Western Georgian village hosts historical leloburti match for Easter holiday
Hosted in the Lanchkhuti municipality of the province, the match saw the two squads vie for the control of the ball that was to be delivered to their respective designated locations. In the regulations for the game, participating players are only allowed to carry the ball for five seconds before passing it, during two halves of thirty minutes each.Photo: Rustavi2 channel.
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Residents of two villages in Georgia’s west on Sunday hosted a match of leloburti, a traditional Georgian sport similar to rugby, to mark the Easter holiday, with foreign visitors and media invited to follow the contest.
The Georgian Rugby Union said the game, held annually to mark the holiday, saw Upper Shukhuti residents face their counterparts from Lower Shukhuti in the western Guria province, with the invited audience involving representatives of the World Rugby governing body and Rugby Pass news platform.
The fixture, where a heavy leather ball filled with sand and sawdust is used by players, also involved the retired Irish professional rugby player Mike McCarthy, who played for the Irish national team, Connacht and Leinster during his career.
Hosted in the Lanchkhuti municipality of the province, the match saw the two squads vie for the control of the ball that was to be delivered to their respective designated locations. In the regulations for the game, participating players are only allowed to carry the ball for five seconds before passing it, during two halves of thirty minutes each.
Observed by local press, visitors, local officials and residents, the game ended with the victory of the Upper Shukhuti team.
In comments on the fixture, Lanchkhuti Mayor Aleksandre Sarishvili said hosting it was “very important” for preserving the tradition of the historical sport designated as intangible cultural heritage in 2019 by the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia.
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