The Black Lion

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 Eastern Conference competition along with Enisei-STM, Lokomotiv Penza and Tel Aviv Heat.[1][2]

Black Lion
Nickname(s)Lomi (The Lions)
Founded2021 (2021)
LocationTbilisi, Georgia
Coach(es)Levan Maisashvili
Captain(s)Merab Sharikadze
League(s)Rugby Europe Super Cup
Currie Cup First Division
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
facebook.com/BlackLionRugby

Name
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".[3] The club logo is a reinterpretation of the lion's face.

History

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]

Current squad

The following players were included in the Black Lion squad for the 2022 Currie Cup First Division:[5]

Black Lion

Props

Hookers

  • Giorgi Maisuradze
  • Levan Tchavtchavadze
  • Tengiz Zamtaradze

Locks

Loose Forwards

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

  • Luka Matkava
  • Davit Modzgvrishvili

Centres

Wingers

Fullbacks

(c) Denotes team captain and Bold denotes internationally capped. All players are of Georgian nationality.

Coaches

Current coaching staff

The current coaching staff for the Black Lion team:

Name Nationality Role
Vasil Abashidze GEOManager
Lekso Iordanishvili GEOManager
Levan Maisashvili GEOHead coach
Ilia Maisuradze GEOAssistant coach
Lado Kilasonia GEOAssistant coach
Cory Brown NZLAttack coach
Irakli Chkonia GEOStrength & Conditioning coach
Davit Nemsadze GEOStrength & Conditioning coach
William Lavis ENGRehab coach
Absalom Abramishvili GEOPhysiotherapist
Ed Barry ENGPhysiotherapist
Davit Ramishvili GEOVideo-Analyst
Nika Pinaishvili GEOGPS-Analyst

See also

References
  1. "Rugby Europe launch The Super Cup". Rugby Europe.
  2. "Log in or sign up to view". www.facebook.com.
  3. "Black Lion - Niko Pirosmani - WikiArt.org". www.wikiart.org.
  4. Tshwaku, Khanyiso. "Georgia to play Currie Cup First Division rugby, South American matches on the cards". Sport.
  5. "Black Lion". SA Rugby. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
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