Next stop on Canada’s European tour is Georgia, which undoubtedly presents the toughest challenge of the November window. While the two sides were once frequent opponents – with seven meetings between 2009 and 2017 – it’s been eight years since they locked horns. Both looked sluggish last week, with the Maple Leafs coming up short in Romania and the Lelos scraping past the USA.
Current World Ranking: 11 (74.69 points)
2025-11-08 – Georgia 43, USA 30 (Batumi)
2025-07-19 – South Africa 55, Georgia 10 (Nelspruit)
2025-07-11 – Cheetahs 24, Georgia 20 (Bloemfontein)
2025-07-05 – Georgia 5, Ireland 34 (Tbilisi)
2025-03-16 – Georgia 46, Spain 28 (Tbilisi)
Current World Ranking: 24 (58.85 points)
2025-11-08 – Romania 31, Canada 21 (Bucharest)
2025-09-20 – Canada 24, Tonga 35 (Salt Lake City)
2025-09-14 – Canada 10, Fiji 63 (Denver)
2025-08-30 – Japan 57, Canada 15 (Sendai)
2025-08-22 – Canada 34, USA 20 (Calgary)
 |
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Vano Karkadze | Irakli Kvatadze |
| 3 | Irakli Aptsiauri | Bega Gigashvili |
| 6 | Ilia Spanderashvili | Luka Ivanishvili |
| 11 | Demur Tapladze | Tornike Kakhoidze |
| 14 | Shako Aptsiauri | Akaki Tabutsadze |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Emerson Prior | Sam Miller |
| 5 | Barnaby Waddell | Izzak Kelly |
| 9 | Jason Higgins | Brock Gallagher |
| 12 | Noah Flesch | Kyle Tremblay |
- Richard Cockerill has rotated three of his forwards and two backs… notably it’s been three years since the Lelos played a test match without Akaki Tabutsadze starting on the right wing
- Steve Meehan will give Emerson Prior his first test start at loosehead prop, while Barnaby Waddell is rewarded for a try-scoring debut last week with his first start at lock… Jason Higgins and Noah Flesch replace Brock Gallagher and Kyle Tremblay at scrumhalf and inside center respectively
- captain Lucas Rumball is the only Canadian starter who also ran out against the Lelos in November of 2017… Cole Keith was on the bench that day… for the Georgians, Vaso Lobzhanidze reprises his scrumhalf role while Giorgi Kveseladze will start having been a replacement in their last meeting
Richard Cockerill (Head Coach)
“We had some good moments (against the USA), but there were also some bad mistakes. We’re not making excuses, but it was the first game. It shouldn’t happen again. We have to work hard this week to make sure that this doesn’t happen again against Canada.”
Steve Meehan (Head Coach)
“There were encouraging signs in our performance last weekend, some strong defensive moments and attacking sequences that showed the direction this team is heading. We’re learning how to recognize and capitalize on opportunities, and you can feel the group starting to connect and believe in our approach.”
Drizzly weather on the forecast almost certainly plays into the home team’s hands. Their forward strength will be hugely challenging for the Canucks, who are absent half of their first-choice pack. For those Canadians without MLR contracts to look forward to, this is a big opportunity to put themselves in the shop window for European clubs, even in defeat. Expect the Lelos to be more accurate than they were against the Eagles, and their 6/2 split on the bench – which is full of experience – should see them pulling away comfortably in the second half. Georgia are clear favorites at home in Batumi.
GEORGIA
1 Dato Abdushelishvili, 2 Vano Karkadze, 3 Irakli Aptsiauri, 4 Mikheil Babunashvili, 5 Lado Chachanidze, 6 Ilia Spanderashvili, 7 Beka Saghinadze, 8 Beka Gorgadze (capt.), 9 Vaso Lobzhanidze, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 11 Demur Tapladze, 12 Georges Shvelidze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 14 Shako Aptsiauri, 15 Davit Niniashvili
Replacements: 16 Irakli Kvatadze, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Giorgi Javakhia, 20 Luka Ivanishvili, 21 Tornike Jalagonia, 22 Gela Aprasidze, 23 Luka Matkava
CANADA
1 Emerson Prior, 2 Dewald Kotze, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Piers von Dadelszen, 5 Barnaby Waddell, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Matthew Oworu, 9 Jason Higgins, 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Nic Benn, 12 Noah Flesch, 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Josiah Morra, 15 Peter Nelson
Replacements: 16 Austin Creighton, 17 Sam Miller, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Izzak Kelly, 20 Callum Botchar, 21 Sion Parry, 22 Brock Gallagher, 23 Kyle Tremblay
Date: Saturday, November 15
Venue: Adjarabet Arena, Batumi
Kickoff: 16:00 local (04:00 Pacific, 07:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy with showers, 57°F (14°C), wind SW 5-8 mph (9-13 km/h)
Broadcasts: TSN+ (Canada), RugbyPass TV
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistants: Federico Vedovelli (Italy) & Filippo Russo (Italy)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)
HEAD-TO-HEAD (7): Georgia 4, Canada 3
2017-11-11 – Georgia 54, Canada 22 (Tbilisi)
2017-06-10 – Canada 0, Georgia 13 (Calgary)
2015-09-02 – Canada 16, Georgia 15 (Esher)
2013-11-09 – Georgia 19, Canada 15 (Tbilisi)
2012-06-23 – Canada 31, Georgia 12 (Burnaby)
2010-11-20 – Georgia 22, Canada 15 (Tbilisi)
2009-06-06 – Canada 42, Georgia 10 (Denver)
