Beach Rugby Blossoming in Batumi

As the Georgian Beach Rugby Federation prepares to host the Batumi Beach Rugby Festival 2015 on July 25-26, England’s Anthony Lynn will arrive in the country pleased to see the continuing growth of an occasion that started out as his brainchild eight years ago.

Originally from Northallerton in the northern English county of Yorkshire, Lynn now finds himself living in the rugby heartland of Gloucestershire, a fitting location for a man immersed in the oval ball game.

Now working as Grassroots Director of Touraid, an organization which uses the medium of rugby to assist vulnerable children in the developing world, it was during a previous role that Lynn arrived at the idea of a beach rugby tournament in Georgia.

“I was on a visit to Georgia　whilst I was working with a charity IRB SOS kit aid helping less advantaged children with rugby kit. We had just finished a tournament in Poti and had a swim in the black sea then chatted to some of the coaches about my experiences of beach rugby in Italy and its　place in rugby　development and the idea was born,” recalls Lynn.

And since then, the Georgian Beach Rugby Union has been established and staged several summer tournaments, attracting one team from the UK this year – the Bulldogs, of which Lynn himself is a member.

The Bulldogs, made up of players from all across England and Wales, adopt an “attitude over ability” approach and Lynn outlines the club’s plans for a wholesome week in Georgia.

“One of the main ethos of the Bulldogs Rugby is helping local communities when we go on tour. While we are in Georgia,　we are going to coach rugby with Rheas Union which has projects throughout Georgia that help children with special needs and to help them with　integration into Georgian society. They have a base in Tbilisi at Rheas Squirrels Cafй. Then doing the same in Batumi with the Mayor’s office working with children with special needs,” states the Englishman.

Other teams at this year’s event include teams from Kutaisi and Tbilisi with VTB Bank and ProCredit Bank both represented, in addition to sides from the host city Batumi as well.

Lynn recognizes the passion for rugby in Georgia and acknowledges that his idea would never have come to fruition without the dedication of many Georgians.

One such devoted Georgian is the Georgian Beach Rugby Union’s Zura Dugladze, who also works for rugby equipment supplier Rhino, and he hopes that the event, which will involve ten teams this year, can attract more interest from abroad in the coming years.

“Next year we’ll have a women’s competition, and we have already had some interest from Kazakhstan and Ukraine. If we are organized well in advance then this improves the chances of bringing in more times from abroad. For example, the UK amateur teams are really organized and sometimes have their calendars arranged a year in advance, clearly Georgians are a bit different in this regard!” said Dugladze, whose wife Pam Kemsley, an experienced amateur rugby player herself, is also contributing to the event.

Her company Education and Training International Georgia will be assisting with guests and providing translation where necessary. Other partners of the event include WMTR and Kemsley Tours.

The main organizers though are the Georgian Rugby Union, the Georgian Beach Rugby Union and the Batumi Municipality whose Deputy Chairman Irakli Chavleishvili speaks enthusiastically about the beach rugby event.

“It is growing in popularity every year and the municipality supports various sports, as you can see in the city, especially rugby,” said Chavleishvili.

Indeed, after many years of Batumi’s rugby team having to play ‘home’ matches outside the city, construction of a 2500-capacity stadium is well underway in the city, with a beach rugby stadium being built next door.

There are great similarities between an ancient Georgian game known as Lelo (after which the national team are nicknamed, also the name for a try in rugby in Georgian) but Chavleishvili asserts that rugby was properly established in the country in the 19th century, courtesy of touring British navy personnel who played with local Georgians in Poti and Batumi.

Many years on, that British-Georgian rugby connection remains alive and well as shown by the efforts of Lynn and his Bulldogs, which now have a Georgian edition.

“We have also helped launch a Georgian Bulldogs team to create links with our team and hopefully support them with equipment and of course they’ll play with the same ethos. Next year we are looking to bring a women’s squad to play a 7s and beach rugby to help support women’s rugby in Georgia. We want to continue our great bond with Georgia and rugby,” added Lynn.

Of course, all rugby enthusiasts are looking forward to the World Cup which starts in September in England and Lynn will be perhaps the most interested of the locals when Georgia play their opening match against Tonga only a few miles from his home.

“For me personally, it’s going to be great to see Georgia play in the RWC2015 at my local world cup venue at Kingsholm in Gloucester and seeing some of my rugby friends in England,” said the upbeat Lynn whose club produced an excellent short video of last year’s tournament.

The video was dedicated to the memory of Guram Gugenishvili, the celebrated kickboxer who was killed in a car accident earlier this year. Gugenishvili had competed at last year’s beach rugby event.

Alastair Watt