Georgia have taken monumental steps in their continued push for recognition, as their U20s side recorded a historic win over England U20s today in Tbilisi.
Georgia’s U20s secured a dramatic 40-38 victory over England’s next generation, in a result which has once again started the conversation for Georgia’s status as a Tier 1 rugby nation. Georgia have now levelled and drawn the two-match series with the England U20s, after the first close-fought contest ended 41-38 to England.
The Georgian national team have previously taken to social media, and posted out a call for support to the word-wide rugby community. Georgia posted an appeal to join the Six Nations, with the message ‘let us play outside the box’.
Georgia are the dominant force in the Rugby Europe Championship (the division below the Six Nations) and calls have never been louder for a annual promotion-relegation play off match between the two competitions. Georgia have dominated the opposition since the league adapted it’s modern format, with 15 titles since the year 2000.
This u20s result sees Georgia reinforce their claim for top tier recognition. This comes along with Georgian club The Black Lion’s rumoured to be joining the EPCR Challenge Cup for the 2023/24 season.
Georgia enter the upcoming Rugby World Cup, as the 11th highest ranked men’s side in the world. They have significant distance between Six Nations occupiers Italy, who are currently ranked 14th. Georgia pose a genuine threat to Pool C, and could be set to disrupt Wales and Australia’s progression out of the group.
As recently as November 2022, Georgia recorded a memorable 12-13 victory over Wales, in what was the nail in the coffin for Wayne Pivac’s time in charge. Levan Maisashvili’s side could well replicate that feat in France, and send Warren Gatland’s side crashing out of the competition.
Georgia will certainly be viewing the upcoming Rugby World Cup as a platform to stake their claim for recognition, and if the senior side can replicate their U20s success, then it surly can’t be long until ‘The Lelos’ are entered into the Six (or possibly even Seven) Nations.