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Levan Maisashvili walks out on Georgia
By Ian Cameron
The head coach of Georgia, Levan Maisashvili, has resigned his position just five days after the union denied he was leaving his role.
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Although Georgia managed a draw with Portugal, they failed to win a match at the Rugby World Cup in what was perceived as a disappointing showing from the rising stars of Tier 2 rugby.
“I’m a little bit disappointed because we didn’t achieve our target, what was our goal, but one thing I can say is we played against tier one countries every game,” said Maisashvili. “Results of course is not what we want, but we played every game and never gave up.”
Now they have had to walk it back. A statement reads: “Levan Maisashvili, the head coach of the Lelos, left his position. He made this decision after returning from the World Cup in France.
“The 47-year-old specialist also left the post of head coach of the first professional Georgian franchise, “Black Lion”, which will try to win the Rugby Europe Super Cup for the third time in a row in November-December, after which it will participate in the second European club tournament, the Challenge Cup, for the first time in history.
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“Levan Maisashvili started coaching in his native club Lelos in 1994 and trained children and teenagers until 2001, and from 2001 he became the head coach of the Lelos men’s team and until 2019, the team won the Georgian championship 6 times, the national cup 3 times, 7 times He was named the best Georgian coach.
“At the international level, he coached the under-18 and under-19 rugby teams of Georgia, as well as the “A” and developing teams of Georgia.
“In 2016-2019, he was an assistant to the former head coach, Milton Haig, and in 2020, he was appointed as the Lelos head coach. Under Maisashvili’s leadership, Georgia played 40 games, out of which they won 24, drew three and conceded 13.”
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In the last four years, the Lelos have won the European Rugby Championship four times. In 2020 and 2021, the team played several memorable games against Tier 1 teams. They participated in the Autumn Cup of Nations; held test matches against the world champion South Africa and France; and held Fiji to a 15-15 draw.
The most successful year was 2022, when Georgia defeated a Tier 1 team for the first time in history and went on to make it two in a row. In July in Batumi, The Lelos beat Italy 28:19 and then in November they beat Wales 13-12 in Cardiff.
From 2021, Maisashvili took over the Black Lion, which is the base team of the national team, and together with him he won the European Rugby Super Cup twice (in two years, 16 games, 13 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses). In 2022, the Georgian franchise played in the domestic championship of South Africa – Khari Kafi, where they won five games and lost two, and this year they were on a South American tour and played against the southern franchises without competition.
“Georgian Rugby thanks Levan Maisashvili for his work and wishes him success in his future activities.”
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The search for a new head coach of Lelos and Black Lion has already begun, the union have said.
Maisashvili has done well, no doubt about that. But after WC fiasco, time he leaves position and new coatch, with that know how that Maisashvili lacks, comes in and takes over.
Huge loss for Georgia.