Here we take a closer look at the side who will go into Pool 3 alongside two former tournament winners in Gloucester Rugby and ASM Clermont Auvergne, as well as Castres Olympique and Scarlets.

History

Black Lion are only two years old, having been formed in 2021 to participate in the Rugby Europe Super Cup, an annual competition for professional franchises and clubs outside the three big leagues of European rugby. They are owned by the Georgian Rugby Federation, which employs the players.

Home

They play in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which will host their home games in the EPCR Challenge Cup.

Playing record

They are the reigning Rugby Europe Super Cup champions, having won the inaugural tournament in 2021/22 and the second competition in late 2022.

They beat Portugal’s Lusitanos XV 17-14 in the May 2022 final in Lisbon, after topping the Eastern Conference and squeezing past Spain’s Castilla y León Iberians 43-40 in the semi-finals, and Israel’s Tel Aviv Heat 29-17 in the December 2022 decider, having again headed the Eastern Conference and beaten Castilla in the last four, this time 41-9.

Black Lion also entered South Africa’s Currie Cup last year and performed creditably, qualifying for the semi-finals by coming fourth in the First Division, only to bow out 41-38 to eventual winners Griffons after extra time in Welkom.

The Georgian franchise then expanded their horizons this past spring by touring South America. They defeated the club sides they faced but went down 28-24 to a South America XV in Montevideo.

Head coach

Black Lion’s head coach is Levan Maisashvili, who is also in charge of the Georgia national team. It was while with the latter in July 2021 for Tests in South Africa that he contracted COVID-19. He was in a Johannesburg hospital for two months, after being placed on a ventilator with serious lung damage.

Players

Many of the Black Lion squad are Georgian internationals, with the best known probably being hooker Shalva Mamukashvili, who has featured for Sale Sharks, Glasgow Warriors, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, RC Toulon and Leicester Tigers in the past.

Prop Mikheil Nariashvili is another former Montpellier player and has the most EPCR experience at Black Lion - he spent over a decade with the French club and helped them to their 2016 Challenge Cup triumph.

Lock Nodar Tcheishvili, flanker Mikheil Gachechiladze, centre Merab Sharikadze, wing Sandro Todua and full-back Lasha Khmaladze are other highly experienced Black Lion players.

Black Lion will make history next season by becoming the first Georgian club to play in one of EPCR’s main professional tournaments as they take their place in the EPCR Challenge Cup as an invited team.