Georgia’s growth ‘good for rugby’ says Jaiani
GEORGIAN powerhouse Lasha Jaiani believes his nation’s presence in an expanded Six Nations would enhance the competition not detract from its popularity.
Jaiani, a former Whitgift School and Exeter University student whose performances during the Autumn Nations Cup (ANC) convinced Wasps to take a punt on his potential as a second row enforcer, claims the world game would benefit from giving tier two countries a leg up.
Jaiani, 22, told The Rugby Paper: “Even though we might not have achieved our goal of winning a match during the ANC, we showed that we could progress really quickly.
“If you look at the matches going on from England, which we lost by 40 points, we played a really good game defensively against Wales and then went to Ireland, where we scored a really good try and played well defensively again against a side with lots of stars.
“That was a tight game against a very good Irish side, so we came out of those three games with credit and it showed that Georgia is a team that can progress really well if we’re given enough exposure against top tier one sides like England, Wales and Ireland.
“The ANC was just an experiment but if you gave Georgia more games against quality opposition, especially with the young, talented team we currently have, the future would be very good. We would use the chance correctly and that would be good for rugby.
“With teams like Russia and Romania as well, we could see a very quick rise in the development of Eastern European rugby and then you also have Spain and Portugal. If Georgia is doing well against tier one teams, it would give everyone confidence to progress.”
An argument levelled against Georgia’s inclusion in the Six Nations is that it would detract from the tournament’s commercial appeal, but Jaiani counters: “Before Covid, our games against Russia and Romania would regularly attract big crowds of 45,000-50,000.
“If you had even higher quality rugby against tier one teams, we could get even bigger crowds and Georgia is a good tourist destination as well for people who want to follow their teams.
“I don’t see why we couldn’t add significant value to the Six Nations.”
Jaiani, meanwhile, is aiming to establish himself at Wasps after spending the last six years being educated in England whilst honing his skills at Whitgift and Exeter University, where he played BUCS League and South West Premier rugby.
He won the first of his six senior caps for Georgia against Belgium in Europe’s tier two Six Nations last March.
Of his unusual route to the top, Jaiani explains: “I’m from Tbilisi and did swimming and gymnastics when I was young, but my dad played rugby for the old Soviet Union and became a coach, so I joined the RC Chokhosnebi club when I was 11 and started from there.
“At 16, I came to England to study and I’m so grateful for the help Whitgift and Exeter University gave me in developing my career. The BUCS League is very exciting with some very talented players and it’s improving year-on-year, which is good for English rugby. I played for Georgia at U15s, U18s and 20s but my senior debut against Belgium last year was probably the most important match of my life.
“Representing my country was something I’d been waiting a long time for and to then go on and play against big teams like England, Wales and Ireland, taking on guys like Joe Launchbury and James Ryan, was so exciting and improved me as a player.”
Jaiani’s short-term goal is clear: “I thought I fronted up pretty well in the autumn and to get the chance to move to such an historic club as Wasps now, with such a good track record in the Premiership, will only help develop my game further.
“I’m contracted until the summer but my aim is to stay at the club beyond that.”