Grigol Labadze, better known as Gia Labadze (born 21 September 1973 in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
) is a retired Georgian rugby union player. He played as a
flanker or
number 8.
Domestic career
Labadze moved to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
from
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
where he was previously playing domestically in 1998 after being spotted playing for
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
against
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
in the
1999 World Cup qualifiers, he joined
Fédérale 2
Fédérale 2 is a rugby union club championship division in France. It is the sixth division of rugby above Fédérale 3. Teams can earn promotion to Fédérale 1, and subsequently, to the National 2 and Nationale leagues, and on to the professio ...
SO Chambéry initially before joining
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
in 2000 where he spent the majority of his club career and was a regular part of the side for a decade, helping them to two
Pro D2
Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...
titles in
2005
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and
2008
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and captaining them between 2006 and 2007. He left Toulon at the end of the
2008/09 season and alongside Czech winger
Martin Jágr
Martin Jágr (born 29 September 1979 in Prague) is a Czech rugby union footballer. He is nicknamed "Jaguar". His position on the field is on the wing. Jágr is usually considered one of the best rugby union players from his country.
He was first ...
, he was given a lap of honour at Toulon's last home game of the season at the
Stade Mayol
The Stade Mayol is a multi-purpose stadium in Toulon, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of RC Toulonnais. The stadium is able to hold 17,500 people.
It is one of the few French stadiums to be embe ...
.
After leaving Toulon, Labadze spent the rest of his career in
Fédérale 1
Le championnat de France de première division fédérale, a.k.a. Fédérale 1, is a French rugby union club competition, the fifth highest level of amateur rugby. The competition has been organised by the Fédération Française de Rugby since 20 ...
, he joined Stade Phocéen for a single season and spent his last two seasons with La Seyne before retiring from rugby in 2012.
International career
Labadze played for the Soviet Union at age grade level, and made his debut for Georgia in 1996 against
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
.
He was a mainstay of the national side from his debut for 15 years, playing in Georgia's first two World Cup campaigns in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
and
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
and captaining the side on six occasions. He hoped to make Georgia's squad for the
2011 World Cup but failed to do so. However he received a surprise recall aged 38 to the side for the
2012 tour to North America before he retired from rugby.
Labadze retired with 67 caps with 12 tries and as the third most capped Georgian player of all time. And at the age of 38 in his final appearance against Canada in 2012, he is the oldest player ever to play for Georgia and tenth oldest international player of all time.
References
External links
*
*
1973 births
Living people
Rugby union players from Georgia (country)
Rugby union flankers
Expatriate rugby union players from Georgia (country)
Expatriate rugby union players in Russia
Expatriate rugby union players in France
Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in France
Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in Russia
Georgia international rugby union players
Rugby union players from Tbilisi
Soviet rugby union players
RC Toulon players
2003 Rugby World Cup players
2007 Rugby World Cup players
{{Georgia-rugbyunion-bio-stub