'The thinking from some people who run the game is a bit blurred - they say certain things, but their actions are different'
At the end of the World Cup, Milton Haig and his family will bid farewell to their Georgian haven, a place and a people they have come to adore, leaving behind a rugby nation in rude health.
A canny New Zealander, Haig has been in charge in Tbilisi for seven years. On his watch, with the financial muscle of billionaire donor Bidzina Ivanishvili behind him, rugby in Georgia has rocketed.
They have a vast training facility to rival any in the global game, a large and vociferous following, title after title in the second-tier European championship, and Graham Rowntree, the former England and Lions forwards specialist, looking after what is an already ferocious set-piece.
But some things haven’t changed. Since the last World Cup, Georgia have played four games against tier one opposition. In the previous World Cup cycle, they had two. They will get a couple of precious cracks at Scotland in this year’s pre-tournament warm-up Tests, but it is still a meagre return.
Over the next dozen years, World Rugby has committed to upping the number of tier one matches for the game’s burgeoning nations and how Georgia need them. They have won eight of the past nine Rugby Europe Championships and are too big a fish for the second-tier pond.
They crave an opportunity to swim with the sharks of the Six Nations, but the tournament organisers are loath to tamper with a cherished and highly lucrative operation. The door remains shut and so Georgia are stuck, at serious risk of stagnating.
“It’s a huge worry for us and has been since the last World Cup,” said Haig to RugbyPass. “That’s why I have been happy to talk to anyone about getting a franchise team in a competition, about getting increased competition.
“If I can’t get more tier one Tests, I need to get my players into better competitions. We have got players in the Top 14 and that’s okay, but we need to get more players playing at a higher level more consistently, so they understand how to deliver week in, week out and to increase skill sets.
“We haven’t heard anything about that. But you get to a ceiling and until you can break through it, it is pretty hard to keep improving. That’s where we’re at.”
What Haig is hinting heavily at is a slot in the evolving PRO14. Here, expansion is embraced. Two South African sides joined the party in 2017 and there is the talk of more following.
A Georgian franchise, with all its best talent enrolled, backed by Ivanishvili and a feverish fanbase, could prosper just as Argentina’s Jaguares have in Super Rugby. “We absolutely could be competitive,” Haig insisted.
Here is the final ranking of @rugby_europe #Championship after the last round played today. Congratulations to @GeorgianRugby winner of #REC2019 ????? pic.twitter.com/oMCqqK1tJg
— Rugby Europe (@rugby_europe) March 17, 2019
“The PRO14 is a natural fit for us because it’s northern hemisphere-based, and the time zones don’t change that much. The first step for us would be a franchise team in the PRO14.
“Then, because you are in with the Welsh, Scottish, Irish and Italian teams, that is where you start developing your relationships to break down barriers to get into the Six Nations. That’s an obvious and necessary step we need to take.”
In among all the frustrations that come from slogging fruitlessly for a seat at the top table, there is also a concern. Haig worked in advertising and design before becoming a full-time coach and he knows rugby must be commercially viable.
Our dear Friends and Followers,
Please check out the message from @GeorgianRugby President, Mr. Gocha Svanidze on the developments regarding the World Rugby League and its proposed possible structure pic.twitter.com/KOLY1G2YY6— Georgian Rugby Union (@GeorgianRugby) March 4, 2019
But there is a worry at what is being said and done by those in power. An alarm that while the game needs investment to secure its future, it cannot chase revenue at the expense of the spirit upon which it was built.
“I absolutely understand that the commercial viability of the game is important because if we don’t have the money, we can’t do some of the things we want to do,” he agreed.
“When I grew up, the one thing that was different from some of the other sports was the values of rugby, the way we actually think about the game. You could battle on the field as much you liked, but when you came off the field, you shook hands, you had a beer, you had a bit of a chat and something to eat, and went your separate ways with your team.
“Some of the values that we have been brought up with, and that everybody holds dear, some of the thinking from the people who are running the game now is not that at all. It’s gone into a business model.
“I absolutely understand the commercial value, but one of the reasons why people love being involved in the game is that it included everybody. It didn’t matter who you were, you could put on boots and play. It doesn’t matter what country you’re from, if you can add value, you can add value.
“I just think the thinking from some of the people who run the game is a bit blurred – they say certain things, but their actions are different.”
We can’t wait to see how Pool D unfolds at #RWC2019
Watch it up close, tickets available here: https://t.co/wiftbbRu2B pic.twitter.com/GS26aP2gPi
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) August 10, 2019
The hope for Haig is that come the serious stuff in Japan, his players can deliver a show so irrepressible that the governing bodies feel compelled to extend an invitation.
In practice, that will be fiendishly difficult. Georgia should make light work of Uruguay in Pool D, but they have been drawn alongside Grand Slam winners Wales, an Australian team that just stuck 47 points on New Zealand, and the majestic talents of Fiji, who will have had the rare and dangerous luxury of access to all of their players for several months of preparation.
“We will surprise a few people,” Haig claimed. “You look at all the websites and who they’re talking about, they’re not talking about Georgia. We don’t mind that at all. We were credible at the last World Cup, finishing third in our pool, and we want to improve on that this year in terms of our credibility.
“If we can do that, then definitely it starts more conversations around our consistency because that is what people are looking for. They are looking for our consistency to perform on a big stage regularly and create an upset.
“If we can do that, then definitely, that will convince people, that ’S***, we need to reconsider where Georgia are at’.
“What that also does is put World Rugby in a position to be able to talk to others about including Georgia in this competition in that competition. And hopefully, we can get a bit more of a share of tier one Tests from 2020 onwards.”
From Fiji to Georgia, and Christchurch to Tokyo; nine breakout stars coming your way in 2019
– writes @alexshawsport ??? https://t.co/zWdZSY9oHW
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 2, 2019
If they are going to shake up the rugby world, they will need more than a monster pack. The perception of Georgian rugby still depicts an impossibly large eight of France-based warriors without a great deal outside them.
“When I joined, I said the same thing – quite a good team, big forward pack but pretty one-dimensional. We always knew we would need to change that to contest some of the bigger teams. You’ve got to be able to use the ball well as well as have a good set-piece.
“I remember saying to myself after the last World Cup that if I didn’t have better X-factor on the wings going into the next World Cup then I’d shoot myself – and I’m happy to say I’m not going to have to do that!
Rowntree on:
??England Georgia training
??Leaving Harlequins
?? …and Kyle Sinckleras told to @jimhamilton4 ??? https://t.co/ya6P0ZbMCk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 6, 2019
“We’ve got some reasonably good young talent on the outsides, something we have been really working hard on over the last four years, so I didn’t have to shoot myself.”
Spearheading the new crop of backline talent is 20-year-old fly-half Tedo Abzhandadze, a play-maker bound for Brive who Haig previously said had the potential to be “world-class”.
“He made his debut in November last year and it was like this kid had played 10 Test matches already. That’s how natural he was.
“He’s played every Test since – for a 20-year-old, that’s not too bad. He’s got a real read for the game, feels the game very well, tactically clever, he’s a very good attacker and defender.
“He’s got a huge future, probably the most natural 10 that I’ve been involved with for a long time, and that includes some of the New Zealanders I’ve coached.”
When the great show is over, Haig will take his leave, returning to Japan where he has signed a contract with Suntory Sungoliath that begins in November. The move has been kept relatively quiet – in part so as not to have any effect on Georgia’s preparations.
Georgian Polyphony and incredible atmosphere any time #TheLelos play at #Dinamo Arena
?? Georgia v Scotland ??????? | 31 Aug, KO 20:00, Dinamo
?? Georgia v Southern Kings ?? | 27 Aug, KO 19:15, MeskhiTickets available here https://t.co/ydBBd2uNF6 pic.twitter.com/RZZpwCvaN9
— Georgian Rugby Union (@GeorgianRugby) August 11, 2019
Haig has given his boys a “thrashing” in early pre-season and is now fine-tuning in the gleaming surrounds of the Gloria Sports Arena Turkey’s southern coast. The facilities are phenomenal – Warren Gatland will take Wales there later this month.
These are vital but poignant moments. Haig’s legacy is assured, but how dearly he would love to bow out wielding a scalp. “Regardless of what happens at the World Cup, I’ve left the place better than it was when I first arrived in leaps and bounds.
“What we are now as opposed to what we were in 2012 is so different. I’ve had a hand in that and I’m happy about that.
“But you’re always trying to make sure you’re optimising opportunities and I see the World Cup as a massive opportunity. With it being my last tournament with the team, I’ve got more motivation than anyone else to say, ‘Right, I’m not going to waste this opportunity, I’m going to do everything possible’.”
WATCH: Part one of Operation Jaypan, the two-part RugbyPass documentary on what the travelling fans can expect to experience at the World Cup in Japan
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments