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It has been a notable few days for Georgia rugby. First, a decision was made wherein Russia was cut from the qualifiers and the Lelos officially qualified for RWC 2023. Second, Georgia defeated Romania in Bucharest to officially become Europe 1.
As Europe 1, Georgia will compete in Pool C of Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. The pool is one of four for the tournament. The Lelos will play against Australia, the Repechage Winner, Fiji, and Wales in this order. Venues for the matches will see the Eastern Europeans playing in some of France’s strongest rugby locations.
Georgia’s opening match will be against two-time champions Australia. The Stade de France is to be the setting for the September 09, 2023 match. It is to be a re-match of Georgia’s final match from RWC 2019. On that day, Georgia had a fine start before the Wallabies finished strongly to win.
There are further rematches from RWC 2019 for RWC 2023. In fact, game two for Georgia will be the only fixture that differs to that from Japan 2019. The pool was Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Uruguay and Wales. Los Teros will play in Pool A of RWC 2023 against France, Italy, New Zealand and Africa 1.
The second match for Georgia in France 2023 will be the one different fixture. The Lelos will take-on the finalk qualifying participant. That team will be the repechage winner which will contain one Americas entrant in addition to one from three other regions. The loser, on aggregate, of Chile vs the USA will be the Americas’ participant. Georgia will face the Repechage Winner on September 23, 2023 in Toulouse.
Game three for Georgia will be seven days after game two. The Lelos will play against Fiji in Nantes on Saturday, September 30. Then, on Saturday, October 06 Georgia will face Wales in Bordeaux.
At the time of RWC 2019 17 Georgian players were attached to French clubs. Some played in the second division, the Pro D2 while most did so in the elite competition, the Top 14. In short, Georgian players are no strangers to France.
