Georgia at the Rugby World Cup

The Georgia national rugby union team has competed in five consecutive Rugby World Cup tournaments. Starting in 2003, they were placed in Pool C with eventual winners England, South Africa, Uruguay and Samoa, where they lost all four matches. Georgia qualified for the 2007 World Cup and were placed in Pool D with Argentina, France, Ireland and Namibia, where they beat Namibia. In 2011 Rugby World Cup, Georgia qualified for their third straight tournament. They were placed in Pool B with Scotland, England, Argentina and Romania and won the game against rivals Romania. Their best performance was in 2015 tournament, when they were drawn against eventual world champions New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Namibia. Georgia won games against Tonga and Namibia, finished third in the group and automatically qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup.

World Cup record

World Cup record								World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	P	W	D	L	F	A	P	W	D	L	F	A
1987	Part of USSR: Not an independent country							-
1991	Part of USSR: Not an independent country							Part of USSR: Not an independent country
1995	did not qualify							2	0	0	2	15	38
1999	did not qualify							8	4	0	4	131	221
2003	Pool Stage	4	0	0	4	46	200	2	1	0	1	31	76
2007	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	50	111	14	10	1	3	426	182
2011	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	48	90	10	8	1	1	326	132
2015	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	53	123	10	9	1	0	286	106
2019	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	65	122	Automatically Qualified
2023	Pool Stage	4	0	1	3	64	113	10	9	1	0	325	146
2027	to be determined							Qualification not started
2031	to be determined							Qualification not started
Total	6/10	24	5	1	18	326	759	56	41	4	11	1540	901

By matches

2003

Group C matches -

Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	BP	Pts	Qualification
England	4	4	0	255	47	+208	3	19	Quarter-finals
South Africa	4	3	1	184	60	+124	3	15	Quarter-finals
Samoa	4	2	2	138	117	+21	2	10
Uruguay	4	1	3	56	255	−199	0	4
Georgia	4	0	4	46	200	−154	0	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

12 October 2003

England	84–6	Georgia
Try: Tindall, Dawson, Thompson, Back, Dallaglio, Greenwood (2), Regan, Cohen (2), Robinson, Luger Con: Wilkinson (5), Grayson (4) Pen: Wilkinson (2)		Pen: Urjukashvili, Jimsheladze

Subiaco Oval, Perth
Attendance: 25,501
Referee: Pablo De Luca (Argentina)

19 October 2003

Georgia	9–46	Samoa
Pen: Jimsheladze (2) Drop: Jimsheladze		Try: Tagicakibau, Vaa'a, Sititi, So'oialo, Fe'aunati, Lima Con: Va'a (5) Pen: Va'a (2)

Subiaco Oval, Perth
Attendance: 21,507
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

24 October 2003

South Africa	46–19	Georgia
Try: Rossouw (2), Hougaard, van Niekerk, Fourie, Botha, Burger Con: Hougaard (4) Pen: Hougaard		Try: Dadunashvili Con: Jimsheladze Pen: Jimsheladze (3), Kvirikashvili

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 34,308
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

28 October 2003

Georgia	12–24	Uruguay
Pen: Urjukashvili, Kvirikashvili (3)		Try: Cardoso, Lamelas, Brignoni Con: Aguirre (2), Menchaca Pen: Juan Menchaca

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 28,576
Referee: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)

2007

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Argentina	4	4	0	143	33	+110	2	18	Qualified for the quarter-finals
2	France	4	3	1	188	37	+151	3	15	Qualified for the quarter-finals
3	Ireland	4	2	2	64	82	−18	1	9	Eliminated, automatic qualification for RWC 2011
4	Georgia	4	1	3	50	111	−61	1	5
5	Namibia	4	0	4	30	212	−182	0	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

11 September 2007
20:00

Argentina	33–3	Georgia
Try: Borges 47' c, 56' m Albacete 72' m Martín Aramburú 80' c Con: F. Contepomi (1/3) Hernández (1/1) Pen: F. Contepomi (3/3) 12', 35', 54'	Report	Pen: Kvirikashvili (1/2) 2'

Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 40,240
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

15 September 2007
21:00

Ireland	14–10	Georgia
Try: R. Best 17' c Dempsey 55' c Con: O'Gara (2/2)	Report	Try: Shkinin 45' c Con: Kvirikashvili (1/1) Pen: Kvirikashvili (1/2) 37'

Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Attendance: 33,807
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

26 September 2007
18:00

Georgia	30–0	Namibia
Try: Giorgadze 37' c Machkhaneli 70' c Kacharava 80+' c Con: Kvirikashvili (3/3) Pen: Kvirikashvili (3/6) 8', 26', 69'	Report

Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
Attendance: 32,549
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

30 September 2007
15:00

France	64–7	Georgia
Try: Poitrenaud 6' c Nyanga 30' c Beauxis 37' c Dominici (2) 45' m, 57' m Bruno 52' c Nallet 63' c Martin 67' m Bonnaire 80' m Con: Beauxis (5/9) Pen: Beauxis (3/3) 4', 18', 24'	Report	Try: Z. Maissuradze 72' c Con: Urjukashvili (1/1)

Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 58,695
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)

2011

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	England	4	4	0	137	34	+103	18	2	18	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2	Argentina	4	3	1	90	40	+50	10	2	14
3	Scotland	4	2	2	73	59	+14	4	3	11	Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4	Georgia	4	1	3	48	90	−42	3	0	4
5	Romania	4	0	4	44	169	−125	3	0	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

14 September 2011
19:30

Scotland	15–6	Georgia
Pen: Parks (4/7) 24', 34', 71', 76' Drop: Parks (1/1) 39'	Report	Pen: Kvirikashvili (2/2) 17', 73'

Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
Attendance: 10,267
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

18 September 2011
18:00

England	41–10	Georgia
Try: Hape (2) 4' c, 21' c Armitage 47' m Tuilagi 62' c Ashton (2) 65' c, 80' m Con: Flood (4/6) Pen: Flood (1/1) 35'	Report	Try: Basilaia 40' c Con: Kvirikashvili (1/1) Pen: Kvirikashvili (1/6) 27'

Otago Stadium, Dunedin
Attendance: 20,117
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

28 September 2011
19:30

Georgia	25–9	Romania
Try: Gorgodze 56' c Con: Kvirikashvili (1/1) Pen: Kvirikashvili (5/7) 9', 24', 31', 36', 70' Urjukashvili (1/1) 76'	Report	Pen: Dumbravă (2/4) 12', 34' Vlaicu (1/1) 72'

Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
Attendance: 13,228
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)

2 October 2011
13:00

Argentina	25–7	Georgia
Try: Imhoff 32' m Contepomi 68' c Gosio 79' c Con: Contepomi (1/2) Bosch (1/1) Pen: Contepomi (2/4) 51', 60'	Report	Try: Khmaladze 39' c Con: Urjukashvili (1/1)

Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
Attendance: 13,754
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

2015

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	New Zealand	4	4	0	174	49	+125	25	3	19	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup
2	Argentina	4	3	1	179	70	+109	22	3	15
3	Georgia	4	2	2	53	123	−70	5	0	8	Eliminated but qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup
4	Tonga	4	1	3	70	130	−60	8	2	6
5	Namibia	4	0	4	70	174	−104	8	1	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

19 September 2015
12:00

Tonga	10–17	Georgia
Try: Vainikolo 72' c Con: Morath (1/1) 73' Pen: Morath (1/1) 9'	Report	Try: Gorgodze 27' c Tkhilaishvili 56' c Con: Kvirikashvili (2/2) 28', 57' Pen: Kvirikashvili (1/3) 19'

Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester
Attendance: 14,200
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

25 September 2015
16:45

Argentina	54–9	Georgia
Try: Lavanini 10' m Cubelli 47' c Imhoff (2) 49' c, 76' m Cordero (2) 53' c, 72' c Landajo 70' c Con: Sánchez (3/4) 48', 51', 54' Bosch (2/3) 71', 74' Pen: Sánchez (2/2) 21', 35' Drop: Sánchez 6'	Report	Pen: Kvirikashvili (3/3) 17', 20', 32'

Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester
Attendance: 14,256
Referee: JP Doyle (England)

2 October 2015
20:00

New Zealand	43–10	Georgia
Try: Naholo 2' c Savea (3) 8' m, 17' m, 74' c Coles 22' m Read 52' c Fekitoa 77' c Con: Carter (4/7) 3', 53', 75', 78'	Report	Try: Tsiklauri 5' c Con: Malaghuradze (1/1) 6' Pen: Malaghuradze (1/1) 12'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 69,187
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)

7 October 2015
20:00

Namibia	16–17	Georgia
Try: Kotzé 74' c Con: Kotzé (1/1) 76' Pen: Kotzé (3/3) 2', 18', 71'	Report	Try: Gorgodze 50' c Malaghuradze 55' c Con: Kvirikashvili (2/2) 51', 56' Pen: Kvirikashvili (1/1) 68'

Sandy Park, Exeter
Attendance: 11,156
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

2019

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Wales	4	4	0	136	69	+67	17	3	19	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup
2	Australia	4	3	1	136	68	+68	20	4	16
3	Fiji	4	1	3	110	108	+2	17	3	7	Eliminated but qualified for 2023 Rugby World Cup
4	Georgia	4	1	3	65	122	−57	9	1	5
5	Uruguay	4	1	3	60	140	−80	6	0	4

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

23 September 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Wales	43–14	Georgia
Try: Jo. Davies 3' m Tipuric 13' c Adams 19' c L. Williams 40' c T. Williams 65' c North 76' c Con: Biggar (4/5) 14', 20', 40', 66' Halfpenny (1/1) 77' Pen: Biggar (1/1) 7'	Report	Try: Mamukashvili 43' c Chilachava 69' c Con: Abzhandadze (2/2) 44', 70'

City of Toyota Stadium, Toyota
Attendance: 35,546
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

29 September 2019
14:15 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Georgia	33–7	Uruguay
Try: Todua 9' m Giorgadze 30' c Chilachava 43' c Bregvadze 52' c Kveseladze 58' c Con: Abzhandadze (4/5) 30', 44', 53', 59'	Report	Try: Vilaseca 33' c Con: Berchesi (1/1) 34'

Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya
Attendance: 24,895
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

3 October 2019
14:15 JST (UTC+09)

Georgia	10–45	Fiji (1 BP)
Try: Gorgodze 53' c Con: Matiashvili (1/1) 55' Pen: Matiashvili (1/2) 35'	Report	Try: Nayacalevu 20' c Lomani 45' m Tuisova 50' m Radradra (2) 61' c, 76' c Kunatani 68' c Ratuniyarawa 70' c Con: Volavola (5/7) 21', 63', 70', 72', 77'

Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashiōsaka
Attendance: 21,069
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)

11 October 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Australia	27–8	Georgia
Try: White 23' c Koroibete 60' c Dempsey 75' m Genia 79' m Con: To'omua (2/4) 24', 61' Pen: To'omua (1/1) 37'	Report	Try: Todua 70' m Pen: Matiashvili (1/1) 28'

Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi
Attendance: 39,802
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)

2023

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Wales	4	4	0	0	143	59	+84	17	8	3	19	Advance to knockout stage, and qualification to the 2027 Rugby World Cup
2	Fiji	4	2	0	2	88	83	+5	9	9	3	11^[a]
3	Australia	4	2	0	2	90	91	−1	11	8	3	11^[a]	Qualification to the 2027 Rugby World Cup
4	Portugal	4	1	1	2	64	103	−39	8	13	0	6
5	Georgia	4	0	1	3	64	113	−49	7	14	1	3

Source: World Rugby
Rules for classification: Pool stage tiebreakers
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head: Australia 15–22 Fiji

9 September 2023
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)

(1 BP) Australia	35–15	Georgia
Try: Petaia 2' m Nawaqanitawase 9' c Donaldson (2) 56' c, 69' c Con: Donaldson (3/4) 7', 57', 70' Pen: Donaldson (3/3) 14', 21', 31'	Report	Try: Ivanishvili 47' m Gigashvili 80' c Con: Abzhandadze (1/1) 80' Pen: Matkava (1/1) 6'

Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 75,770
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)^[1]

23 September 2023
14:00 CEST (UTC+2)

Georgia	18–18	Portugal
Try: Tabutsadze 2' c Zamtaradze 78' m Con: Abzhandadze (1/1) 3' Pen: Abzhandadze (2/2) 16', 32'	Report	Try: Storti (2) 34' m, 57' c Con: Marques (1/2) 58' Pen: Marques (2/2) 48', 53'

Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse
Attendance: 31,889
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)^[1]

30 September 2023
17:45 CEST (UTC+2)

Fiji	17–12	Georgia (1 BP)
Try: Nayacalevu 51' c Habosi 68' c Con: Lomani (2/2) 52', 69' Pen: Lomani (1/2) 65'	Report	Pen: Matkava (2/2) 5', 80' Niniashvili (2/2) 19', 31'

Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
Attendance: 39,862
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)^[1]

7 October 2023
15:00 CEST (UTC+2)

(1 BP) Wales	43–19	Georgia
Try: Francis 16' c L. Williams 23' c Rees-Zammit (3) 43' c, 67' c, 74' m North 80' c Con: Costelow (5/6) 17', 24', 44', 69', 80+1' Pen: Costelow (1/2) 27'	Report	Try: Sharikadze 35' c Karkadze 59' c Niniashvili 62' m Con: Matkava (2/3) 36', 60'

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Attendance: 33,580
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)^[1]

Overall record

Country	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	+/−	Win %
Uruguay	2	1	-	1	45	31	14	50
Tonga	1	1	-	-	17	10	7	100
South Africa	1	-	-	1	19	46	-27	0
New Zealand	1	-	-	1	10	43	-33	0
Samoa	1	-	-	1	9	46	-35	0
England	2	-	-	2	16	125	-109	0
Argentina	3	-	-	3	19	112	-93	0
Ireland	1	-	-	1	10	14	-4	0
Scotland	1	-	-	1	6	15	-9	0
Romania	1	1	-	-	25	9	16	100
Namibia	2	2	-	-	47	16	31	100
Fiji	2	-	-	2	22	62	-40	0
France	1	-	-	1	7	64	-57	0
Australia	2	-	-	2	23	62	-39	0
Portugal	1	-	1	-	18	18	0	0
Wales	2	-	-	2	33	86	-53	0
Total	24	5	1	18	326	759	−431	20.83%

Team records

Most points in a tournament

65 (2019 in Japan)
64 (2023 in France)
53 (2015 in England)

Most points in a game

33 vs Uruguay (2019)
30 vs Namibia (2007)
25 vs Romania (2011)

Biggest winning margin

30 vs Namibia (2007)
26 Vs Uruguay (2019)
16 vs Romania (2011)

Highest score against

84 vs England (2003)
64 vs France (2007)
54 vs Argentina (2015)

Biggest losing margin

78 vs England (2003)
57 vs France (2007)
45 vs Argentina (2015)

Most tries in a tournament

9 (2019 in Japan)
7 (2023 in France)
5 (2007 in France)
5 (2015 in England)

Most tries in a game

5 vs Uruguay (2019)
3 vs Namibia (2007)
3 vs Wales (2023)
2 vs Tonga (2015)
2 vs Namibia (2015)
2 vs Wales (2019)
2 vs Australia (2023)

Individual records

Most appearances

Most appearances as captain

6 Irakli Abuseridze

Most points overall

Most points in a game

17 vs Romania – Merab Kvirikashvili ( New Zealand 2011)
15 vs Namibia – Merab Kvirikashvili ( France 2007)
11 vs South Africa – Paliko Jimsheladze ( Australia 2003)

Most tries overall

Most penalty goals

Most penalty goals in a game

5 vs Romania – Merab Kvirikashvili ( New Zealand 2011)
3 vs Uruguay – Merab Kvirikashvili ( Australia 2003)
3 vs Namibia – Merab Kvirikashvili ( France 2007)
3 vs Argentina – Merab Kvirikashvili ( England 2015)

Most drop goals

1 Paliko Jimsheladze

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Rugby World Cup 2023 pool stage". World Rugby. Retrieved 11 September 2023.

Davies, Gerald (2004). The History of the Rugby World Cup. Sanctuary Publishing. ISBN 1860746020.
Farr-Jones, Nick (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup. Australian Post Corporation. ISBN 0-642-36811-2.

[table_hth_FIJ0.19584641894132-1] Head-to-head: Australia 15–22 Fiji

[officials-2] "Rugby World Cup 2023 pool stage". World Rugby. Retrieved 11 September 2023.

[a]

[1]

v t e Georgia national rugby union team
Georgian Rugby Union
Home stadiums	Mikheil Meskhi Stadium Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena
Competitions and trophies	Rugby World Cup Rugby Europe International Championships World Rugby Tbilisi Cup Antim Cup
Related teams	Sevens Georgia XV U20s U18s
Matches by opponent	Romania Russia

v t e National team appearances in the Rugby World Cup by tier
Tier 1 teams	Argentina Australia England France Ireland Italy Japan New Zealand Scotland South Africa Wales
Tier 2 teams	Canada Chile Fiji Georgia Namibia Portugal Romania Russia Samoa Spain Tonga United States Uruguay
Tier 3 teams	Ivory Coast Zimbabwe