![]() Kvirikashvili in 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 27 December 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place of birth | Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 80 kg (12 st 8 lb; 176 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Five-eighth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [1] |
Merab "Meko" Kvirikashvili (born 27 December 1983) is a Georgian rugby union player. He started his career as a scrum-half but now plays as a fly-half and occasional fullback and is the all-time leading points scorer for the Georgia national rugby union team. He has also represented the Georgia national rugby league team and Georgia national rugby sevens team.
Kvirikashvili was born 27 December 1983, Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union. He left Georgia in 2006 for Pro D2 side Pau, and has since moved on to three other French clubs in Fédérale 1 in Massy, Figeac and most recently Saint-Junien where he joined after the 2011 World Cup and currently plays. He has not spent more than two seasons at one club during his stay in France.
Kvirikashvili made his Georgia debut as a teenager in 2003 against Portugal, and made the squad for Georgia's first ever appearance in a World Cup later that year, playing in all four of Georgia's matches from the bench.
However he failed to establish himself in the Georgian side over the next couple of years, with Irakli Abuseridze and Bidzina Samkharadze both ahead of him for selection in the scrum half position. But in 2007 he switched to fly half and in his first start for his country in the position Georgia beat Romania away in Bucharest, he has remained a regular member of the Georgian side ever since.
He was an important player in Georgia's 2007 World Cup campaign, starting all four matches and he showed good form against Ireland as Georgia narrowly lost 14–10 and was named man of the match in Georgia's first ever World Cup win against Namibia. [2]
After the 2007 World Cup Kvirikashvili was moved to full back to accommodate a new fly half Lasha Malaghuradze. In 2010 he broke a record he previously shared with Paliko Jimsheladze for most points scored for Georgia in a match, with 32 points in Georgia's 77–3 thrashing of Germany. Later that year he also kicked a last minute conversion for Georgia to defeat the USA 19–17 in Tbilisi.
After Malaghuradze suffered an injury and then a loss of form, Kvirikashvili returned to the first choice fly half position in 2011 helping Georgia to an undefeated season in the European Nations Cup.
However his fortunes were more mixed during the World Cup later that year as he failed to replicate the good form he showed in the 2007 tournament. Notably against England, Georgia were competing well but Kvirikashvili failed to capitalise on England's indiscipline and the Georgian forwards hard work and missed five penalties which would have put Georgia in a very competitive position in the match. [3] He recovered to a better performance scoring 17 points in the win against Romania in the next match, but was dropped for the final match with Argentina.
Kvirikashvili returned to the starting position in 2012 though and started every game for Georgia that year, and with some better kicking performances he broke the Georgian record for most points scored in a calendar year.
Kvirikashvili is Georgia's all-time leading points scorer, overtaking Pavle Jimsheladze's previous record during the 46–0 thrashing of Russia in 2012 on his 60th cap. He also holds the record for most points scored in a match for Georgia with 32 against Germany in 2010. In 2012 he broke the Georgian record previously held by Pavle Jimsheladze for most points in a calendar year with 91 in 8 matches.
In July 2016, Kvirikashvili was involved in a car accident on the Kutaisi-Samtredia highway, while travelling with fellow rugby player Giorgi Lominadze and their respective wives. [4] Lominadze and his wife survived, but Merab's wife and mother of their four children died in hospital, as did three passengers travelling in another vehicle involved in the accident. [5]
Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.
The Georgia national rugby union team, nicknamed The Lelos, represents Georgia in men's international rugby union. The team is administered by the Georgian Rugby Union and takes part in the annual Rugby Europe Championship and the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years.
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs. In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players".
Christopher Douglas Paterson, MBE is an ambassador and specialist coach for the Scotland and Edinburgh rugby union teams. He is a former professional rugby union player who played for Scotland and, for the most part of his career, Edinburgh. Paterson is Scotland's record points scorer with 809 points and second most-capped player with 109 caps. He was capable of playing in a range of positions, including fullback, wing and fly-half.
Christopher Robert Andrew is a former English rugby union player and was, until April 2016, Professional Rugby Director at the RFU.
Daniel Arthur Parks is a professional rugby union coach and former player who played as a fly-half.
Frédéric Michalak is a former French rugby union footballer. His early career was spent playing for his hometown team, Toulouse, in the Top 14 and in the Heineken Cup. He moved to South Africa to play for the Sharks in the Super 14 after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but after just one year with the Sharks he moved back to Toulouse. He has also played over 70 tests for France to date, and is the country's leading Test point scorer, achieving that milestone in 2015. Michalak originally played scrum-half but has played mainly at fly-half. He has appeared in advertisements for companies such as Nike and Levi's.
Jean-Baptiste Élissalde is a former French rugby union player, playing either as a scrum-half or as a fly-half, and most recently defense coach for Montpellier in the Top 14.
Ruan Pienaar is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays either as a scrum-half or as a fly-half for the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup.
The Georgia national rugby union team has competed in five consecutive Rugby World Cup tournaments. Starting in 2003, they were placed in Pool C with eventual winners England, South Africa, Uruguay and Samoa, where they lost all four matches. Georgia qualified for the 2007 World Cup and were placed in Pool D with Argentina, France, Ireland and Namibia, where they beat Namibia. In 2011 Rugby World Cup, Georgia qualified for their third straight tournament. They were placed in Pool B with Scotland, England, Argentina and Romania and won the game against rivals Romania. Their best performance was in 2015 tournament, when they were drawn against eventual world champions New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Namibia. Georgia won games against Tonga and Namibia, finished third in the group and automatically qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup.
The 2007 Rugby World Cup final was a rugby union match, played on Saturday, 20 October 2007 at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris, to determine the winner of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. South Africa beat England 15–6. Having also won the 1995 tournament, South Africa became the second country to win two World Cups, following Australia, who won in 1991 and 1999.
Lasha Malaghuradze is a Georgian rugby union player. His usual position is fly-half.
Irakli Abuseridze is a Georgian rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half. Abuseridze is the most capped player of all time for the Georgia national rugby union team.
Theuns Andries Willem Kotzé is a Namibian international rugby union player, currently playing with the Welwitschias in South African domestic rugby. He is a utility back that can play as a scrum-half, fly-half or fullback, but is best known for playing as a fly-half for Namibia in the Rugby World Cup tournaments in 2011 and 2015.
Paliko Jimsheladze is a former Georgian rugby union player. He played as a fly-half.
John Joseph Hanrahan is an Irish rugby union player who plays for Connacht in the United Rugby Championship. He plays primarily as a fly-half, but can also play as a centre or fullback.
Merab Sharikadze is a Georgian professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Super Cup club Black Lion and captains the Georgia national team.
This article documents the statistics of the 2015 Rugby World Cup which took place in England from 18 September to 31 October.
Luka Matkava is a Georgian professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Super Cup club The Black Lion and the Georgia national team.