Rugby: Georgia automatically qualifies for Japan 2019 RWC (VIDEO)

Georgia’s national rugby team has made history and automatically qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

The Lelos claimed their first ever automatic RWC qualification after current world champions New Zealand defeated Tonga in last night’s Pool C game. This result meant Georgia ranked third in Pool C, giving them the honour of being among the top 12 rugby teams worldwide. 

The Georgian team won their first and last RWC 2015 games against Tonga and Namibia but were defeated by Argentina and New Zealand. This marked the first time in the team’s history when the Lelos gained two victories in a World Cup.

The Lelos returned home in the early hours of October 9 and were warmly welcomed by local fans at Tbilisi International Airport. 

Hundreds of Georgian fans gathered at the airport to celebrate their favourite team’s international success and thank the players and coaches for the great performance they showed in Great Britain.

Georgian fans applaud at Milton Haig, head coach of the Georgian national rugby team, on his return from the Rugby World Cup at Tbilisi International Airport. Photo by T. Kulumbegashvili.

Meanwhile after the Pool C matches, world rugby officials talked about the "immense progress” Georgia had shown during the tough competition; French media even recognised Georgia’s captain Mamuka Gorgodze as the best player of the 2015 Rugby World Cup 2015.

Looking ahead Georgia will have four years to continue training before the next RWC Japan in 2019.

Meanwhile the competition is continuing in the United Kingdom for the teams playing their final pool matches and those that qualified for the quarter final stage of the competition. The quarter-final matches will be played next weekend, the semi-final games will be played the weekend of October 24-25 and the final on October 31.