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| Full name | Alexander Todua | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 2 November 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tbilisi, Georgia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb; 203 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sandro Todua (born 2 November 1987 in Tbilisi, Georgia) is a Georgian rugby union player. He plays as a winger for the Rugby Europe Super Cup side Black Lion and for Didi 10 side RC Batumi. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Todua began his career at Lelo Saracens in his home town Tbilisi, after coming second in the league in 2007 and 2008, they won the Didi 10 in the 2008–09 season, beating Batumi in the final. [5]
In 2012 Todua moved to France to play for SC Albi in the Pro D2, he spent 2 seasons at the club making 36 appearances scoring 3 tries.
He returned to Lelo Saracens in 2014, at his second stint at the club he won the Didi 10 back to back in the 2014–15 and 2015–16. He was selected to be part of the Tbilisi Caucasians team for the 2014 European Rugby Challenge Cup Qualifying Competition, playing in both matches against Rugby Rovigo Delta. [6] [7]
He joined Batumi in 2018, winning the Didi 10 that year.
He joined Black Lion for the inaugural Rugby Europe Super Cup, startining in their first ever match a 33–10 win over Tel Aviv Heat. [8] He went on to start in the final against the Lusitanos winning 17–10. Todua scored in both the semifinal and final of the 2023 Rugby Europe Super Cup, winning the competition. [9] [10] He started in all of Black Lion's games in the 2023–24 EPCR Challenge Cup, including the famous win over Scarlets. [11]
He made his debut for the national side in 2008, starting against the Czech Republic in Prague. His first try came against the USA in the 2009 Churchill Cup, scoring in a 31–13 loss. [12]
He was selected for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, he started in all of Georgia's matches, [13] [14] [15] including their only win of the tournament, a 25–9 win over European rivals Romania. [16] In 2013 he was selected to be part of the Georgia sevens squad for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens. [17]
He was selected for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, however only featured twice. Starting in Georgia's first ever match against New Zealand and Namibia. The win over Namibia was Todua's 50th cap. [18] It was their most successful tournament, with them winning two games and automatically qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. [19]
He scored his 10th try in a Test match against the French Barbarians in May 2018. In the following year he was selected for his 3rd World Cup. He featured in three out of their four games, scoring twice against Uruguay and Australia.
In 2022 he scored in Georgia's first ever win over a Tier 1 nation, when they beat Italy 28–19. [20] He won his 100th cap in 34–18 win over Uruguay. [21] The same year he scored in Georgia's second ever win over a Tier 1 nation, in November 2022 beating Wales 11–12 in Cardiff. [22]
He was named in the Georgia squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, he became one of six Georgians to play at four Rugby World Cup tournaments. He only featured once in a draw against Portugal. [23] [24]
In November 2024, against the All Blacks XV, Todua plays his 115th match for Georgia. [25]
