Luka Matkava ( ka, ლუკა მატკავა; born 10 may 2001) is a Georgian professional
rugby union player
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
who plays as a
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
for
Super Cup
A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...
club
The Black Lion
The Black Lion (Georgian: ''Shavi Lomi'') is a professional Georgian rugby union team based in Tbilisi that competes annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup Eastern Conference competition along with Romanian Wolves and Tel Aviv Heat and fellow ...
Matkava began his career at RC Armazi in the Georgian
Didi 10
The Didi 10 (, "Big 10") is a semi-professional domestic rugby union club competition in Georgia. It is the top tier of rugby competitions in the country.
Current Table
2018–19 Didi 10 season:
List of Champions
Teams 2019-20 Didi 10 ( ...
, scoring 6 tries in 7 appearances.
Black Lion
In 2021 he was named in the initial
Black Lion Black Lion, Black Lions, or Blacklions may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Black Lion, Hammersmith, a London pub
* Black Lion, Kilburn, a London pub
* Black Lion Records, a British jazz record company
* Black Lions Films, associated wit ...
squad for the inaugural Rugby Europe Super Cup season. Making his debut off the bench against
Tel Aviv Heat
The Tel Aviv Heat () is the first professional Israeli rugby union team. Based in Tel Aviv, the team competes annually in the Eastern Conference of the Rugby Europe Super Cup, alongside RC Batumi and The Black Lion of Georgia as well as the Roma ...
in the second round.
He became a pivotal cog in the Georgian franchise featuring in all of the
Black Lions
The Black Lions were an anti-fascist resistance movement formed to fight against Italy during the occupation of the Ethiopian Empire in the Second World War.
As Bahru Zewde notes, in spite of its "marginal impact on the Resistance" the Black Li ...
matches for the 2022 season, including starting in the final against
Tel Aviv Heat
The Tel Aviv Heat () is the first professional Israeli rugby union team. Based in Tel Aviv, the team competes annually in the Eastern Conference of the Rugby Europe Super Cup, alongside RC Batumi and The Black Lion of Georgia as well as the Roma ...
.
He started in Black Lions'
EPCR Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...
debut against
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, scoring all of the Georgian franchises points in the 10-15 loss 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 ...
, including scoring the only try of the game in the 20th minute. He started again the week after against
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...
, scoring 13 points off the tee to help lead Black Lion secure their first ever EPCR Challange Cup win "humiliating" the
Llanelli
Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...
based side.
He started in Black Lions third Rugby Europe Super Cup final, scoring 2 penalties and 3 conversions not missing a kick of the tee.
Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship
The Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship is an annual rugby union championship for Under-18 national teams, held since 2004. The championship is organised by rugby's European governing body, Rugby Europe.scrum-half in all three of their matches, scoring in their 64-10 over host country
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 ...
.
Senior
Matkava was named in the 35-man squad for the
Autumn internationals
The autumn internationals, November internationals, end-of-year tests, and spring internationals/tour for Australia and New Zealand, are men's rugby union Test matches that are contested around November each year. It is organised by World Rugby. Te ...
, making his international debut coming off the bench against
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, he slotted the winning penalty in the 77th minute to seal the victory.
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
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
where in which he went onto to win
Player of the Match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
.
He was named in the Georgian squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup Warmups, where he featured in another historic win for Georgia starting at
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
in a historic win over
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 ...
. Matkava scoring 5 conversions, 1 penalty and a try in the largest ever win for Georgia over Romania.
He made his
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
debut starting in a 35-15 loss to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
where he was considered the best performer of the
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 ...
players. He featured in all of Georgia's matches, starting in all but the draw against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Georgia came 4th in Pool C, unable to win a match.
Statistics
International tries
Honours
Georgia Under-18
*
Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship
The Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship is an annual rugby union championship for Under-18 national teams, held since 2004. The championship is organised by rugby's European governing body, Rugby Europe.Rugby Europe Championship
The Rugby Europe International Championships is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations.
The tournament is split into 5 levels, each with 5 or 6 teams. Its highest level is now called the Rugby Europe Championship an ...
(champions):
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
,
2024
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...
*
Antim Cup
The Antim Cup ( ka, ანთიმოზ ივერიელის თასი, tr; ro, Cupa Antim Ivireanul) is contested between the rugby union teams of Romania (The Oaks) and Georgia ("The Lelos"). It is named after the Metropolitan of W ...
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
,
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...