| Full name | Luka Matkava | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 10 May 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tbilisi, Georgia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb; 13 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Luka Matkava (Georgian :ლუკა მატკავა; born 10 May 2001) is a Georgian professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Top 14 club Montpellier. [1]
Matkava began his career at RC Armazi [2] in the Georgian Didi 10, [3] scoring 62 points in 25 appearances. [4] [5] After Armazi were relegated in the 2020–21 season he joined Black Lion and RC Junkers.
In 2021 he was named in the initial Black Lion squad for the inaugural Rugby Europe Super Cup season. [6] Making his debut off the bench against Tel Aviv Heat in the second round. He became a pivotal cog in the Georgian franchise featuring in all of the Black Lions matches for the 2022 season, including starting in the final against Tel Aviv Heat. [7] [8] He started in Black Lions' EPCR Challenge Cup debut against Gloucester, scoring all of the Georgian franchises points in the 10-15 loss in Tbilisi, including scoring the only try of the game in the 20th minute. [9] He started again the week after against Scarlets, scoring 13 points off the tee to help lead Black Lion secure their first ever EPCR Challange Cup win "humiliating" the Llanelli based side. [10] [11] He started in Black Lions third Rugby Europe Super Cup final, scoring 2 penalties and 3 conversions not missing a kick of the tee. [12]
He joined RC Junkers in the Didi 10. [13] He made his debut in the 7th round in a 35–29 win over Ares Kutaisi, scoring 15 points in the Junkers 2nd win of the season. [14] In total he made 6 appearances scoring 37 points, [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] however it was not enough as they were relegated to the Georgian First League. [20]
In 2022 he joined Khvamli Tbilisi in the Didi 10, he featured once for the side coming off the bench in the final round of the season, beating RC Aia Kutaisi 18–17. [21]
He was named in the RC Batumi squad for the 2023–24 Didi 10 season however he did not feature. [22]
In July 2023 he was announced to be joining Top 14 side Montpellier for two seasons. [23] [24]
Matkava was pivotal in Georgia's 2019 Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship campaign. Starting at scrum-half in all three of their matches, scoring in their 64-10 over host country Russia. [25] [26] [27]
Matkava was named in the 35-man squad for the Autumn internationals, [28] making his international debut coming off the bench against Uruguay in the 2022 Autumn internationals. [29] He again came off the bench in Georgia's historic victory against Wales, he slotted the winning penalty in the 77th minute to seal the victory. [30] [31]
He appeared in all of Georgia's matches in the 2023 Rugby Europe Championship, where in which Georgia went unbeaten, winning the competition for the 15th time. He started only once, his first international start, in the round one victory over Germany where in which he went onto to win Player of the Match. [32] [33] He was named in the Georgian squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup Warmups, [34] where he featured in another historic win for Georgia starting at fly-half in a historic win over Romania. Matkava scoring 5 conversions, 1 penalty and a try in the largest ever win for Georgia over Romania. [35] [36] He made his Rugby World Cup debut starting in a 35-15 loss to Australia where he was considered the best performer of the Georgia players. [37] He featured in all of Georgia's matches, starting in all but the draw against Portugal. Georgia came 4th in Pool C, unable to win a match.
Matkava started at fly-half in all of Georgia's matches in the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship including the final where he scored 16 points in a 36–10 win over Portugal. He made his first international start at full back in the 2024 mid-year rugby union tests against Fiji in Batumi, He scored all of Georgia's points in the 12–21 loss. The following week on the 13 July Matkava started in Georgia's 3rd ever win over a Tier 1 nation, scoring 10 points in a famous 23–25 victory over Japan. [38]
| Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 [39] |  Germany | Tbilisi, Georgia | Avchala Stadium | 2023 Rugby Europe Championship | February 5, 2023 | Victory | 72–12 |
| 2 [40] |  Romania | Tbilisi, Georgia | Mikheil Meskhi Stadium | 2023 Rugby World Cup Warmups | August 12, 2023 | Victory | 56–6 |
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