Georgia prop linked with Ricoh move

WASPS have been linked with signing Georgian prop Zurab Zhvania to help solve their temporary issues at loose-head prop.

The 26-year-old Georgian international has been listed as Wasps player in a trusted Wikipedia entry that lists all of the Premiership Rugby ins and outs for this season.

Nothing has been formally announced by the club, but it wouldn’t be huge surprise if Wasps did pursue the international forward given the double blow of losing Matt Mullan and Simon McIntyre for the start of the season.

Mullan underwent knee surgery and could be out for up to nine months, while McIntyre’s recovery from a foot operation should see him back in action around October time.

This leaves Dai Young with limited options for the opening few months of the campaign, with Ben Harris, who started the Premiership play-off semifinal with Saracens, and Tom West - who has been given a senior contract after coming through the club’s academy.

New-signing Kieran Brookes expressed his willingness to play loosehead if required, but that could leave Wasps short of a senior option on the other side of the scrum should Brookes or Jake CooperWoolley suffer an injury.

Zhvania has ability to play at booth loosehead and at hooker - which would make an attractive proposition for Wasps as they are still without the services of Ashley Johnson after his suspension and Tommy Taylor is recovering from a knee issue.

He made his international debut for Georgia in 2013 and has gone on to earn 34 caps although only 10 of them came from a starting position.

Remarkably, he has managed to register 10 international tries, using his near 19-stone body to get over the line with encouraging frequency despite losing 75 per cent of his matches for Georgia.

A French rugby website reported Zhvania’s departure from Stade Francais a few days ago, using a screengrab from Zhvania’s Facebook profile. In it, a message says: “Hello to all. I wanted to tell you myself that I leave Paris, thank you to all, and a big thank you to supporters for your support!!!”