The side, which will be called the Crawshays WRU President’s XV, will play Emerging Georgia on Wednesday 3 and Saturday 6 June, in a tour which supports the Welsh Government’s efforts to grow relations between the two countries.
Carmarthen Quins head coach Louie Tonkin will coach the side which will be made up, primarily, of Principality Premiership players.
The tour provides the chance to play a return fixture for the two sides who met at the Brewery Field in March 2012, the Georgia International XV coming away with a hard fought 36-32 win.
Presiding Officer Dame Rosemary Butler AM, who has had links with Georgia for the past 20 years, said:
“The national sport in Wales is rugby and this is one of the things that brings Wales and Georgia together. Georgia has a remarkable tradition of rugby and has produced many great players over the years. I was delighted to be able to announce at the Queen’s Birthday Celebration in Tblisi in June that the Welsh Rugby Union would send a team to Georgia to celebrate the special relationship between our two countries.”
WRU president Dennis Gethin said, “Georgia is a proud, rugby playing nation and we see it part of our remit to play and travel to countries outside of the Tier One nations in order to support the development of rugby. We are pleased to be working with Crawshay’s in order to fulfil this commitment and we look forward to the challenge.
“The game played at the Brewery Field almost three years ago was particularly competitive and I’m sure club players in Wales, especially those in the Principality Premiership will be keen to impress in the coming months in order to earn a place in the squad.”
Louie Tonkin said, “It’s a huge honour to be involved in this trip, it’s a very exciting opportunity for me as a coach and for everyone involved.
“We have a good idea of what we will need to do in Georgia to meet the challenge of a very good, international side. We need a mix of experienced forwards in order to provide a good platform for possession, especially at the scrum, and we are also going to respect the spirit of Crawshay’s by producing attractive, running rugby. It will be a step-up from Principality Premiership rugby – but a great chance to shine for players who play in the Premiership week in week out and haven’t been picked up by the Wales Under 20 or Sevens set-ups.”
Ian Brice, Crawshay’s team manager said, “We are very encouraged by the coming together of the Welsh Rugby Union and Crawshay’s as we are both working towards the same goal which is to develop players.
“Crawshay’s tours are often the first time younger players have been involved in international, representative rugby so it’s a great character-building exercise off the field as well as on it. We are confident that if we can win our fair share of possession, we have enough talented and exciting backs to do well.”
Chris Clarke, chairman of the Principality Premiership clubs added, “This initiative is an honour for the League and the players who play in it each week. It is recognised that the Principality Premiership underpins our professional game in Wales. Those players that have the opportunity to represent Wales in these games will want to make a claim for future recognition and I am sure this opportunity will identify potential future Wales players.”
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