Georgia’s rugby team in London to train against England
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Georgia’s national rugby team is in the United Kingdom to train with England, in a rare opportunity for the Lelos to face top-tier competition.
Nearly 30 players of the Georgian team travelled to London on Sunday for a three-day training program pitting them against the top second team in the World Rugby ranking.
First proposed by the hosts’ head coach Eddie Jones last year, the training sessions received the green light from rugby authorities of both sides in recent months.
"We want to have the best scrum in the world." England forwards to take on Georgian counterparts in training this week. Full story: https://t.co/D2ilCCjA5Jpic.twitter.com/dd85aRTBQH
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 11, 2018
Jones’ initiative is aimed at testing the English team against the scrum of the Lelos, which the Australian called "the strongest scrum pack in the world” In a conversation with The Telegraph last month.
In the interview, Jones cited the physical prowess of the Georgian team as an opportunity for his squad to improve their game for the bid of winning a record-breaking third Six Nations title in a row.
On his part, Georgia’s head coach Milton Haig cited the opportunity to learn from the host team’s organisation and management, among other topics.
Haig also told reporters his coaching team wanted to benefit more from the sessions than simply help Jones’ team in their training goals.
The New Zealander said the format for the training that resulted from the talks was designed to provide both sides with opportunities.
Georgia scored seven tries to cruise past Belgium with a score 47-0 on Saturday in Kutaisi. Photo: Gogita Bukhaidze/Georgian Rugby.
One detail that changed in the talks since the interview was the place of the proposed trainings, amended from Georgia to England.
For England, the joint sessions come in the week following their 12-6 win against Wales on Saturday, while Georgia crushed Belgium in a Rugby Europe match that ended 47-0 in western Georgian city of Kutaisi the same day.
The Lelos have been looking for opportunities to play against the world’s top sides to build on their momentum of constantly improving results in recent years.
This has included pushing for a place in the Six Nations tournament in the wake of the country's recent progress on the European rugby scene.
While the elite competition remains closed for teams like Georgia and Romania, Haig and his management team have booked friendly matches and trainings with high-ranking sides.
Georgia will face Australia as well as Wales among other competitors in their 2019 Rugby World Cup pool.
The Georgian ‘Lelos’ will have warm up matches against the Scottish rugby team ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Rugby correspondent of the Scottish Daily Mail Rob Robertson tweeted that the game was to be held in Tbilisi.
Georgia's junior national rugby team will have the opportunity to face leading Six Nations teams starting next year, following an initiative by organisers of the prestigious tournament to invite the Junior Lelos for a new competition.
Georgian national rugby team will face world’s number three team Australia as well as Wales among other competitors in their 2019 Rugby World Cup pool.
The first video of Georgia's national rugby team training with their counterparts from the England squad has emerged on the web, showing the massive scrum of the Lelos facing the hosts in London.
Georgia’s national rugby team captain Giorgi Nemsadze will be part of Wales’ Ospreys Rugby club efforts to qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup over the rest of the season after signing for the Swansea-based team.
Scotland’s national rugby team will become the first Tier 1 side to travel to Georgia for a test game against the hosts this summer. The two teams will spar in the run-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup with two matches, the first of which will be held on Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi.
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.
Georgia’s national rugby team is in Oxford for training with England, in a rare opportunity for the Lelos to face top-tier opposition outside of international competitions.