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IOL News
7 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
No backward steps: Cockerill's Georgia ready to take on the Springboks
Georgia head coach Richard Cockerill famously clashed with Norm Hewitt during the Haka in 1997 — a moment that epitomises the combative style he now brings to the Lelos. Photo: AFP Image: AFP If any rugby follower is unsure how Georgia will approach Saturday's encounter with the Springboks in Mbombela, they need only cast their minds back to the day England hooker Richard Cockerill shoved an All Black during the Haka. It was 1997, and Cockerill — now the head coach of Georgia — decided to fight fire with fire. As his teammates faced the Haka, Cockerill marched up to his opposite number, Norm Hewitt. The two locked eyes, went nose to nose, and the standoff ended with Cockerill shoving Hewitt. The All Blacks cried foul, but Cockerill refused to apologise. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ It is that same uncompromising attitude that has made him a popular figure with a Georgian side that thrives on physicality. In his first campaign in charge, Cockerill led Georgia to the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship title — their seventh in a row. He also oversaw their 2024 Pacific tour, where the Lelos secured a first win over Japan since 2014. Later that year, they beat Tonga and came agonisingly close to toppling Italy in Genoa, narrowly losing 20–17. In March 2025, Georgia defended their Rugby Europe title and qualified for the 2027 World Cup. Unsurprisingly, Cockerill says his side won't take a step back against the Boks. 'We can't be timid,' he told reporters. 'I'm a former international — I played against James Dalton many times — and there were no backward steps in those confrontations. So, the only way for us to compete on Saturday is to roll our sleeves out, stick our gumshields in, and get in the middle of it. "What else can we do?' As cocky as Cockerill has always been — whether as a player or a coach at Toulon, Leicester, Edinburgh or Montpellier — he understands that taking on the brutal Boks on South African soil is about as tough as it gets. 'We're a physical team, we're a physical nation. We like the physical parts of the game. But the next level of physicality and mentality is South Africa — for sure — and we want to see where we sit relative to the Boks. 'There's only one way to take on a team like South Africa, and that's head-on. And we'll see if we're good enough to compete, to stay with them.' Cockerill knows several Springbok players from his time coaching at Leicester and Edinburgh, and he's closely acquainted with debutant loosehead prop Boan Venter. 'They've picked a different front row this week. I know Boan very well — I signed him for Edinburgh from the Cheetahs. They've picked a strong pack, but the only way to go at it is full noise. I'm not going to make any outlandish promises like 'we're going to smash the Boks,' but we want to go out and compete.' Georgia have played two Tests against South Africa. Their first meeting came at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia — the match marked a youthful John Smit's debut as Bok captain. Their second was a warm-up Test during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, ahead of South Africa's series against the British & Irish Lions in 2021. Last week, the Lelos warmed up for the Springboks by playing the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, where they fell to a narrow 24–20 defeat after conceding a last-minute try.
The 42
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
LIVE: Portugal v Ireland, Summer Series
If you fancy some pre-match reading, our match preview is available here. The visitors will be strong favorites against a side currently ranked 18th in the world, but Portugal – now led by former Munster backs coach Simon Mannix – will look to play with pace in order to stretch Ireland in the Lisbon sun. It's no secret Portugal did just that to Ireland in a pre-2023 World Cup training game, before they went on to record an historic win against Fiji in the tournament's pool stages. Not all of their playing squad are fully professional, with most playing in the country's domestic league and a few outliers based in French rugby. Portugal have qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup but have struggled when asked to punch above their weight. They scored three converted tries in a 64-21 loss in South Africa last summer, followed by November defeats to the USA and Scotland. High-scoring wins against Belgium, Germany and Romania saw them top their Rugby Europe pool, before a semi-final loss to Spain and bronze final defeat to Romania.
Extra.ie
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Why Ireland selectors got it wrong against Georgia
Ireland have named a strong team to take on Georgia in Tbilisi and it needed to be. This is not the type of soft-serve, summer jaunt usually associated with summer development tours. Georgia are a grizzled outfit, packed with players hardened by exposure to the Top14 and ProD2 leagues in France. In their last four outings, they beat Tonga at home, lost by three points to Italy away, pushed Australia all the way in Sydney and beat Japan away. Paul O'Connell. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady They are a team built around the traditional brute force of their forwards but in recent years they have unearthed genuinely exciting young backs – including the highly regarded Davit Niniashvili, who has just joined Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle. But perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the Georgian side that takes on Paul O'Connell's youthful Ireland outfit tomorrow is the sense of grievance they carry with them. Their head coach Richard Cockerill has never been backwards about coming forward (going right back to his confrontation with All Black Norm Hewitt in 1997) and has been beating the drum loudly heading into this fixture. Davit Niniashvili is highly regarded. Pic: Alberto Gardin/EurasiaWhat Cockerill and Georgian rugby want is a seat at the top table and he believes they are being deliberately kept on the outside looking in because it does not suit the powers that be to allow these 'rough and ready' upstarts into the Six Nations at the expense of one of the established, and well heeled, existing residents. Cockerill wants a play-off with the bottom side in the Six Nations and it is a fair call — the problem is the Six Nations blazers are not as keen and cannot appear to consider the prospect of travelling to Tbilisi instead of Rome, or of Wales dropping to the second tier. The longer Georgia are excluded, the more they are at risk of losing their government's funding because winning the second tier Rugby Europe competition is not enough to keep the tap on. Cockerill will have his Georgians target Sam Prendergast. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile It gives Cockerill's side a hell of an incentive to beat a top-tier nation like Ireland and they are going to throw everything at it. On that basis, it is more than a little surprising that Sam Prendergast has been lobbed in to start. It has been a tumultuous season for the young Leinster man, some sublime attacking play counterbalanced by defensive howlers. Cockerill will have his Georgians target Prendergast directly whereas Portugal will be far less physical next week. Starting Jack Crowley at 10 against Georgia and protecting Prendergast would have been the more pragmatic move — unless the intention, two years out from the World Cup, is to try to improve his defence the hard way. Leinster flyer Tommy O'Brien will be desperate to make a statement after a strong season with his province. Pic:It is a bit of a gamble because if Prendergast gets run over by the Georgians, it will further dent his confidence. Elsewhere, Ireland have named six debutants in their match-23 with Leinster flyer Tommy O'Brien desperate to make a statement after a strong season with his province.
The National
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The National
Dubai to host qualifier for 2027 men's Rugby World Cup in November
The UAE is set to host the final qualification tournament for the men's Rugby World Cup 2027, with the event scheduled to take place from November 8-18 at the end of the year in Dubai. The final chapter in the qualification journey - set to take place at the Sevens Stadium - will determine the 24th and last team to earn their place at the showpiece tournament in Australia, which will run from October 1 to November 13, 2027. A total of four teams will compete in a round-robin format across three match-days in Dubai. The team finishing top of the standings will secure the final spot at the World Cup, completing the line-up for what promises to be the biggest and most inclusive edition of the tournament to date. It will be the first edition to feature an expanded format with 24 teams, a new round of 16 and an increase in the number of matches to 52. Belgium are the first team confirmed to participate in the event, having finished fifth in the Rugby Europe Championship 2025. They will be joined by three more teams still to be determined through ongoing regional qualification pathways; the Rugby Africa Cup 2025, the Asia Rugby Championship 2025, the Sudamerica Rugby Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup 2025. The men's pool draw will take place in December and will be based on the World Rugby men's rankings at the end of the November international window. With the rankings set to determine the banding of teams for the draw, every result between now and December could directly impact the makeup of the six pools of four. Fixtures played during the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia will not be counted towards the rankings used for Rugby World Cup seeding purposes. World Rugby chair Brett Robinson said: 'The final qualification tournament is always a thrilling, do-or-die moment in the build-up to Rugby World Cup – and it's fitting that we bring it to a world-class destination like Dubai. "As we head towards the most inclusive and globally representative tournament ever, with 24 teams competing in an expanded format and at least one nation from each of our regional associations, this final step on the 'Journey to Australia 2027' will be a celebration of ambition, resilience and the global spirit of rugby. We cannot wait to see which team earns the final place and joins us for what promises to be a unique celebration of rugby and Australia in 2027.'
France 24
24-04-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Georgia's rugby dreams built on wild folk game
Held every Easter, the fierce contest pits the village's upper and lower halves against each other in a bruising effort to drive the ball into a river. Victory goes to the team that manages to hurl the ball -- stuffed with earth doused in locally made wine and weighing a hefty 16 kilograms (35 pounds) -- into the water. Known as Lelo, the game was first played in Shukhuti in western Georgia more than 150 years ago to commemorate a historic military victory against Ottoman Turkish invaders. Georgians see Lelo as a wild cousin of rugby, a game that has surged in popularity over the last few decades. Fittingly nicknamed the Lelos, Georgia's national rugby team has dominated the second-tier Rugby Europe Championship, clinching the title eight years in a row. "This is where Georgian rugby draws its passion for victory -- from the intense energy rooted in the ancient tradition of Lelo," said local mayor Alexandre Sarishvili. National team head coach Richard Cockerill shares that sentiment. "We're a small country with small numbers, but we're still able to put a team out that can compete with Fiji and Japan and Wales and Italy and win Rugby Europe every year," he told AFP at the squad's Tbilisi training ground. 'Jeopardy' With just 8,000 registered players -- a fraction of the numbers seen in Tier One nations -- Georgia have managed to beat the four sides mentioned above in recent years. Their Under-20s team defeated England ahead of the 2023 World Cup. Yet Georgia remain locked out of the Six Nations, a closed competition that hasn't welcomed a new team since Italy joined in 2000. Former England hooker Cockerill wants meritocracy to trump tradition when it comes to the Six Nations line-up. "We deserve an opportunity to play-off against the bottom team, to prove that we are good enough," he said, referring to Wales's ongoing dismal losing streak. "If a team's lost 17 Test matches on the bounce and is bottom of the Six Nations two years in succession, surely at some point there's got to be an opportunity for Georgia. "We're above Wales in the world rankings... But the gate's shut, isn't it?" Though he admits the push for inclusion is a long shot, Cockerill argues a promotion-relegation playoff would introduce both incentive and risk -- benefitting the sport. "There's a realistic chance that whoever wins Rugby Europe would actually put huge pressure on whoever finishes bottom of the Six Nations. If we're going to grow the game... then I think there should be some jeopardy." 'Containment' With enthusiastic public support and strong government backing, rugby is thriving on a grassroots level in the capital Tbilisi and beyond. But Cockerill warns growth will stall without greater competitive exposure. "We need to learn how to lose, and play as Italy have, as France did when they joined the Four Nations to make it Five Nations, as Fiji have done when they've joined Super Rugby." He envisions a similar trajectory for Georgia, and laments that all the country's best players move abroad to play in competitive club competitions. For now, Georgian rugby is stuck in a holding pattern. The new Nations Cup format, which groups them with other Tier Two sides, offers no path for promotion until at least 2030. "We're being told to wait five more years," Cockerill said. "That's not growth, that's containment." In Shukhuti on Sunday, after hours of punishing scrums, torn shirts, and battered bodies, the men of Upper Shukhuti finally broke through and claimed a hard-won victory. "Lelo captures the combative spirit of Georgians," said local doctor Nanuli Khalvashi, 64, who came to cheer for the Upper Shukhuti team.
