In recent years Richard Cockerill has been used to being at the heart of Six Nations ‘Super Saturday’ but 24 hours after the 2024 Championship had finished, he was lifting silverware for the first time as Georgia head coach after tasting success on Rugby Europe’s ‘Super Sunday’.
In his debut campaign as the Lelos head coach, former England assistant Cockerill saw his team hammer 2023 World Cup darlings Portugal 36-10 in Paris.
This was their seventh-straight Rugby Europe title. Georgia have become used to dominating the tier below the Six Nations.
‘We’re probably a little bit too good for this competition and not quite ready to step up into the next competition – whichever one that might be,’ Cockerill told Mail Sport.
‘We’re stuck in the middle a little bit. We’ve got huge potential. We can be so much better. I’m very optimistic for the future.’
Georgia won their seventh-consecutive Rugby Europe title on Sunday night in Paris
The Lelos beat Portugal 36-10 in the final of European rugby’s second-tier competition
Cockerill took charge of Georgia after they disappointed at last year’s World Cup and he became available after leaving French side Montpellier. His task is complex.
Georgia are in something of a rugby halfway house. In an ideal world, they would like to be given access to the Six Nations though for now, that looks unlikely.
They need tougher challenges than they get in Rugby Europe and require more games against the game’s elite to continue their progress. Will they get them?
The implementation of the new Nations Championship competition from 2026 suggests not although Georgia do have a big summer ahead.
They will face Japan in a game which will see Cockerill go up against his former England boss Eddie Jones. Georgia will also meet Fiji and Joe Schmidt’s Australia in the months to come.
These are brilliant matches which will give them the chance to ruffle the feathers of some of the game’s elite. Japan are rebuilding under Jones and Fiji do not yet have a coach.
Georgia ran the Pacific Islanders very close at the World Cup. Schmidt is now in charge of an Australian rugby system experiencing severe difficulties.
‘We need the opportunity like Italy have had in the last 20 years – whether it’s at United Rugby Championship level or Test level – for us to improve,’ said Cockerill.
Cockerill took charge of Georgia after their disappointing Rugby World Cup showing
The former England international served as Steve Borthwick’s assistant until last year
The Lelos were knocked out in the pool stages, finishing bottom of Group C without a win
‘We are not looking to replace anyone (in the Six Nations). We’re looking to add to it. The difficulty is our fixtures are so spread out. The jump is very big. We need regular competition.
‘Italy have taken a big step forward in this year’s Six Nations. The Six Nations is a very tough tournament, much tougher than this one (Rugby Europe), and it’s getting tougher.
‘If we’re not careful, that gap will get bigger. The quality (in Rugby Europe) isn’t the same. It’s not like playing the big teams. We’re not going to pretend otherwise.
‘We’re very good at this level and we would like to think we can compete with teams like Japan, Fiji and Italy but we’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’ve got to keep winning.’
Expanding the Six Nations to seven teams is a tough task amid a crowded rugby calendar and concerns over player welfare. The Championship’s six competing unions are also scared to death of implementing a play-off game for promotion and relegation between the two tiers.
That’s because it would put real financial jeopardy into their futures. But doing just that would certainly broaden rugby’s appeal. Wales finished bottom of this year’s Six Nations without a win.
Italy have taken huge strides forward in this year’s Six Nations, finishing with two wins
Wales received the wooden spoon after finishing bottom of the table without a win
A two-legged play-off game between them and Georgia would be a marvellous occasion.
As former Wales captain Sam Warburton rightly pointed out, no Six Nations union should have an undisputed right to a Championship place and the lucrative funds that come with it. On current form, Georgia would have every chance against Wales.
They beat them in Cardiff in 2022. Georgia certainly have good players.
Vasil Lobzhanidze, Luka Matkava and Davit Niniashvili are fine talents in the back division and Georgia’s scrum obliterated Portugal. They have power up front.
The Rugby Europe finals day in Paris was attended by a crowd of 8,200 and showed there is more to Test rugby competition in the northern hemisphere than just the Six Nations.
As a former hooker himself and a no-nonsense coach, Cockerill seems a good fit for Georgia.
‘We’ve got Fiji, Japan and Australia in the summer and those will be great tests for us. We need to play tier-one teams to see exactly where we’re at,’ he added.
Georgia’s Under-18 side will compete alongside the likes of England and Wales in an age-grade rugby festival this summer in a welcome development.
Georgia pulled off a historic win against Wales in Cardiff two years ago
Luka Matkava is one of Georgia’s fine selection of backs that Cotterrill can call upon
Georgia captain Vasil Lobzhanidze (middle) is one of the Lelos’ stalwarts
The country’s senior club side Black Lion took part in this season’s European Rugby Challenge Cup for the first time. Cockerill is keen to see Black Lion given a chance in the URC – the league competition currently made up of club teams from Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy.
More certainly needs to be done to help an ambitious rugby country.
‘Black Lion have acquitted themselves very well in Europe this year so we would like to investigate potentially trying to get into the URC,’ said Cockerill.
‘The expectation is for us to win because we’re a powerful rugby nation. We can play better than we did against a good Portugal team. We’ve got to keep improving.’
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