TRANSFER | Leicester sign 73-cap international for next season
Rugby NewsMonday, 02 March 2020 at 11:04
Georgian front-rower Shalva Mamukashvili will join Leicester Tigers ahead of the 2020/21 season after agreeing a move to the East Midlands club.
The 29-year-old has made 73 Test appearances for The Lelos since his international debut in 2011 and represented his home nation at both the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups.
Mamukashvili’s career began in Georgia as a 17-year-old with RC Kochebi, from where he was selected for the national side, before moving to Armia Tbilisi for four seasons.
In 2014, he was signed by Sale Sharks and spent a season in the English Premiership before stints in Scotland with the Glasgow Warriors, France with Montpellier, Toulon and US Carcassonne.
During his time with Toulon, the front-rower worked with current Tigers assistant coach Mike Ford.
Mamukashvili moved home to Georgia in 2018 to join Locomotive before linking up with Enisei-STM ahead of representing Georgia at the recent Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy said the addition of Mamukashvili to Leicester’s front-row stocks was an exciting prospect.
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“Shalva is a well-travelled, experienced young man who offers us a unique, exciting option in the front-row,” said Murphy.
“This club has welcomed front-rowers from all over the globe and we’re confident Shalva can be another international success story for us at Tigers.
“Nobody plays 70-odd Test matches and for the quality outfits that Shalva has, unless you are a hard-working, motivated professional and in the conversations and meetings we have had with him, we’ve seen that in spades.
“Supporters should be excited about Shalva’s arrival and what he will bring to this club, on and off the pitch.”
HIGHEST PAID RUGBY PLAYERS - 2020
highest paid rugby players
Here are the 20 richest rugby players in the world for 2020
20. Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks) - £500,000
The Springbok playmaker enters the list after signing a new contract with the Premiership club.
19. Paddy Jackson (London Irish) - £500,000
The number 10 reportedly earns more than his ex-international teammate Sean O'Brien at the Exiles, who pockets a hefty £450,000 wage packet.
18. Sergio Parisse (Toulon) - £500,000
Italy’s captain has been a star for more years than most can remember and continues to be paid big money for his services at No.8 by Toulon.
17. Kieran Read (Toyota Verblitz) - £519,000
16. Finn Russell (Racing 92) - £535,000
Doubled his money by succeeding Carter at Racing 92 after switching from Glasgow Warriors with the Scottish Rugby Union unable to come anywhere near matching the money he was offered by the Top 14 club.
15. Johnny Sexton (Leinster) - £536,000
12=. Rhys Webb (Toulon) - £550,000
His Wales career sadly ended when he signed for Toulon from the Ospreys with Webb not having enough caps to continue to be picked by Warren Gatland. However, a big pay packet in France will provide some consolation for the ace scrum-half.
12=. Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers) - £550,000
The powerhouse centre signed a contract extension early in 2019, believed to be around a 25 per cent increase on his previous £450,000-a-year deal that will net him more than £1m over the next two seasons, to see him stay at Welford Road until the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
12=. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) - £550,000
The Scotland fullback was the highest paid player at Glasgow Warriors (£350,000) but added another healthy chunk to his pay-packet by joining the Premiership side.
11. Morgan Parra (Clermont Auvergne) - £570,000
The Clermont Auvergne scrum-half star is a precious commodity in France because he’s also a top-class goal-kicker and is a hugely popular figure with the country's rugby watchers.
10. Michael Hooper (NSW Waratahs) - £572,000
9. Nicolas Sanchez (Stade Francais) - £581,000
Argentina’s No.10 play-maker has been lured from home and the Jaguares Super Rugby franchise by a massive deal to sign for Stade Francais in 2018.
8. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints) - £600,000
Biggar is the brains behind an impressive Welsh backline. Left his home country to take up a huge deal with the Northampton Saints.
7. Steve Luatua (Bristol Bears) - £650,000
Didn't make any friends within the All Blacks hierarchy when he decided to cash in on his extreme rugby talent, signing for Bristol. Has since signed a contract extension.
6. Owen Farrell (Saracens) - £750,000
He a points-machine with England and Saracens, and the outside-half or inside-centre is one of England's best paid players.
5.Maro Itoje (Saracens) - £800,000
According to RugbyPass his new salary is somewhere in the region of £750,000 to £1 million – making him England’s highest paid player.
3=. Hander Pollard (Montpellier) - £1m
The Springbok reportedly tripled his salary when he departed the Bulls to join Top 14 side Montpellier earlier this year.
3=. Charles Piutau (Bristol Bears) - £1m
The former All Black full-back or wing, who surprised many by leaving New Zealand before reaching the peak of his powers, has allegedly became British rugby’s first million pound man when he moved to Ashton Gate in 2018.
1=. Dan Carter (Kobe Steelers) - £1.1m
He may have been on £1.4m at Racing 92, but Dan Carter isn’t getting a bad wage off Japanese club Kobe Steelers. In 2018, he was named MVP and guided them to the Top League title
1=. Matt Giteau (Suntory Sungoliath) - £1.1m
Money doesn’t seem to be an object in Japan with the country’s top clubs being company enterprises.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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