Rugby union in Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rugby union is a popular team sport played in Georgia. Rugby union is considered the second most popular sport in Georgia, after football (soccer).

Contents 1 History 2 Governing body 3 Competitions 4 Popularity 5 National team 5.1 World Cup 5.2 European Nations Cup 5.3 The Antim Cup 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] History

There were several unsuccessful attempts to introduced rugby union into Georgia, the earliest being in 1928, with subsequent attempts also in 1940 and in 1948. It is thought that rugby was introduced to Georgia by Jacques Haspekian, a man from Marseille in France who taught the game to students in the late 1950s through to the mid 1960s, although he subsequently then returned to France. The first ever rugby session was held on October 15, 1959 in Tbilisi, at the racecourse, where 20 people attended the meeting. The first Georgian club formed was the GPI (Georgian Polytechnical Institute), now knows as Qochebi.

In 1961, a three team domestic competition was formed, called the Tbilisi Championship. The following year the first match between a Georgian team and a Russian team took place, with Trud Moscow defeating the Georgian club. That year Georgia clubs also went on their first tours, going to Russia and Latvia. The following year the first Soviet Trade-Union tournament was held. In 1964 the Tbilissi Rugby Section became known as the Georgia Rugby Federation. From the mid 1960s, the Soviet Championship and the Soviet Cup were introduced for competitive club competition between Soviet rugby clubs, wiith the first competition being held in 1966. The Georgian clubs were formed as regional selections fed by student teams. The best players would go onto to make the USSR team.

A Moscow team won the first Soviet Championship, though Dymano from Tbilisi came in second place. In 1967 a French trade-union selection visited Georgia. It would not be until 1978, in the Soviet Cup (which was introduced in 1976) that a Georgian team would finish first, which was Locomotivi from Tbilissi. Georgian teams dominated the Soviet Championship and the Soviet Cup in the late 1980s with Kutaissi winning the championship in 1987 and 1988 and Aia Kutaissi winning in 1989, with Aia Kutaissi also winning the cup in 1990. In 1988 Georgia produced their first national sevens side.

The following year, Georgia played their first international match, against Zimbabwe, and won 16 to 3. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia formed their own national team (though a CIS team played in the early 1990s) and applied for International Rugby Football Board (now, International Rugby Board) membership. In 1993 the IFRB accepted Georgia as a federation member, making them the 52nd member.

In 1994 the Gumari were formed, being the Georgian Barbarians, and they went onto tour France. The following year saw the inauguration of the Sini competition. Their 1998 loss to Romania saw Georgia face Tonga in a repechage match to enter the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. Georgia lost and thus did not make it to the World Cup. Though in 2001 they won the European Nations Cup, and became the 7th highest ranked team in Europe. They subsequently got through the qualifying stages for the next World Cup, and made it to Australia for the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

[edit] Governing body

The governing body for rugby union in Georgia is the Georgia Rugby Union. It was founded in 1961 and became an official affiliate to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1992.

[edit] Competitions

The Georgia Championship is the domestic rugby union club competition in Georgia.

[edit] Popularity

Rugby union is one of the most popular sports in Georgia. Rugby, as in France, is especially popular in the south of the country where the game is more popular than football (soccer). The popularity of rugby union largely took off after the Georgia Rugby Union's inception into the IRB. This has seen rugby union become a major spectator sport. When Georgia played Russia in the European Nations Cup, 65,000 people crammed into the national stadium in Tbilisi and another 44,000 watched Georgia beat Russia 17-13.

[edit] National team

Main article: Georgia national rugby union team

The Lelos (as they are nicknamed) are the national rugby union team of Georgia. The team's name comes from lelo, an indigenous Georgian sport with strong similarities to rugby. Lelo has been adopted as the Georgian word for "try". One standard cheer of Georgian rugby union fans is Lelo, Lelo, Sakartvelo (Try, Try, Georgia). The Lelos participate in the European Nations Cup, which is a second-level competition for European national teams. The majority of the national side are based in France, in the lower divisions, having been sent there to improve their rugby skills and facilitate their development by coach Claude Saurel.

[edit] World Cup

Prior to the 2003 Rugby World Cup Georgia have failed to qualify for any previous tournaments, despite coming close in 1999 after losing a two legged repechage play-off against Tonga. On that occasion Georgia lost the first leg 37-6 in Nuku’Alofa before recording a 28-27 win in Tbilisi. Georgia then bounced back to defeat Russia 17-13 to qualify for the subsequent 2003 Rugby World Cup. They lost all four of their matches but impressed against South Africa. Despite the poor financial state of the Georgia Rugby Union, qualification has seen the sport's profile enjoy a huge rise in popularity throughout Georgia.

[edit] European Nations Cup

The European Nations Cup is a second-level competition for tier-two European nations. Initially started as a one-year competition, the championship is now decided over two years with each team playing each other on a home and away basis. Georgia have won the competition on one occasions in 2001.

[edit] The Antim Cup

The Antim Cup is contested between Georgia and Romania. The cup is contested each time Georgia and Romania meet in a senior international match other than World Cup matches or qualifiers. The holder retains the cup unless the challenger wins the match in normal time. It is named after the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Antim Iverianul, who came from Georgia.

[edit] See also

• Georgia Rugby Union
• Georgia national rugby union team
• Georgia at the Rugby World Cup
• Rugby league in Georgia

[edit] External links

• (Georgian) Georgia Rugby Union (official site)
• Unofficial Georgian rugby union webpage
• Georgian rugby union news from Planet Rugby