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Georgia does pioneer proud

Written by Ramaz Mitaishvili
Sunday, 30 September 2007
The founding father of Georgian rugby couldn't be prouder.Jacques Haspekian, a Marseille native, is credited with introducing rugby to Georgia when he taught the game to students from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s. After failing to introduce rugby to Armenia, Haspekian - a professional cyclist - arrived in Georgia with fresh dreams of spreading his passion for the game. "I went out to some boys in a field and showed them an oval ball. They had never seen something like it before. We started with just 10 players, but soon we grew to 100," Haspekian said. Kick-off at the races Georgia's first documented rugby match was staged on 15 October 1959 in the capital Tbilisi. It was held at a racecourse and 20 people attended. The Georgian Polytechnical Institute became the first champions, and later formed Georgia's first club, Qochebi. Haspekian returned to France in 1965 and "didn't hear anything about Georgian rugby after that for a long, long time". But the seed was sewn, Georgian rugby continued to germinate and the national team was formed in 1989. In 2002 Haspekian was invited to attend the Georgia versus Portugal match in Tbilisi. "I was so shocked and so amazed that Georgian rugby could be so big. I still can't believe that they are here today, I never could have expected it." Watching Georgia play France on Sunday, 30 September, will be a big moment for the 81-year-old. "Of course I am French, but my heart is with Georgia. I want France to win, but I hope that Georgia will have a great performance. Now I have my own goal - to live until 2011 to see them come back stronger than ever before." !
Last Updated ( Sunday, 30 September 2007 )