Nika Amashukeli ( ka, ნიკა ამაშუკელი) is a Georgian

rugby union 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 ...

and

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

elite referee.

Background

In his early youth Nika Amashukeli played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. Nika watched his first ever full rugby match on TV during the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

, when his father "literally forced" him to watch

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 ...

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 ...

. Nika started playing rugby for Jiki at the age of 11. He played as a flanker then inside centre, and as an outside centre for Georgia at U17, U18 and U19 levels. He was selected for Georgia U18 team for 2012 European Under-18 Rugby Union Championship. By the age of 20 he had already suffered 5 concussions. He’d also broken an ankle, and there was a knee problem. Head injuries affected his mental health at that time; eventually he decided to retire from playing.

Refereeing career

In 2013

Georgian Rugby Union The Georgian Rugby Union (GRU) (Georgian: საქართველოს რაგბის კავშირი) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the nation of Georgia. Founded in 1964, it was part of the Rugby Union of ...

started a program aimed at improving the standard of Georgian referees; a new relationship with

IRFU The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

has started. This included Irish referees regularly officiating Georgian domestic league matches, Georgian referees officiating All-Ireland League matches and attending IRFU workshops. Nika was among the first young referees recruited through this program in 2013. His first match in Ireland was between Old Christians and St Mary’s in the Munster Junior League. Amashukeli made his test debut as a referee in the

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

European Nations Cup Third Division European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

match on 11 April 2015; he refereed the 1st half and was replaced by Shota Tevzadze at half-time. In 2016 in an incident after a Georgian domestic league match between

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...

and

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Nika Amashukeli was stabbed in the leg with a knife by one of the Army club officials. In 2019 he attracted rugby followers' attention when during the U20 Six Nations match he was temporarily substituted after a blood injury. Nika left the field, stitched the cutting and happily returned in 12 minutes to finish the match. Highlight of Nika's career was

2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the twelfth edition of the premier age-grade competition for rugby. The tournament was held in Argentina for the second time, having been hosted there in 2010. Defending champions France won the un ...

in Argentina, where

was highly impressed with emerging Georgian talent as afterwards he got appointments from

Joël Jutge Joël Jutge (born 5 April 1966 in Lavaur, Tarn) is a former French international rugby union referee. He made his international refereeing debut in a 2000 match between Italy and Romania in Naples. Jutge decided to be a referee in 1991 after hi ...

to referee in EPCR competitions. Nika himself admits that Joël Jutge had an invaluable positive influence on his career. He was named as the best Georgian referee many times since 2013. After working alongside

Wayne Barnes Wayne Barnes (born 20 April 1979) is an English international rugby union referee and barrister. He is a regular referee in the English Premiership, and has refereed games in the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup. At international level ...

during the Autumn Nations Cup in 2020, Nika rated Wayne Barnes as the number 1 referee in the world at the moment. In 2020 Nika launched a Facebook page named "Rugby Laboratory" where he posts videos explaining basics of rugby laws to new supporters of the game. In 2021 Nika had a successful debut in July internationals, having officiated on

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

match, first ever Georgian to do tier 1 nations game. His second match

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

was called off due to COVID-19 restrictions. Nika's pathway continued through as he got top level appointments on November internationals, set to officiate in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

French Barbarians The Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians, is a rugby union team formed in 1979 and based in France. It was founded as an amateur invitational team modeled on the Barbarian F.C. From the start of the 2017–18 season, ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and

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 ...

matches. Nika is coached and mentored by

David McHugh David McHugh is a former Irish rugby union referee. McHugh refereed matches at the 1995, 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups. In 1996 McHugh refereed the inaugural Heineken Cup final. He would also referee the 2001 final, making him the first ref ...

, who is employed by

as a Head of Referees Committee. Nika Amashukeli claims that David McHugh has been the biggest influence on his career and changed the way he thinks. Amashukeli describes McHugh as a great guy, very professional, very friendly, strong and knowledgeable manager who makes a lot of effort to improve

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 ( ...

referees. According to Nika himself, McHugh is not only a coach for him, but also his friend. As of February 2023, Nika Amashukeli is included in World Rugby's list of candidates to be a referee at the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...

List of Tier 1 tests

Since 2021 Nika Amashukeli regularly gets appointed to prestigious

test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

involving Tier 1 national teams. The list below includes all of his Tier 1 test appointments in Six Nations, Rugby Championship and international tours.

References

External links

CRFC Fans profile

World Rugby profile
Living people 1994 births Six Nations Championship referees EPCR Challenge Cup referees European Rugby Champions Cup referees United Rugby Championship referees Top 14 referees The Rugby Championship referees Sportspeople from Tbilisi {{Georgia-rugbyunion-bio-stub