Covid positives see Lelos' rugby test against Scotland cancelled
The test against Scotland was anticipated as a rare opportunity for the Lelos to face tier 1 opposition. Image via Georgia Rugby Union.
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The Georgian national rugby team will not play Scotland in Tbilisi next week after Covid tests returned positive results for a number of squad players and head coach Levan Maisashvili.
Georgia Rugby Union revealed on Friday the game against the Scots, initially planned for July 17, would not go ahead as planned due to the eight-day self-isolation rule after returning to Georgia from South Africa, where they faced the World Rugby Champions on July 2.
The Lelos' second planned match against the Springboks on July 9 was subsequently cancelled due to positive Covid tests among both squads, placing the Scotland game in question as well.
The upcoming summer Test against @GeorgianRugby has been cancelled due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Georgian squad.
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) July 9, 2021
The Scotland team had safely returned to graduated training this week, but players will today be released back to their respective clubs.
The Union said Maisashvili's team would be prevented from training and preparing for the July 17 match due to self-isolation, meaning the planned test - much anticipated as another opportunity for the Georgian team to face a tier 1 opponent - was cancelled.
Vice-president Bacho Khurtsidze said the Georgian squad was "very unlucky" with three earlier positives, compounded by three more infections two days later. The national body official added there was a risk of other players also having picked up the virus but not yet displaying the signs.
Khurtsidze also revealed the Union wanted to postpone the Scotland fixture by a week, however the date conflicted with the World Rugby window for international tests.
The Union will now switch to preparations for games involving Black Lion, the first Georgian rugby franchise club set to play matches in the new European competition Rugby Europe Super Cup in September, as well as national team fixtures afterwards.