Vasil Kakovin's footballing skills nearly sets up try for Brive

In last weekend's match between Brive and Bayonne, Georgian prop Vasil Kakovin playing at tighthead prop for this match nearly set up a try in an unlikely circumstances.

Vasil Kakovin showed his footballing
skills to good effect for Brive against
Bayonne last weekend

With the ball at a ruck, Welsh international scrum half Mike Phillips passed but no Bayonne player came forward to take the pass, and the prop showed his great work rate in the loose by getting first to the ball, and showing his footballing skills to put in a very good hack which should have set up a try for his team, only for the centre Arnaud Mignardi to show poor handling skills for a centre in knocking on with a try begging.

The skills shown in the loose by Kakovin was the sort of thing that we are used to seeing from Wales prop Gethin Jenkins so often and which is why Jenkins is one of the best looseheads in the world. Kakovin, who still only 22, has shown that he has the potential to be the Georgian equivalent of Jenkins with his skills in the loose with ball in hand, and also work rate catching the eye of the Toulouse coach Guy Novès who is targeting the Georgian as a replacement for the retiring Daan Human.

(Video: Vasil Kakovin shows his footballing skills and nearly sets up a try for Brive against Bayonne)

Giorgi Jgenti continues Top 14 scrummaging domination

Montpellier tighthead prop Giorgi Jgenti has been a scrummaging monster all season, and his form continued last weekend against despite his side falling to a defeat against Castres.

Prop Giorgi Jgenti continued his scrummaging form
against Castres this weekend

Jgenti and the Montpellier scrum sent the Castres pack which included French international prop Luc Ducalcon and France A prop Yannick Forestier in the front row. The scrum won a penalty for Montpellier, but they were always behind Castres in the match and in the end lost 27-18.

Jgenti joined Montpellier in 2010 from Pro D2 side Oyonnax and has been a great signing for them, becoming first choice tighthead prop in his first season and being nominated as one of the best tighthead props in the Top 14, in his second season with added competition for his place from Argentine Maximiliano Bustos, Jgenti has gone up a level. He has upped his work rate aside from his main strength of scrummaging, and has lessened his penalty count, Midi Olympique named him as the best tighthead prop of the first half of the season.

The 26 year old is becoming Georgia's answer to the "Hair Bear" Adam Jones, both are very similar in playing style and Jgenti one day could improve to become as good as Jones one day perhaps.

However, despite Jgenti's scrummaging success, he has not played for Georgia in over a year and was left out of the World Cup squad (despite the majority of Georgian fans wanting him in it), which has been whispered amongst fans because of disputes between him and officials in the setup and also another two very good tighthead props in Davit Zirakashvili and Davit Kubriashvili for competition.

But with Jgenti improving further this season, it has been of the opinion of most fans that on form he is the best Georgian tighthead prop and deserves to wear the number 3 jersey, yet it is unknown whether he can solve his problems with Georgian officials to get back in the side. If he can solve them he will be very welcome back into the side.

(Video: Giorgi Jgenti continues his beastly scrummaging form against Castres despite his side Montpellier suffering a loss)

Vasil Kakovin move to Toulouse now looks even more likely as Daan Human departs the French champions

Toulouse's veteran 35 year old South African prop Daan Human has been announced to be departing the French champions to head back to South Africa to work on his family farm. The departure of Human means that the rumoured arrival of Georgian prop Vasil Kakovin looks even more likely.

Vasil Kakovin has been heavily linked with a move to the
French champions Toulouse, a rumour which now looks
even more likely with the departure of Daan Human

Kakovin, who can play both prop positions but is predominantly a loosehead, made a great impact from the bench at the World Cup, and has continued that form with Brive in the Top 14 where he has become first choice ahead of his fellow Georgian Davit Khinchagishvili and was named in Midi Olympique's Top 14 team of the first half of the season.

At still just 22, Kakovin looks to have the potential to become one of the best props in the world given he has the capability to be a bull in the loose and also strong at scrummaging as well, whilst many props can do one or the other very few combine the two it is very rare. And Toulouse coach Guy Novès seems to have seen that potential in Kakovin, and it is thought that he is one of the French champions main targets in the transfer market.
A move to Toulouse although unfortunate for Brive who would lose a good player, would be a great one for Kakovin. He would get much more recognition playing in one of the top European teams with a very rich history, and would also much more likely to end his career with more medals as well.

They also happen to have  a good scrum already which Kakovin could be part of. Being around such quality players would surely improve him as a player as well, although he would face tough competition for his place from internationals like Gurthro Steenkamp and Jean-Baptiste Poux, he could also learn from them as well.

If the move does go ahead for Kakovin then he would join another Georgian front rower at Toulouse in hooker Jaba Bregvadze who has recently signed a new contract with them. Two Georgians in the Toulouse front row would show how much the Lelos reputation is increasingly growing for producing front rowers.

Georgia "A" score five tries to beat the Principality Premiership XV 36-32

The Georgia "A" touring side picked up their second victory in two matches, this time against a combined Principality Premiership XV.

The Georgians had a rotated side than the one that beat Esher, whilst the Principality Premiership XV was a selection of players from the feeder teams to the Welsh regions.

The Georgia A squad pose for a team photo before the match

The lead switched hands several times throughout the match, with the Welshmen taking an early lead through the boot of Steffan Jones after a penalty won at scrum time in a match where the Georgian front rowers struggled.

But the Georgians soon scored in the 10th minute through captain Lekso Gugava running through poor defence setting up a try for hooker Shalva Mamukashvili, but discipline continued to be a problem for Georgia A with another scrum penalty, a professional foul and ruck infringements and the lead was soon surrendered until a try from lock Davit Chitidze from short distance meant the lead switched hands for the fourth time in the match to 14-12 to Georgia A.

But it was soon surrendered, and soon after prop Irakli Mirtskhulava who had a woeful match at the scrum and conceding penalties was sin binned for a wild punch that hit thin air which is the fourth card of the tour. Five penalties in the first half was far too many and four cards in two matches is also unacceptable and these preventable errors could cost more important matches in the future if they are not eradicated.

The Principality Premiership side took advantage of their advantage scoring a try set up by flanker James Davies' offload to Matt Llewellyn but the 14 man Georgian A side soon struck back with a try from lazy Welsh defence as scrum half Giorgi Kacharava caught defenders napping to score from a quick tap to leave the scores 22-21 at half time.

Despite the Welsh semi professional side scoring the first points after half time after another penalty from the scrum, in the second half Georgia A was a bit more dominant getting more momentum in attack and routinely gaining yards through the runs of their forwards Giorgi Tkesheliadze, Davit Chitidze and subs Beka Mekokishvili and Jaba Kikvidze. After pressure from the Georgians, hooker Andrew Brown overthrew a lineout and then Irakli Chkhikvadze went the posts after a simple switch move and soon after Jaba Kikvidze scored off the back of the scrum for a fifth try which put the odds very much in favour of Georgia A.

The Georgia A touring squad celebrate their win

The Principality Premiership XV fought back to score a late from Sam Soul in the corner and it was converted try to make it 32-33, but it was too late in the day and Georgia A just got straight back down field to score a penalty in the 79th mintute and held onto the victory.

A negative of this game was again the discipline and also the scrummaging which conceded numerous penalties and lost two scrums against the head. But the positives was a very solid defence, and of course the five tries scored.

The touring squads final match will be against North Welsh side RGC 1404 (the RGC stands for Rygbi Gogledd Cymru which is Welsh for Rugby North Wales and the 1404 comes from the year Owain Glyndŵr  became the Prince of Wales) on Saturday at Eirias Park.

32-36

Tries	Matt Llewellyn, Sam Sole	Shalva Mamukashvili, Davit Chitidze, Giorgi Kacharava, Irakli Chkhikvadze, Jaba Kikvidze
Conversions	Steffan Jones, Jamie Davies	Saba Nikolava (4)
Penalties	Steffan Jones (5), Jamie Davies	Saba Nikolava

Principality Premiership XV: 15 Geraint O'Driscoll (Pontypool/Dragons), 14 Richard Carter (Aberavon), 13 Matthew Jacobs (Llandovery), 12 Scott Williams (Newport), 11 Lee Rees (Llandovery/Scarlets); 10 Steffan Jones (Cross Keys/Dragons), 9 Justin James (Llanelli); 1 Richard Cornock (Cross Keys), 2 Gerwyn Price (Cross Keys), 3 Marc Jones (Cross Keys); 4 Adam Powell (Llanelli/Scarlets), 5 Haydn Pugh (captain, Carmarthen Quins); 6 Matt Llewellyn (Bridgend), 7 James Davies (Carmarthen Quins), 8 Morgan Allen (Aberavon/Ospreys)


16 Andrew Brown (Newport), 17 Will Taylor (Aberavon/Ospreys), 18 Ryan Harford (Pontpridd/Cardiff Blues), 19 Sam Kiley (Swansea), 20 Chris Davies (Aberavon); 21 Jamie Davies (Aberavon), 22 Sam Soul (Llandovery), 23 Elliot Frewen (Newport)

Georgia "A": 15 Saba Nikolava (Armia), 14 Zurab Dzneladze (AIA), 13 Irakli Chkhikvadze (Armia), 12 Giorgi Jimsheladze (Armia), 11 Lekso Gugava (captain, Lelo); 10 Irakli Gegenava (Lelo), 9 Giorgi Kacharava (Lelo); 1 Irakli Mirtskhulava (Tarbes), 2 Shalva Mamukashvili (Armia), 3 Giorgi Menabdishvili (Grenoble), 4 Mikheil Gachechiladze (Academy), 5 Davit Chitidze (Armia), 6 Beka Bitsadze (Armia), 7 Givi Berishvili (Locomotive), 8 Giorgi Tkesheliadze (Hartpury College)

Replacements: 16 Beka Mekokishvili (Armia), 17 Levan Chilachava (Toulon), 18 Jaba Kikvidze (Armia), 19 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili (Armia); 20 Sandro Nijaradze (Hartpury College), 21 Giga Gagoshvili (Armia), 22 Beka Urjukashvili (Figeac)

Davit Zirakashvili's great return from injury for Clermont

After breaking his arm against Leicester in the Heineken Cup in December, Clermont prop Davit Zirakashvili returned to action this weekend and his comeback went extremely well for him as Clermont extended their home winning streak to 40 matches in a row.

Davit Zirakashvili suffered an arm
injury in December which has kept
him out for over three months

Zirakashvili came on as a substitute in the 54th minute for Daniel Kotze with the scores level and the Catalan side in with a real chance of ending the streak. The Georgian prop made a real impact coming on and in just three minutes he and the Clermont scrum won a penalty after shunting their opposition backwards, and David Skrela kicked to give Clermont the lead.

And then on the 70th minute, Zirakashvili and the Clermont scrum demolished former England prop Perry Freshwater who was sent marching backwards by Zirakashvili at a high speed. Skrela again kicked the penalty and Clermont had a nine point lead and weren't going to lose the game from there.

It was a great return for Zirakashvili, who is one of three standout tighthead props currently playing in the Top 14 currently with Davit Kubriashvili of Toulon and Giorgi Jgenti of Montpellier. The Georgian coach Milton Haig certainly has luxury of tighthead props currently like no other international coach in the world.

(Video: Davit Zirakashvili on his return from an arm injury for Clermont, won two penalties at the scrum for his team against Perpignan and destroying former England international prop Perry Freshwater and turning the match towards Clermont)

Ridiculous attitude shown by FIRA boss dents Georgian hopes of joining the 6 Nations

In an article in the Scotsman last weekend by Iain Morrison contained some worrying comments by the FIRA (the organisation that organises tier 2 European Rugby) director Gilles Bizot. The article started off by explaining the growth of rugby in Georgia but here is an extract from the interview with Bizot.

So, would he like to see the concept of promotion/relegation extended to the Six Nations itself or, like King Louis in The Jungle Book, have Georgia reached the top and have to stop? 

“No,” is the simple reply from Bizot. “Georgian rugby is not nearly as strong as Italian rugby. In a one-off game the Georgians might beat Italy or Scotland but there is a huge gap between the two nations,” he adds. 

“Anyway, it is a matter for the Six Nations, which is a closed competition, not for FIRA. Georgia could one day play in the Six Nations but not at the moment. There are no discussions along those lines.”

FIRA Director Gilles
Bizot (above) has shown
a poor attitude about the
possibility of Georgia
in the near future being
added to the 6 Nations

This is ridiculous attitude by Bizot who is wrong and the director of FIRA thinking as non progressively as that is worrying for Georgia's deserved bid to join the 6 Nations in the near future.

Firstly he says that "Georgian rugby is not nearly as strong as Italian rugby".

Whilst he is entitled to his opinion, Georgia has proved they are as strong as Italy and in fact are at a similar level. Both teams have big fearsome forwards pack, but less strength in the backs.

Without home advantage Italy had worse matches against Scotland and England last year than Georgia's against the same opposition at the World Cup. Scotland comfortably defeated Italy at home in the 2011 6 Nations, and yes Italy won this year's match at home. But the narrow margin and tightness of the match between Georgia and Scotland at the World Cup that Georgia could overcome the difference if given home advantage as well.

There is no area on the pitch where Italy easily has better players than Georgia, in fact the Lelos now have more depth and top players in their front row than the Azzurri.

It depends on opinion whether Georgia are as good are only a bit worse than Italy, but there is no way that Georgia aren't "nearly as strong" as Italy. There is small differences between the two, it is likely that if Georgia were introduced into the 6 Nations then the home team would win the matches between the two much like what has happened in matches between Italy and Scotland these last few years.

With home advantage such as seen
here against Russia, Georgia who
have dominated the second tier of
European rugby over the past five
years should be able to beat at home
both Italy and Scotland

Bizot's second remark is "in a one-off game the Georgians might beat Italy or Scotland but there is a huge gap between the two nations".

This is a really poor attitude by Bizot. Think about it, Italy might beat France in a one-off match like they did in 2011 but normally throughout the 6 Nations France have been comfortable winners. By Bizot's logic Italy and Scotland who just win one-offs but normally lose in the 6 Nations are not good enough either then.

This is no reason to exclude Georgia from the 6 Nations, also in rugby if a team can beat a team in a one off match it likely means there is not a "huge gap between the two nations".

When Italy were added to the 6
Nations in 2000, they suffered some
heavy defeats including 80 points
conceded in 2001 to England (above),
Georgia are above the level Italy
were when they were added in 2000

And compare this Georgia side to the Italy side that was introduced to the 6 Nations in 2000, that Italian side was regularly thumped and notably conceded 80 points against England in 2001. Georgia are much better than that Italy side in the early 2000's, they would not concede 50 points to any of the 6 Nations teams, and if introduced they would improve and get losing margins closer much like Italy have done over the years.

Also look at the difference between Georgia and Italy, and then compare that to the difference between Georgia and some of the teams in the European Nations Cup, Georgia have been so dominant in the league the last few years that they have played a B team half of the time. Georgia are a lot closer to Italy than the opposition are to Georgia in the European Nations Cup.

Unfortunately this means that Bizot thinks that Georgia have to beat the top 6 Nations sides on more than one occasion to be considered as an addition. Something which is very hard to do when the Tier 1 clique continually ignores playing matches with Georgia. Despite Georgia's impressive performance in the 2007 World Cup, Georgia didn't get one match against Tier 1 opposition over the next four years until the next World Cup.

Bizot's third and final point is "It is a matter for the Six Nations, which is a closed competition, not for FIRA. Georgia could one day play in the Six Nations but not at the moment. There are no discussions along those lines."

Whilst he is right that it is a matter for the 6 Nations, FIRA should be championing Georgia to be added to the 6 Nations, and be pushing really hard for discussions. It is really disappointing to hear that there have been no discussions for Georgia to be added and doesn't seem to be any chance of them soon.