 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Georgia national rugby league team" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Team information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | 13 Georgians | |
| Governing body | Georgia Rugby League | |
| Region | Europe | |
| Mostcaps | Giorgi Assatiani (6) Aleksandre Guilauri (6) | |
| Top try-scorers | Lexo Gugava (4) Merab Kvirikashvili (4) | |
| Top point-scorer | Merab Kvirikashvili (46) | |
| Uniforms | ||
| ||
| Team results | ||
| First international | ||
 Netherlands 14–34Georgia  (Rotterdam,Netherlands; 29 April 2005) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
| Georgia 57–16Netherlands (Tbilisi,Georgia; 26 May 2006) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
 France 60–0Georgia (Tbilisi,Georgia; 30 October 2005) | ||
| World Cup | ||
| Appearances | 0 | |
TheGeorgia national rugby league team representedGeorgia inrugby league football. It played its first international game in 2005.[1] The Georgian team play in a red jersey with a white cross on the front. Before a match, they performed their own "haka", called the Perkhuli (meaning "footwork").
The history ofrugby league in Georgia began in 1991 when a Georgian player was recruited by aRussian rugby league club. In 1993 a rural Georgianrugby union club team defected to theRussian Rugby League; the club and all of its players were banned from playing rugby union for life.[citation needed]
In 2004 Paata Tsintsadze established rugby league in Georgia, with the backing of theRugby League European Federation. In June 2004 the Georgia Rugby League (GRL) was incorporated, and recognised by the State Sports Ministry. Nodar Andghuladze was the first Chief Executive Officer and David Kilassonia the coaching manager. Soon after rugby union clubsLocomotivi (Railways RC) andHooligana RC joined the GRL, alongside a third club, the newly foundedRaindebi (Knights).
Georgia played its first international match on April 29, 2005 againstNetherlands inRotterdam. Most of the Georgian team were primarily rugby union players, several playing their first organised match of rugby league. The first international match on Georgian soil took place on July 24, 2005 at Dynamo Stadium,Tbilisi. In that match Georgia defeatedSerbia 44–12 in front of 8000 spectators.
After winning a position to compete in the2005 European Nations Cup, Georgia performed admirably againstRussia, going down 48 to 14. After the defeat, Georgia took on six-time European ChampionsFrance, going down 60 to nil, in a rain soakedVake Stadium in Georgia.
In 2006, Georgia defeated theNetherlands andSerbia in the first round of World Cup Qualifying and thereby qualified to participate in the second round with Scotland and Wales. The winner of that pool would qualify for the2008 World Cup, with the runner up entering the Repecharge round.
However, their final first round fixture against Russia was abandoned after the Georgian team had their visa applications rejected. A subsequent investigation discovered that Georgia had actually forfeited the match because their players were representingtherugby union team. Georgia were found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute, ejected from the competition and banned from RLIF events for two years; Russia were awarded the fixture 24–0.
Rugby league has not been played in Georgia since, and no plans are in place to resume competition.
For matches played by theSoviet Union and theCommonwealth of Independent States, seeRussia national rugby league team
| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 April 2005 | Netherlands | 34 – 14 | 2005 European Nations Cup qualifying | Hoekse Boys FC,Rotterdam | 327 |
| 24 July 2005 |  Serbia | 44 – 12 | Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena,Tbilisi | 8,000 | |
| 23 October 2005 |  Russia | 14 – 48 | 2005 European Nations Cup | Luzhniki Stadium,Moscow | 500 |
| 30 October 2005 | France | 0 – 60 | Vake Stadium,Tbilisi | 400 | |
| 13 May 2006 | Serbia | 45 – 10 | 2008 World Cup qualifying | Radnički Stadium,Belgrade | |
| 26 May 2006 | Netherlands | 57 – 16 | Mikheil Meskhi Stadium,Tbilisi | 10,935 | |
| 22 June 2006 | Russia | 0 – 24 | – |
| Men | |
|---|---|
| Women | |
| Mixed | |
