Georgian rugby team will play in Eight Nations rugby tournament (Autumn Cup) scheduled from November 13 to December 6. Today, this information was officially confirmed by the organizers of the Six Nations and the relevant news was published on the official website of the tournament (https://www.sixnationsrugby.com).

The negotiation process with the organizers of the Six Nations was conducted by the Georgian Rugby Union, which had the full support of the Georgian government. Eventually the negotiation process was successfully completed, and our national team will play alongside the world grands.

According to initial data, the regular participants of the tournament - England, France, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Italy and 2 invited teams - Fiji and Japan – would be the 8 teams playing in the tournament. However,  due to the difficult situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in Japan, the Japanese Rugby Union refused to participate in the tournament, giving the Georgian side a solid chance to participate in the competition. Participation of the Georgian national team in the tournament of eight nations is a historical precedent.

Georgian national team has played in the final stage of the World Cups five times since its independence (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019) and managed to win five games. In 2015, Georgian team managed to win 2 matches in the group stage, and directly qualified for the 2019 World Cup. The success of the Georgian national team is directly related to the investments made by the Georgian State and the Cartu Foundation in recent years. With the support of the state, the funding of the teams participating in the Georgian National Championship has increased, the remuneration of the players, referees, doctors, team management, etc. Remuneration of national and age teams coaches and service staff has also significantly improved. With the funding of the Cartu Foundation and its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, a number of rugby fields and complexes were built in Tbilisi and the regions, which contributed to the rapid development of rugby in Georgia. At the same time, the new rugby infrastructure has made it possible to hold such a large-scale event in Georgia as the Youth World Cup. In 2017, the U20 World Cup was held in Tbilisi and Kutaisi with the participation of the top 12 teams, which was highly praised by the delegations of the International Rugby Union and the participating teams. The matches of the mentioned tournament were held on the newly built rugby fields of Kutaisi and Avchala. The teams participating in the World Cup used the various rugby bases intensively for the training process during the tournament, also constructed with the funding of the Cartu Foundation.