Guram Papidze (born June 16, 1997) in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

is a Georgian rugby union player. He plays as

Prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for Section Paloise in

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

. Papidze began his career in France with Lyon OU before joining

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

, which enabled him to be a JIFF player (''joueurs issus des filières de formation'', loosely translated as "academy-trained players"). Papidze has been a Georgian international since 2022, following his representation of the Georgia U20 in the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. Guram Papidze is part of the

Georgia national rugby union team The Georgia national rugby union team, nicknamed The Lelos, is administered by the Georgia Rugby Union, Georgian Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Rugby Europe International Championships, Rugby Europe Championship, and the Rugby W ...

for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

Career

Club

Papidze first experienced French rugby at the age of eighteen with LOU alongside Antoine Nicoud. In 2018, he joined USON Nevers Rugby, where he spent three seasons, playing a total of 37

Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

matches. During the 2021-2022 season, he participated in 19 Top 14 matches with 3 starts for Stade Rochelais. Papidze joined Section Paloise at the beginning of the 2022–23 Top 14 season. During his first season at Pau, he went to on to play in 22 matches.

National team

Papidze was a starting tighthead prop in the historic victory of

against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

at Cardiff's

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

in November 2022.

Personal life

Guram Papidze played

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

until the age of fifteen. He speaks perfect French and is a

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

enthusiast, particularly favoring the works of Hugo, Balzac, Maupassant, as well as

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...

. He is also a passionate

cinephile Cinephilia ( ; also cinemaphilia or filmophilia) is the term used to refer to a passionate interest in films, film theory, and film criticism. The term is a portmanteau of the words '' cinema'' and ''philia'', one of the four ancient Greek words ...

References

External links

* 1997 births Living people Rugby union players from Georgia (country) Lyon OU Rugby players Rugby union props Rugby union players from Tbilisi 2023 Rugby World Cup players Expatriate rugby union players from Georgia (country) in France Georgia international rugby union players {{Georgia-rugbyunion-bio-stub