Lelo’s Rugby waits patiently for Russia

On Feb. 6, Dynamo Stadium in Tbilisi was under snow. Despite the brutal cold and snowy conditions, the Georgian National rugby team played and pummeled Germany. The game was for the European Nations Cup but it also determined the European qualification for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Georgians lead throughout the match. There was a Georgian penalty that gave three points to Germany at the 37th minute. In the end, Georgia won 77 to 3. Later, the German team said that the Georgians played perfectly.

During the match, supported by loud waves of “Sakartvelo, Sakartvelo!,” the Georgian team seemed to improve its tactics. Tim Lane, the trainer, explained during the press conference that his players made many improvements during the game.

At 5 am the next day, players flew to France to continue training before meeting Portugal on Feb. 13.
Lelos has one objective: to be ready to face Russia, the next major opponent, on March, 20, in Trabzon, Turkey.

Ia Khurtsilava, the development Committee Secretary of the Georgian Rugby Union, said the game against Russia won’t be normal. “It’s more politics than sport,” she said.

“They have been training for two months already in South Africa,” player David Khinchagishvili said about Russia. “Within 17 years, they only managed to draw twice against us.”

“Let them train,” Lane said about Russia being in South Africa. “We wait, one game at a time.”
Georgia will play a trio of romance teams, Romania, Portugal and Spain, before squaring off against Russia.