After a hot summer, the Georgian rugby union members will play three high-profile Test matches in November.
It has already been officially confirmed that they will open the autumn series against New Zealand’s second team, the All Blacks XV, on November 10, Italy on November 17, and Tonga on November 24.
November starts in Montpellier
Athletes play the New Zealand All Blacks XV in Montpellier, France. It should be noted that in the 35-year history of independent Georgian rugby, they have never played against the New Zealand team outside of the World Cup. At the World Cup, athletes met the All Blacks in 2015 and the future champion won 43:10, although the game of the Georgians was generally appreciated and the best player of the match was the legend of Georgian rugby, Mamuka Gorgodze.
As for the All Blacks XV, it was formed in 2022 and features the nearest reserve of the first team, with the aim of winning every game. The All Blacks XV play two games each year and have won three of their four meetings so far. In 2022, in their debut match, they defeated Ireland A 47:19, and a week later lost to the Barbarians 31:35.
Last year, the Zealanders visited Japan and first defeated its second team 38:6, and then they beat the national team 41:27. Before the game against the Georgian rugby players, the All Blacks XV will meet the Irish “Munster” on November 2.
The game against Italy has been confirmed as the earliest of the November test matches and has been written about more than once. We remind you that the game will start on November 17 in Genoa, Georgia time at 17:40.
With Tonga in Tbilisi
The players will play the final game of the year in front of their own fans in Tbilisi and host Tonga on November 24. This will be the eighth meeting between these teams and the islanders will visit Georgia for the fourth time.
The first meeting between these teams took place back in 1999. In the qualifying stage of the World Cup, Tongans won 37:6 on their own field. Three weeks later, a rematch took place at the “National Stadium” – 28:27, but in the sum of the two meetings, the rival went to the World Cup.
In 2014, Tonga visited Georgia for the second time, this time for a test match and won 23:9. Since then, four more games have been played, and in all of them, the victory was left to the Georgian rugby players.
One of the main fights took place at the 2015 World Cup. Georgians won 17:10 against Tonga in a tense battle in the debut match of the tournament, won their second victory at the World Cup that year and held the best tournament so far.
In 2016 and 2018, we played the Tongels twice in Fiji, in Suva, and Georgian athletes won both times with a small difference – 23:20 and 16:15. In 2018, Tonga visited Georgia once in Tbilisi and got defeated at “Mikhail Meskhi” with a record difference, 20:9.
Thus, out of 7 meetings held with Tonga, Georgia won 5 and lost 2 matches. Georgian rugby players scored 119 points and 11 tries against the opponent, while they scored 141 points and 17 tries.
Rugby.ge
Georgian rugby union will hold three high-level test matches
