Georgia to host celebrated French Barbarian rugby team

Georgia’s national rugby team will face a new type of opponent next week, when the Barbarian Rugby Club, recognised as France’s second national team, travels to Tbilisi for the contest.

The match, set to feature some of the most high-calibre players from the French national championship, will see the two teams face each other at Dinamo Arena on May 31.

Involving athletes invited from French clubs to play in the team, the Barbarians were established in 1979 around an ethos of offensive, open rugby.

The Barbarian Rugby Club defeated New Zealan's second national team last year. Photo: Barbarian Rugby Club.

The Lelos head coach Milton Haig noted the test posed by the playing style of the visitors for his players, but also said the encounter would benefit the Georgians’ experience.

The visiting side see their spirit of rugby as "a love of the game devoid of pressure, be it about sport, economy or media”.

Founded to replicate the model of the British Barbarian F.C. team, they aim to "attack from every possible, or even impossible, position” in their fixtures.

In another distinctive feature of the club, its players wear socks from their respective clubs' kits, instead of uniform design and colour.

The French team holds fixtures against other national sides, with the most recent encounter against Maori All Blacks, their counterparts from New Zealand, coming in 2017.

Defeating their famed opponents with a score 19:15, the Barbarians celebrated their second straight victory following a 2016 game against Wallaby XV of Australia.

For the Lelos, the May 31 match will be their first home international match during a summer season in three years.

The Georgia-Barbarian club game will be held ahead of the hosts’ calendar of international fixtures this year and the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.