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Black Lion (rugby union)

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Black Lion
Nickname(s)Lomi (The Lions)
Founded2021; 3 years ago (2021)
LocationTbilisi, Georgia
Coach(es)Richard Cockerill
Most appearancesLuka Ivanishvili
(36 appearances)
Top scorerLuka Matkava
(247 points)
Most triesAkaki Tabutsadze
(20 tries)
League(s)Rugby Europe Super Cup
Currie Cup First Division 2022
EPCR Challenge Cup
2021–22 SC
2022 SC
2022 CC
Champions
Champions
1st Eastern Conference
Semi-finalist
4th (league phase)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
facebook.com/BlackLionRugby

The Black Lion (Georgian: შავი ლომი Shavi Lomi) is a professional Georgian rugby union team based in Tbilisi that competes annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup .[1]

They also competed in the Currie Cup First Division in South Africa in 2022.[2] Black Lion will compete in the European Challenge Cup, the second tier of European club rugby, during the 2023-24 season as an invited team along with Cheetahs.[3]

History

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The franchise was created in 2021 to participate in the Rugby Europe Super Cup. It is owned by the Georgian Federation, which employs the players. All the players are without clubs or playing in the Georgia league (Didi 10). Players are made available to Didi 10 clubs when they have no obligations with their franchise, up to a limit of 4 per club. Georgian club joins into Currie Cup First Division since 2022.[4] In Spring 2023, Black Lion toured South America, playing against the professional sides featuring in Super Rugby Americas. They defeated the club sides they faced, but were narrowly defeated 28-24 by a South America XV squad in Montevideo.[5]

In June 2023, Black Lion applied to take part in the European Challenge Cup, the second tier of European club Rugby.[6] On July 6, 2023, it was announced that their application was successful and will participate in the Challenge Cup for the 2023-24 season as one of two invited teams.[7] Black Lion will be the first Georgian rugby team to ever play in the Challenge Cup tournament.[8] On 15 December 2023 Black Lion won their first match in the competition, defeating Welsh hosts Scarlets.[9]

Name

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Niko Pirosmani's The Black Lion (1905)

The name of the franchise has several inspirations. The players of the national team are sometimes nicknamed the lions, in reference to an (unofficial) anthem of the national team, which says: "freedom is the property of the lions". Also this is similar to the Georgian Rugby Union's slogan, "Freedom is a lion's destiny". The second inspiration comes from Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani, one of whose most famous works is the painting Black Lion.[10] The club logo is a reinterpretation of the lion's face in a style reminiscent of a fusion of the Georgian letters შ (shini) and ლ (lasi), the initials of the club's name, in the unique typeface of the Georgian alphabet.

Honours

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Wins against Tier 1 pro teams

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Date Home Score Away Venue Status
15 December 2023 Scarlets Wales 7–23 Georgia (country) Black Lion Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli 2023–24 EPCR Challenge Cup
7 December 2024 Black Lion Georgia (country) 22–19 France Vannes Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi 2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup

Current squad

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The Black Lions squad for the 2024-25 season is:[11]

Black Lion Squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

  • Georgia (country) Luka Tsirekidze
(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped.

Coaches

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Current coaching staff

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The current coaching staff for the Black Lion team:

Name Nationality Role
Vasil Abashidze  GEO Manager
Lekso Iordanishvili  GEO Manager
Richard Cockerill  ENG Head coach
Lado Kilasonia  GEO Assistant coach
Davit Nemsadze  GEO Strength & Conditioning coach
William Lavis  ENG Rehab coach
Absalom Abramishvili  GEO Physiotherapist
Ed Barry  ENG Physiotherapist
Davit Ramishvili  GEO Video-Analyst
Nika Pinaishvili  GEO GPS-Analyst

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rugby Europe launch The Super Cup". Rugby Europe.
  2. ^ "Black Lions Currie Cup". News24.
  3. ^ "European Challenge Cup: Georgian side Black Lion invited into European competition". BBC Sport. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  4. ^ Tshwaku, Khanyiso (17 November 2021). "Georgia to play Currie Cup First Division rugby, South American matches on the cards". News24. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  5. ^ "South America Outlast Black Lion in Montevideo". Americas Rugby News. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  6. ^ Hardy, Matt (20 June 2023). "Georgia rugby bosses: We deserve place in Challenge Cup more than anyone". CityAM. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Georgia rugby bosses: EPCR-მა ქართულ რაგბის კარი გაუღო". rugby.ge (in Georgian). 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Georgian side Black Lion to play in European Challenge Cup". Rugby World. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  9. ^ "European Challenge Cup: Scarlets 7-23 Black Lion - Welsh region suffer humiliating loss". BBC Sport. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Black Lion - Niko Pirosmani - WikiArt.org". www.wikiart.org.
  11. ^ "შავი ლომი, შემადგენლობა 2024/25 წლების ჩელენჯ თასზე". Retrieved 29 August 2024.
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