Georgia’s captain picked for World Rugby Team of the Year

The captain of Georgia's national rugby team has been honoured for incredible performances on the pitch this year and named in the World Rugby Team of the Year by sports website www.allsportsnews.co.uk.

Mamuka Gorgodze’s leading role on and off the field for his French club and national side was one of the reasons why he was selected in the website’s "dream team”, which included 14 other players who had shined during the 2015 rugby season.

Gorgodze typically played No. 8 for Georgia but was selected in the No. 6 position, which he occupied in his French club Toulon. This selection allowed the sports website to accommodate Australia's David Pocock as No.8 on the "dream team” list.

Gorgodze was nominated Man of the Match for his World Cup performance against eventual world champions New Zealand. Photo by Martin Seras Lima.

Published on Monday, the 2015 "dream team" was mostly based on player performances during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Gorgodze’s impressive performance was noted by many, and he was named Man of the Match in the game against eventual world champions New Zealand.

Whatever the country’s level, any player who leads a national side in terms of carries, clean breaks, tackles, offloads and turnovers in a World Cup pool-stage is clearly something special and Gorgodze did just that in England in the autumn," said the website while announcing its Team of the Year.

Gorgodze's inclusion in the "dream team” was also influenced by his performances for Toulon in their European Rugby Champions Cup victory in May.

The Team of the Year is dominated by players by world cup winners New Zealand, with no less than six of the All Blacks team represented on the list. Australia, South Africa and Argentina each have two players included, while Japan and England has one player each.

Gorgodze was also named in the World Cup Dream Team and team of the tournament's opening weekend for his consistent performance leading the Georgian side and his performance across a number of indicators.

See the full www.allsportsnews.co.uk World Rugby Team of the Year here.