The Black Lion (

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

: ''Shavi Lomi'') is a professional

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 ...

team based 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 ...

that competes annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup Eastern Conference competition along with Romanian Wolves and

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 ...

and fellow Georgian team

Batumi RC Batumi RC is a Georgian semi-professional rugby club from Batumi, who plays in the 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. ...

. They also compete in the Currie Cup First Division in South Africa.

Name

The name of the franchise has several inspirations. The players of the national team are sometimes nicknamed the lions, in reference to an (unofficial) anthem of the national team, which says: "freedom is the property of the lions". Also this is similar to the

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 ...

's slogan, "Freedom is a lion's destiny". The second inspiration comes from Georgian artist

Niko Pirosmani Niko Pirosmani ( ka, ნიკო ფიროსმანი ''Nik’o Pirosmani''), Mononymous person, simply referred to as Nikala (ნიკალა ''Nik’ala''; 1862–1918), was a Georgians, Georgian painter who posthumously rose to pro ...

, one of whose most famous works is the painting ''Black Lion''. The club logo is a reinterpretation of the lion's face.

History

The franchise was created in 2021 to participate in the Rugby Europe Super Cup. It is owned by the Georgian Federation, which employs the players. All the players are without clubs or playing in the Georgia league (

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 ( ...

). Players are made available to Didi 10 clubs when they have no obligations with their franchise, up to a limit of 4 per club. Georgian club joins into Currie Cup First Division since 2022.

Awards

Rugby Europe Super Cup 2021-2022, 2022

Current squad

Coaches

Current coaching staff

The current coaching staff for the Black Lion team:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Lion Rugby union teams from Georgia (country) Rugby clubs established in 2021 Sport in Tbilisi Rugby Europe Super Cup 2021 establishments in Georgia (country)