Georgia on his mind
New challenge for Rowntree
Graham Rowntree, universally known as “Wig” and already dubbed “Wigsvili” following his appointment last week as Georgia forwards coach, has wasted no time in embracing his brief.
He is on a road trip round France, meeting the vast squadron of Georgians playing in the Top 14, with a view to putting together a side who can go out and “shock and scare people”. The aim, he says in his first interview since taking the role, is to “prove to the world that Georgia can be a force in the Test arena”.
Rowntree was in Toulon in midweek, one of seven stopovers on a journey that also takes in Brive, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Toulouse and Bordeaux, powerhouse set-ups in their own right and employing some 70 per cent of the professional players that make up the Georgia squad.
Rowntree is among his own, a diehard scrum guru with as much experience of the front-row trade as any, with three Lions tours to his credit as a coach, as well as eight years and three World Cups with England. Yet for all the peaks that he has scaled, he insists this is “the most challenging, most exciting role I have ever taken on. It was something I couldn’t turn down”.
The 47-year-old fits the bill and not only for his cauliflower-eared, stony-faced look. Certainly, the photos of him at the official announcement in Tbilisi show him sitting alongside similarly manmountain figures, as if promoting a new talent show called “Prop Idol”.
“Georgians are undeniably a big race, passionate and proud, too,” said Rowntree. “But there is far more than natural physique to them. What surprised me was how professional their set-up is. Yes, they are huge blokes. But that isn’t enough in the modern game. You have to have great infrastructure underpinning it all, terrific strength and conditioning input. And all that is in place.
“The National Rugby Centre in Tbilisi has great facilities, a hotel on site, very much akin to what I’ve been used to down the years. There are two more centres around the country. This is a dream job for me. I’ve admired Georgia’s forward play for a long time.”
Rowntree, whose family are still based in Leicester where his son, Jack, is part of the Tigers academy, will divide his time between home, Georgia and France. Even though he had a year on his contract to run at Harlequins, he decided to make a clean break.
He met Georgia head coach Milton Haig in London five weeks ago and the contract, which runs through to the end of next year’s World Cup in Japan, was signed last week. Georgia, who beat Tonga and Namibia at the 2015 World Cup to qualify automatically for next year, are in a pool with Australia, Wales, Fiji and Uruguay, almost exactly the same opponents Rowntree faced as England forwards coach three years ago.
“The tables have turned, haven’t they? We can go there without the burden of pressure,” he said. “I’m looking forward to being back on that stage, helping the lads to improve their performance so that we can show what we are made of and go there to scare people. Georgia are desperate to get to the next level. And it’s my job to play a part in getting them there.”
Rowntree’s tour of France is a fast-track means of familiarising himself with the stock of players at his disposal ahead of a potentially seminal match against Italy in Florence on Nov 10. Georgia have been pushing for inclusion in the Six Nations for several years, having won the second-tier European Championship nine times in the past 11 seasons. Their case for breaking into the elite brotherhood carries exact echoes of Italy’s situation in the 1990s, ahead of their admission in 2000.
“It is for administrators to decide if Georgia get into the Six Nations,” said Rowntree. “All we can control is performance, keep proving that we are worthy of fixtures against tier-one countries, doing ourselves and the nation of Georgia proud. We want to be as good as we can be and showcase that to everyone. Italy is a massive game for us.”
Rowntree has spent only a couple of days in Georgia so far, but has been struck by its beauty and the professionalism and drive of the whole organisation.
The union was founded in 1964, but the upturn in fortunes and ambitions did not happen until the late-nineties. Huge investment from a billionaire benefactor, former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has helped enormously.
Rugby is popular in Georgia, with the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi often at its 54,000-capacity, particularly for games against Russia. There is an academy programme and full-time staff at various training bases dotted round the country, all a far cry from the old days when the forwards used to pack down against defunct Russian tractors for scrummaging practice.
“Sounds the sort of thing I might have to resurrect,” said Rowntree, with a chuckle. “Of course the scum is important, but we’ve moved away from solely that. What happens in between the set-piece is just as important, getting off the floor quickly, impacting at the breakdown, that sort of thing. There’s a lot to work on.”
Georgia will stage a week-long camp in Montpellier ahead of the Italy game, by which time Rowntree hopes to have mastered some Georgian. “Things like, ‘Get down and push you b-----,’” said Rowntree, laughing again. To the Georgian manor born.
The world will get its first glimpse of the redeveloped East Stand at Twickenham today at the Premiership match between Northampton and Leicester Tigers.
The Rugby Football Union is using this afternoon’s game as a test event for the new £80million stand ahead of the full opening for England’s first Test match of the autumn against South Africa on Nov 3.
Costs of the development have soared by more than £26million from the original budget of £53.5million, largely because of extra work required for fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell disaster and anti-terror measures.
Despite the overspend, which has added to the pressure on RFU finances, the governing body is confident the stand will have paid for itself within seven years and then will begin generating profits to invest in the game.
The new stand features four hospitality restaurants, including a covered rooftop terrace, that can cater for up to 4,500 supporters when fully operational.
The redevelopment extends the stand by 23,000 square metres on six levels for hospitality, conference events and food and drink.
Today’s match is being staged at Twickenham to raise funds for former Northampton and Australia centre Rob Horne, who was forced to retire from rugby last season after suffering an injury that left his right arm paralysed.