Levan Maisashvili has selected the Georgia Rugby World Cup squad 2023, with goals and expectations set high for one of the finest Georgian selections of the last decade.

Tornike Kakhoidze is the biggest surprise inclusion, making it into the 33-player team, in the same year he played and was seen as one of the best players in the U20 Rugby World Cup. 

Giorgi Chkoidze wasn’t selected as one of the three hookers taken to France because of injury. Montauban’s Otar Giorgadze, who played in the 2019 RWC in Japan, didn’t make the final cut, as new stalwart Luka Ivanishvili impressed in the last six months and will have the chance to play in his first-ever Rugby World Cup at the age of 21.

Luka Matkava, who started in the warm-up matches against Romania, United States of America, and Scotland, and Tedo Abzhandadze are the only two fly-halves picked, with Mikheil Alania (Aurillac), left out of the World Cup. 

Georgia Rugby World Cup squad 2023

Props

Mikheil Nariashvili (Black Lion)
Guram Gogichashvili (Racing 92)
Nika Abuladze (Exeter Chiefs)
Beka Gigashvili (Toulon)
Guram Papidze (Pau)
Luka Japaridze (Montpellier)

Hookers

Shalva Mamukashvili (Black Lion)
Luka Nioradze (Aurillac)
Tengiz Zamtaradze (Black Lion)

Locks

Kote Mikoutadze (Bayonne)
Nodar Cheishvili (Black Lion)
Lasha Jayani (Névers)
Lado Chachanidze (Névers)

Loose forwards

Beka Saghinadze (Lyon)
Beka Gorgadze (Pau)
Giorgi Tsutskiridze (Stade Français)
Tornike Jalaghonia (Biarritz)
Mikheil Gachechiladze (Black Lion)
Luka Ivanishvili (Black Lion)

Scrum-halves

Vasil Lobzhanidze (Brive)
Gela Aprasidze (Bayonne)
Tengiz Peranidze (Black Lion)

Fly-halves

Tedo Abzhandadze (Montauban)
Luka Matkava (Black Lion)

Centres

Merab Sharikadze (Black Lion)
Tornike Kakhoidze (Black Lion)
Demur Tapladze (Black Lion)
Giorgi Kveseladze (Gloucester)

Wings

Akaki Tabutsadze (Black Lion)
Aleksandre Todua (Black Lion)\
Mirian Modebadze (Black Lion)

Full-backs

Davit Niniashvili (Lyon)
Lasha Khmaladze (Black Lion)

Georgia Rugby World Cup Pool

Georgia have been drawn in Rugby World Cup Pool C alongside Australia, Portugal, Fiji and Wales.

Their group stage fixtures are as follows:

Sat 9 Sept Australia v Georgia  (Stade de France, Saint-Denis)

Sat 23 Sept Georgia v Portugal (Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)

Sat 30 Sept Fiji v Georgia (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)

Sat 7 Oct Wales v Georgia (Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)

The knockout stages will follow the same format as previous years, with teams from Pools A and B then Pools C and D meeting in the quarter-finals. So Wales and England could meet in the last eight, for example.

QF1 – Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D
QF2 – Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A
QF3 – Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C
QF4 – Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B

Then the semi-finals will be the Winner of QF1 v Winner QF2 and the Winner QF3 v Winner QF4.

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