Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) and the Georgian Rugby Union (GRU) signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share their rugby values and to transfer the knowledge between the two countries.
The event took place between the Head of Georgian Veteran Rugby (GVR) Avtandil Ghibradze and President of SLR Rizly Illyas during a ceremony held at the City Lentekhi Rugby Club, situated close to the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
“I take this opportunity to thank GRU President Soso Tkemaladze for inviting me and making this signing of MoU between the two countries a possibility,” President SLR Rizly Illyas said yesterday.
“I am truly honoured as President of SLR to be a part of this agreement which will uplift the standard of rugby in Sri Lanka and in future sponsorships,” he added.
Also present at this occasion were the Publisher of Rugby World Georgia David Samsonidze and David Katsitadze, Representative of SLR in Georgia.
Rugby is one of the most popular sports in Georgia and the National Team qualified for the Rugby World Cup five times, first in 2003 – playing against rugby superpowers such as England and South Africa.
Georgia is currently placed 12th in the World Rugby Rankings and is considered as one of the world’s fastest-growing rugby nations having been part of the Rugby Union of the Soviet Union until 1991. Sri Lanka have also made steady progress from the Asian region as both their Men’s and Women’s Teams have already qualified to play in the 2022 Commonwealth Games Seven-A-Side Rugby Tournament in Birmingham, England.