Mamuka Gorgodze ( ka, მამუკა გორგოძე) (born 14 July 1984) is a Georgian former

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 it ...

player, who played in the top French professional rugby competition, the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. He played for

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 ...

, having signed with the club in 2014 after having played for Montpellier since 2005. His usual position is flanker or number eight, but he played his early career as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

. Gorgodze played for the

Georgia national rugby union team The Georgia national rugby union team ( Georgian: საქართველოს მორაგბეთა ეროვნული ნაკრები), nicknamed The Borjgalosnebi (''The Men of the Borjgali'' i.e. the traditional Georg ...

in 71 matches, including 13 as a captain. He appeared for the Georgia national team in three World Cups in 2007, 2011, and 2015. In May 2017, he announced his retirement from the national team. In 2019 he returned to the national team for the World Cup in Japan. Gorgodze is nicknamed "Gorgodzilla" by his former Montpellier teammates, and "Gulliver" by Georgian fans. Both stem from his imposing size and rampaging style of play.

Playing career

Early career

Gorgodze switched to rugby from basketball aged 17. His first club was Lelo in the Georgian Top League, he was soon selected for the Georgia national team and made his debut in 2003 against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, at the age of just 18 and not long after he started playing rugby. However he wasn't selected for Georgia's first appearance at the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

later that year. In 2004 he became a regular fixture for the Georgia side. Mamuka Gorgodze 2011

Montpellier

Gorgodze signed for Montpellier in 2005. Gorgodze started his career at Montpellier mainly as a reserve in the side and didn't get much game time. He was still a regular in the Georgia side though and was selected for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Gorgodze started three of Georgia's four matches at the World Cup, and was one of Georgia's star players. After the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Gorgodze started playing for Montpellier a lot more regularly and was their first choice lock. Gorgodze was signed by Brive for the 2009/10 season but Gorgodze changed his mind and decided to stay at Montpellier, who were forced to pay Brive 200,000 euros to keep him. A known weak spot for Gorgodze is his indiscipline, he has received 16

yellow cards Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

for Montpellier since 2007. During 2010 he was banned twice for fighting, once with Sébastien Pagès against

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig ...

and the other time with Alex Tulou against

Bourgoin Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of th ...

. Gorgodze changed position for Georgia to the back row, and when

Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié (; born 20 March 1969) is a French rugby union coach and former player, he is currently the head coach of the French national team. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later ...

and Eric Béchu became the new Montpellier coaches before the 2010/11 season they also converted him to the back row. Gorgodze became a revelation at flanker during this season, and halfway through the season French newspaper

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor w ...

commented that he improved his technique and became a mobile and unstoppable player. Gorgodze played a big role in Montpellier finishing the 2010/11 Top 14 as runners up, and had a particularly massive match in the Top 14 semi final against Racing-Métro. At the end of the season

named him as the best foreigner in the league. Gorgodze was selected for the Georgia squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and played all the Georgia matches and was named man of the match in two matches, against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. Gorgodze had signed a preliminary contract with Toulon in advance of the 2011–12 season, but changed his mind and signed an extension to his deal with Montpellier. This led to a tribunal hearing, but an amicable settlement was soon reached.

Toulon

In November 2013, as his contract with Montpellier was expiring, he signed a three-year deal with Toulon to take effect with the 2014–15 season. His competitive debut with Toulon was delayed due to a knee injury during a preseason friendly with Racing Métro; and missed the start of the 2014–15 season. With the expiry of his contract in May 2020, Gorgodze retired from professional rugby at the age of 35. His last Toulon appearance was a pre-pandemic Top 14 game against Pau in November 2019.

Notes and references

External links

*
lequipe.fr profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorgodze, Mamuka 1984 births Living people Rugby union players from Georgia (country) Montpellier Hérault Rugby players RC Toulonnais players Expatriate rugby union players from Georgia (country) Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate sportspeople from Georgia (country) in France Rugby union players from Tbilisi Georgia international rugby union players Lelo Saracens players Rugby union locks