Shock in U20: Georgia make rugby history at expense of giants of the sport

Georgia’s Junior Lelos have defeated the New Zealand Junior All Blacks for the first time in their history, securing a dramatic 22-19 victory at the Kharebi Arena in Rustavi.

Vito Kolelishvili’s team scored four tries against their highly fancied opponents, the last of which came in the final minute to seal a famous win in their last warm-up match before the 2026 World Rugby U20 Championship begins on June 27.

The hosts had previously faced New Zealand four times at the U20 level, losing on each occasion, but they showed immense character to overcome an early deficit and a late fightback from the visitors.

The Junior All Blacks – who were not wearing any numbers on their backs – enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges. Georgia made several early errors and were penalised twice in the opening minutes. New Zealand capitalised, executing a slick move from a five-metre lineout to take the lead with a converted try.

Georgia responded swiftly through Mikheil Shioshvili. In the 11th minute, following a penalty and a quick tap from five metres out, the giant Toulon No.8 powered through two defenders to score under the posts.

Temur Dzodzuashvili added the extras to level the scores.

Both sides had opportunities to edge ahead before the break, breaking the line with ball in hand, but handling errors in the crucial phases meant the teams went into half-time locked at 7-7.

New Zealand regained the lead early in the second half. A Georgian error in midfield allowed the visitors to hack the ball clear, with a New Zealand player escaping two defenders on the counter-attack to score a converted try.

Despite the setback, Georgia seized the initiative. In the 62nd minute, Shioshvili attacked from the opponent’s five-metre line, drawing a defender before finding Dachi Tsiklauri.

Tsiklauri produced a stunning pass between his legs to put winger Luka Tabatadze in space, and he dived over in the corner. The conversion was missed, leaving Georgia trailing 14-12.

The Junior All Blacks extended their advantage in the 67th minute, scoring their third try after a sustained period of pressure to restore a seven-point cushion.

However, the hosts refused to yield. In the 71st minute, captain Luka Narcia picked and drove from a ruck close to the line, dotting down to bring his side within two points after another missed conversion.

With the clock ticking down and Georgia heavily penalised throughout the match, they managed to win a crucial penalty in the 77th minute.

In the final minute of the match a powerful Georgian rolling maul laid the platform before Irakli Kolbaia, who spotted a gap in the disorganized New Zealand defence, sniping from the base of the ruck to score the match-winning try and secure a historic 22-19 victory.