Georgian Rugby Gets Royal Appreciation

HRH Prince Harry, who is honorary president of England 2015, vice-patron of the RFU and patron of the RFU All School’s Program, attended the Namibia vs Georgia rugby match, before the game meeting a group of 16-24 year olds who had gone through the Rugby Empowering Employment Program. He witnessed Georgia make history and automatically qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup after beating Namibia 17-16.

Georgia‘s form this World Cup has been impressive so far – a shock win over Tonga before a hard-fought loss to Argentina and a relentless display to give World Champions New Zealand a scare. Namibian captain　Jacque Burger and Georgian general Mamuka Gorgodze both make their 11th World Cup appearances, beating their respective nations’ records. After a great competition so far, Gorgodze will likely have a massive impact on the outcome of this game. The Georgia national rugby union team, nicknamed The Lelos or Men of Borjgali, 　 represent the Georgian international　rugby union in Georgia and are take part in the annual European nation championship　and participates in the　Rugby world cup which takes place every four years. The most experienced Georgian line-up ever was selected for this year’s Rugby World Cup. The Lelos will line up at Sandy Park in Exeter with 693 Test caps, beating the 654 selected for the 43-10 loss to New Zealand last Friday. Coach Haig has made seven changes to his forward pack and a further positional change, with captain Mamuka Gorgodze keeping his place but moving back to No 8. 18-year-old Vasil Lobzhanidze, the World Cup’s youngest ever player, returns to the starting XV at scrum-half along with inside center Merab Sharikadze and full-back Merab Kvirikashvili, who wins his 88th Test cap and should extend his national team scoring record beyond 660 points. In another positional change, Tamaz Mchedlidze moves from inside center to his preferred spot on the right wing.

The Georgian players managed to hold on to their single-point lead and earn a historic win that is almost certain to guarantee them a spot in Japan in four years’ time.

Nini Gegidze