The Black Lion

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Black Lion

Nickname(s)	Lomi (The Lions)
Founded	2021; 1 year ago (2021)
Location	Tbilisi, Georgia
Coach(es)
Captain(s)	Merab Sharikadze
League(s)	Rugby Europe Super Cup Currie Cup First Division
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
facebook.com/BlackLionRugby

The Black Lion (Georgian: შავი ლომი Shavi Lomi) is a professional Georgian rugby union team based in Tbilisi that competes annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup Eastern Conference competition along with Enisei-STM, Lokomotiv Penza and Tel Aviv Heat.^[1][2]

Name[]

Niko Pirosmani's The Black Lion (1905)

The name of the franchise has several inspirations. The players of the national team are sometimes nicknamed the lions, in reference to an (unofficial) anthem of the national team, which says: "freedom is the property of the lions". Also this is similar to the Georgian Rugby Union's slogan, "Freedom is a lion's destiny". The second inspiration comes from Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani, one of whose most famous works is the painting "Black Lion".^[3] The club logo is a reinterpretation of the lion's face.

History[]

The franchise was created in 2021 to participate in the Rugby Europe Super Cup. It is owned by the Georgian Federation, which employs the players. All the players are without clubs or playing in the Georgia league (Didi 10). Players are made available to Didi 10 clubs when they have no obligations with their franchise, up to a limit of 4 per club. Georgian club joins into Currie Cup First Division since 2022.^[4]

Current squad[]

The Black Lion squad for the 2021–2022 Rugby Europe Super Cup season is:

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Hooker Georgia Shalva Mamukashvili Hooker Georgia Hooker Georgia Nika Abuladze Prop Georgia Prop Georgia Nikoloz Khatiashvili Prop Georgia Prop Georgia Prop Georgia Prop Georgia Prop Georgia Lock Georgia Nodar Cheishvili Lock Georgia Davit Gigauri Lock Georgia Lock Georgia Lasha Jaiani Lock Georgia Back row Georgia Back row Georgia Back row Georgia Back row Georgia Giorgi Tkhilaishvili Back row Georgia

Player Position Union Giorgi Begadze Scrum-half Georgia Scrum-half Georgia Scrum-half Georgia Giorgi Babunashvili Fly-half Georgia Fly-half Georgia Centre Georgia Lasha Lomidze Centre Georgia Merab Sharikadze Centre Georgia Demur Tapladze Centre Georgia Wing Georgia Mirian Modebadze Wing Georgia Sandro Svanidze Wing Georgia Akaki Tabutsadze Wing Georgia Sandro Todua Wing Georgia Lasha Khmaladze Fullback Georgia Soso Matiashvili Fullback Georgia

• Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.

Coaches[]

Current coaching staff[]

The current coaching staff for the Black Lion team:

Name	Nationality	Role
	GEO	Manager
	GEO	Manager
	GEO	Head coach
Ilia Maisuradze	GEO	Assistant coach
	GEO	Assistant coach
	NZL	Attack coach
Irakli Chkonia	GEO	Strength & Conditioning coach
Davit Nemsadze	GEO	Strength & Conditioning coach
William Lavis	ENG	Rehab coach
Absalom Abramishvili	GEO	Physiotherapist
Ed Barry	ENG	Physiotherapist
Davit Ramishvili	GEO	Video-Analyst
Nika Pinaishvili	GEO	GPS-Analyst

See also[]

• Georgia national rugby union team
• Rugby union in Georgia
• Tbilisi Caucasians

References[]

External links[]