Hundreds of men went charging through the Georgian village of Shukhuti as they grappled for control of a wine-soaked leather ball — a frenzied folk game that locals say is the bedrock of the Caucasus country’s prowess on the modern-day rugby union field.
Held every Easter, the fierce contest pits the village’s upper and lower halves against each other in a bruising effort to drive the ball into a river.
Victory goes to the team that hurls the ball — stuffed with soil doused in locally made wine and weighing a hefty 16kg — into the water.
Photo: AFP
Known as lelo burti, the game was first played in Shukhuti in western Georgia more than 150 years ago to commemorate a historic military victory against Ottoman Turkish invaders.
Georgians see lelo as a wild cousin of rugby, a game that has surged in popularity over the past few decades.
Fittingly nicknamed the Lelos, Georgia’s national rugby union team have dominated the second-tier Rugby Europe Championship, clinching the title for eight years in a row.
Photo: AFP
“This is where Georgian rugby draws its passion for victory — from the intense energy rooted in the ancient tradition of lelo,” local mayor Alexandre Sarishvili said.
National team head coach Richard Cockerill shares that sentiment.
“We’re a small country with small numbers, but we’re still able to put a team out that can compete with Fiji and Japan and Wales and Italy and win Rugby Europe every year,” Cockerill told reporters at the squad’s Tbilisi training ground.
With just 8,000 registered players — a fraction of the numbers seen in Tier One nations — Georgia have beaten the four sides in the past few years.
Their under-20s team defeated England ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Yet Georgia remain locked out of the Six Nations, a closed competition that has not welcomed a new team since Italy joined in 2000.
Former England hooker Cockerill wants meritocracy to trump tradition when it comes to the Six Nations line-up.
“We deserve an opportunity to play off against the bottom team, to prove that we are good enough,” he said, referring to Wales’ ongoing dismal losing streak.
“If a team’s lost 17 Test matches on the bounce and is bottom of the Six Nations two years in succession, surely at some point there’s got to be an opportunity for Georgia,” he said. “We’re above Wales in the world rankings ... but the gate’s shut, isn’t it?”
Although he says that the push for inclusion is a long shot, Cockerill argues that a promotion-relegation playoff would introduce incentive and risk — benefitting the sport.
“There’s a realistic chance that whoever wins Rugby Europe would actually put huge pressure on whoever finishes bottom of the Six Nations. If we’re going to grow the game ... then I think there should be some jeopardy,” he added.
With enthusiastic public support and strong government backing, rugby is thriving on a grassroots level in the capital, Tbilisi, and beyond.
However, Cockerill warns that growth will stall without greater competitive exposure.
“We need to learn how to lose, and play as Italy have, as France did when they joined the Four Nations to make it Five Nations, as Fiji have done when they’ve joined Super Rugby,” he said.
He envisions a similar trajectory for Georgia and laments that all the country’s best players move abroad to play in competitive club competitions.
For now, Georgian rugby is stuck in a holding pattern.
The new Nations Cup format, which groups them with other Tier Two sides, offers no path for promotion until at least 2030.
“We’re being told to wait five more years,” Cockerill said. “That’s not growth, that’s containment.”
In Shukhuti on Sunday, after hours of punishing scrums, torn shirts, and battered bodies, the men of Upper Shukhuti finally broke through and claimed a hard-won victory.
“Lelo captures the combative spirit of Georgians,” said local doctor Nanuli Khalvashi, 64, who came to cheer for the Upper Shukhuti team. “With a sporting tradition like this, it’s no wonder Georgia have become a force in rugby.”
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday homered for the fifth consecutive game, tying a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record. Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to homer in five consecutive games, accomplishing that feat last year. Ohtani, who leads the National League with 37 home runs, homered in the first inning off Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack. He hit a slow curveball 134m to center. He carried the bat midway down the first-base line and then did a bat flip. He did not hit a home run later in the game with the Dodgers trailing, but his presence was felt. With two outs
Taiwan’s world No. 6 shuttler Chou Tien-chen yesterday defeated India’s H.S. Prannoy to advance to the quarter-finals of the China Open in Changzhou. It was former world No. 2 Chou’s eighth win in 14 matches against Prannoy, who had earlier this week lamented the age divide between him and up-and-comers, although he is only two years younger than 35-year-old Chou. The Taiwanese, who is seeded sixth at the tournament, rebounded from a close 21-18 loss in game 1 on Court 2 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. He bounced back to take the next games 21-15, 21-8 and set up a tough quarter-final
The Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday acquired Taiwanese-American outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations to fill the roster after All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe was placed back on the injured list. Fairchild was designated for assignment by the Braves on Monday after hitting .216/.273/.333 in 28 games for Atlanta, with most of his work coming as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He joins Tampa Bay as a versatile fourth outfielder option. To make room for Fairchild on the 40-man roster, the Rays transferred relief pitcher Manuel Rodriguez (forearm strain) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day
RSS