18 years and 328 days	French Universities	Tbilisi	10/11/2001
9.	Vasil Kakovin	(Hooker)	18 years and 349 days	Scotland A	Glasgow	14/11/2008
10.	Giorgi Jgenti	(Prop)	18 years and 352 days	Uruguay	Montevideo	30/10/2004

Last updated: Argentina vs Georgia, 22 June 2013. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

• Malkhaz Urjukashvili is the 9th youngest international player of all-time.

Oldest players

#	Player	Pos	Age	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Gia Labadze	Flanker	38 years and 276 days	Canada	Vancouver	23/06/2012
2.	Zurab Mtchedlishvili	Lock	35 years and 343 days	France	Marseille	30/09/2007
3.	Victor Didebulidze	Lock	35 years and 330 days	France	Marseille	30/09/2007
4.	Akvsenti Giorgadze	Hooker	35 years and 120 days	Argentina	Palmerston North	02/10/2011
5.	Irakli Abuseridze	Scrum-half	35 years and 104 days	Spain	Tbilisi	09/03/2013
6.	Ilia Zedginidze	(Lock)	34 years and 255 days	Argentina	Palmerston North	02/10/2011
7.	Rati Urushadze	Flanker	34 years and 59 days	Italy A	Palmanova	20/11/2009
8.	Bessik Khamashuridze	(Wing)	33 years and 309 days	Namibia	Bucharest	19/06/2011
9.	Mevlud Mtiulishvili	(Prop)	33 years and 301 days	Romania	Iasi	27/03/2004
10.	Goderdzi Shvelidze	(Prop)	33 years and 168 days	Argentina	Palmerston North	02/10/2011

Last updated: Argentina vs Georgia, 22 June 2013. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

• Gia Labadze is the 9th oldest international player of all-time.

Notable players

Ilia Zedginidze - He played as a Number 8 and was a lineout specialist. A member of their inaugural World Cup side in 2003, he captained Georgia in the 2007 tournament, but was forced out of the squad because of an injury. This injury ultimately led to him announcing his retirement from international rugby, after gaining 48 caps. He returned to the squad in late 2008, playing against Scotland A and taking part in the 2009 European Nations Cup, where he scored a game-saving try against Portugal on 14 February 2009.

Malkhaz Urjukashvili - Moved to France, where he has been playing in Stade Toulousain, RC Nîmes, US Tours, in 2003, RC Cannes-Mandelieu, from 2003/04 to 2006/07, in the Fédérale 2, Stade Aurillacois Cantal Auvergne, from 2007/08 to 2008/09, in the Rugby Pro D2 and Groupe Sportife Figeacois, since 2009/10, in the Fédérale 2.

He is one of the best players and scorers for Georgia, holding currently 65 caps for his National Team, with 18 tries, 42 conversions, 41 penalties and 1 drop goal, in an aggregate of 300 points. His first match was a 29-15 win over Croatia, in Tbilisi, at 12 October 1997, aged only 17 years old. This made him one of the youngest players ever to be capped at international rugby level.

He was present at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, playing three matches and scoring 2 penalties and 1 drop goal, 9 points in aggregate. In the game against England at Perth, he kicked a long range penalty that registered as Georgia's first Rugby World Cup points (England eventually won the game 84-6).

He was called once again for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, playing in all the four matches and scoring one conversion. He continued to be a valuable player in the 2011 Rugby World Cup qualification, the third Georgia gained in a row.

Mamuka Gorgodze - Switched to rugby from basketball aged 17. His first club was Lelo in the Georgian Top League, he was soon selected for the Georgia national team and made his debut in 2003 against Spain, at the age of just 18 and not long after he started playing rugby. However he wasn't selected for Georgia's first appearance at the 2003 Rugby World Cup later that year.

In 2004 he became a regular fixture for the Georgia side and then signed for Montpellier in 2005. Gorgodze started his career at Montpellier mainly as a reserve in the side and didn't get much game time. He was still a regular in the Georgia side though and was selected for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Gorgodze started three of Georgia's four matches at the World Cup, and was one of Georgia's star players.

After the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Gorgodze started playing for Montpellier a lot more regularly and was their first choice lock. Gorgodze was signed by Brive for the 2009/10 season but Gorgodze changed his mind and decided to stay at Montpellier, who were forced to pay Brive 200,000 euros to keep him.

A known weak spot for Gorgodze is his indiscipline, he has received 16 yellow cards for Montpellier since 2007. During 2010 he was banned twice for fighting, once with Sébastien Pagès against Albi and the other time with Alex Tulou against Bourgoin.

Gorgodze changed position for Georgia to the back row, and when Fabien Galthié and Eric Béchu became the new Montpellier coaches before the 2010/11 season they also converted him to the back row. Gorgodze became a revelation at flanker during this season, and halfway through the season French newspaper L'Équipe commented that he improved his technique and became a mobile and unstoppable player. Gorgodze played a big role in Montpellier finishing the 2010/11 Top 14 as runners up, and had a particularly massive match in the Top 14 semi final against Racing-Métro. At the end of the season L'Équipe named him as the best foreigner in the league.

Gorgodze was selected for the Georgia squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and played all the Georgia matches and was named man of the match in two matches, against England and Romania.

See also

• Antim Cup
• Georgia at the Rugby World Cup
• European Nations Cup
• Rugby union in Georgia
• USSR national rugby union team

Sources

• Diplomacy the key for Georgia (from BBC News)
• Barbarians beat Georgia in Tbilisi

References

1. "When Georgia's XV came of age". rwc2003.irb.com. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
2. ^ "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
3. Squad for November Tests Georgian Squad for November Tests
4. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/most_matches.html?id=81;type=team
5. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/most_tries.html?id=81;type=team
6. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/most_points.html?id=81;type=team
7. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/most_points_match.html?id=81;type=team
8. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/most_tries_match.html?id=81;type=team
9. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/most_matches_captain.html?id=81;type=team
10. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/youngest_appearance.html?id=81;type=team
11. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/youngest_appearance.html?id=1;type=class
12. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/oldest_appearance.html?id=81;type=team
13. http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/player/oldest_appearance.html?id=1;type=class
14. "Zedginidze calls time". rugbyworldcup.com. 19 September 2007.
15. "Gorgodze à Brive ?". 18 November 2008.
16. "Two French suspensions". 22 January 2010.
17. "Gorgodze et Tulou s'échangent quelques amabilités". 9 November 2010.
18. "Rétrospective 2010". 28 December 2010.
19. "Gorgodze percute, tamponne, caramélise, retourne. En plus, il franchit". 3 June 2011.

External links

• Georgia Rugby Union - Official Site
• Unofficial Georgian rugby union webpage
• Georgian rugby union news from Planet Rugby
• SOS kit aid
• World Cup Preview
• Exclusive attributes of Georgia Rugby
• Georgian Rugby Forum

v t e Symbols of Georgia
Symbols	Flag Coat of Arms Anthem Motto
Patron saints	Andrew the Apostle Virgin Mary (Theotokos) Saint George (Tetri Giorgi) Saint Nino
Crosses	Cross of Saint George Cross of Saint Nino Cross of Bolnisi
Other	Borjgali Grapevine

• Use dmy dates from September 2013
• Georgia national rugby union team