{"id":602464,"date":"2026-05-25T04:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/602464\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T04:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:59:13","slug":"world-rugby-make-decision-on-chucking-georgia-out-of-the-2027-rugby-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/602464\/","title":{"rendered":"World Rugby make decision on chucking Georgia out of the 2027 Rugby World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>World Rugby has confirmed the full list of sanctions handed to Georgian players and staff involved in a major anti-doping scandal, as the governing body also made a decision on Georgia\u2019s Rugby World Cup future despite punishments ranging from nine months to an extraordinary 11-year ban.<\/p>\n<p>Working alongside the World Anti-Doping Agency, World Rugby revealed the disciplinary outcomes for those found guilty of multiple anti-doping rule violations, including sample tampering, falsification, complicity and the use or attempted use of prohibited methods.<\/p>\n<p>The case  sent shockwaves through Georgian rugby, with several high-profile internationals included among those sanctioned.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/channel\/AbYd2l05pp1bM_Ix\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Join RUCK\u2019s Instagram broadcast channel <\/a>and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.<\/p>\n<p>The most severe punishment was handed to former Georgia captain Merab Sharikadze, who earned 104 caps and led his country at two Rugby World Cups. Sharikadze received an 11-year ban for multiple violations, including complicity and attempted falsification.<\/p>\n<p>Sharikadze, once one of Georgia\u2019s most respected players, made his senior debut at just 18 against Spain in 2012 and went on to become a central figure in the national side. He captained Georgia at both the 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cups. <\/p>\n<p>In a November 2025 interview with Setanta Sports Georgia, he had already revealed he was serving a six-year ban linked to providing his urine for other players\u2019 tests, which has now been extended following the latest ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Other sanctions include:<\/p>\n<p>Lasha Lomidze \u2013 9-month suspension (prohibited method, falsification)<\/p>\n<p>Miriani Modebadze \u2013 3-year suspension (prohibited method, falsification)<\/p>\n<p>Otar Lashkhi \u2013 3-year suspension (prohibited method, falsification)<\/p>\n<p>Lasha Khmaladze \u2013 3-year suspension (prohibited method, falsification, complicity)<\/p>\n<p>Giorgi Chkoidze \u2013 6-year suspension (prohibited method, falsification)<\/p>\n<p>Nutsa Shamatava \u2013 9-year suspension (forgery, complicity)<\/p>\n<p>Merab Sharikadze \u2013 11-year suspension (multiple violations including complicity)<\/p>\n<p>Will Georgia be chucked out the Rugby World Cup?<\/p>\n<p>Despite the scale of the sanctions, World Rugby has not moved to suspend Georgia from international competition or the Rugby World Cup, instead opting for individual punishments and increased monitoring of the national union.<\/p>\n<p>The decision suggests a firm stance on player accountability while avoiding collective sanctions that would impact the wider squad and future tournament participation.<\/p>\n<p>Rugby World Cup 2027 Full Draw: England and Wales meet again<\/p>\n<p>The expanded 24-team tournament will be played across Australia from\u00a01 October 2027, with six pools of four teams and a new round-of-16 knockout phase. <\/p>\n<p>With fixtures and venues now confirmed by\u00a0World Rugby, attention quickly turns to how each group will unfold.<\/p>\n<p>Pool A \u2014 New Zealand, Australia (H), Chile, Hong Kong China<\/p>\n<p>Group summary<\/p>\n<p>Pool A features tournament hosts Australia and three-time champions New Zealand, making it one of the headline groups of the opening phase. Chile and Hong Kong China will be targeting historic results, while the trans-Tasman clash between Australia and New Zealand is expected to be one of the most watched pool matches of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Fixtures<\/p>\n<p>1 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 Australia vs Hong Kong China<br \/>Perth Stadium, Perth<\/p>\n<p>2 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 New Zealand vs Chile<br \/>Perth Stadium, Perth<\/p>\n<p>9 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 New Zealand vs Australia<br \/>Stadium Australia, Sydney<\/p>\n<p>9 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 Chile vs Hong Kong China<br \/>North Queensland Stadium, Townsville<\/p>\n<p>15 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 New Zealand vs Hong Kong China<br \/>Docklands Stadium, Melbourne<\/p>\n<p>16 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 Australia vs Chile<br \/>Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane<\/p>\n<p>Pool B \u2014 South Africa, Italy, Georgia, Romania<\/p>\n<p>Group summary<\/p>\n<p>Defending champions South Africa headline Pool B and begin their campaign against Italy. Georgia continue to establish themselves as a consistent World Cup presence, while Romania return aiming to challenge for third place and possible qualification via rankings.<\/p>\n<p>Fixtures<\/p>\n<p>3 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 South Africa vs Italy<br \/>Adelaide Oval, Adelaide<\/p>\n<p>3 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 Georgia vs Romania<br \/>North Queensland Stadium, Townsville<\/p>\n<p>10 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 South Africa vs Georgia<br \/>Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane<\/p>\n<p>11 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 Italy vs Romania<br \/>Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney<\/p>\n<p>17 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 Italy vs Georgia<br \/>Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle<\/p>\n<p>17 October 2027\u00a0\u2014 South Africa vs Romania<br \/>Perth Stadium, Perth<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ruck.co.uk\/world-rugby-make-decision-on-georgias-rugby-world-cup-future\/2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"World Rugby has confirmed the full list of sanctions handed to Georgian players and staff involved in a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-602464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}