Luka Matkava ( ka, ლუკა მატკავა; born 10 May 2001) is a Georgian professional
rugby union player
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
who plays as a
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16 ...
for
Rugby Europe Super Cup
The Rugby Europe Super Cup is an annual men's rugby union club tournament organised by the continental governing body, Rugby Europe. Featuring clubs outside the traditional Six Nations strongholds of the sport, it effectively forms a third tier ...
club
Black Lion Black Lion, Black Lions, or Blacklions may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Black Lion, Hammersmith, a London pub
* Black Lion, Kilburn, a London pub
* Black Lion Records, a British jazz record company
* Black Lions Films, associated wi ...
, he is currently on loan at
Castres
Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...
in the
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 ...
as injury cover.
Club career
RC Armazi
Matkava began his career at RC Armazi in the Georgian Didi 10, scoring 62 points in 25 appearances. After Armazi were relegated in the 2020–21 season he joined
Black Lion Black Lion, Black Lions, or Blacklions may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Black Lion, Hammersmith, a London pub
* Black Lion, Kilburn, a London pub
* Black Lion Records, a British jazz record company
* Black Lions Films, associated wi ...
and RC Junkers.
Black Lion
In 2021 he was named in the initial
Black Lion Black Lion, Black Lions, or Blacklions may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Black Lion, Hammersmith, a London pub
* Black Lion, Kilburn, a London pub
* Black Lion Records, a British jazz record company
* Black Lions Films, associated wi ...
squad for the inaugural
Rugby Europe Super Cup
The Rugby Europe Super Cup is an annual men's rugby union club tournament organised by the continental governing body, Rugby Europe. Featuring clubs outside the traditional Six Nations strongholds of the sport, it effectively forms a third tier ...
season. Making his debut off the bench against
Tel Aviv Heat
The Tel Aviv Heat () is the first professional Israeli rugby union team. Based in Tel Aviv, the team competed annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup until 2023. The team is also called the Israeli Springboks, on account of the number of South Afri ...
in the second round. He became a pivotal cog in the Georgian franchise featuring in all of the
Black Lions
The Black Lions were an anti-fascist resistance movement formed to fight against Fascist Italy during the occupation of the Ethiopian Empire in World War II.
As Bahru Zewde notes, in spite of its "marginal impact on the Resistance" the Black L ...
matches for the 2022 season, including starting in the final against
Tel Aviv Heat
The Tel Aviv Heat () is the first professional Israeli rugby union team. Based in Tel Aviv, the team competed annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup until 2023. The team is also called the Israeli Springboks, on account of the number of South Afri ...
.
He started in Black Lions'
EPCR Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
debut against
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
, scoring all of the Georgian franchises points in the 10-15 loss 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 ( ...
, including scoring the only try of the game in the 20th minute. He started again the week after against
Scarlets
The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...
, scoring 13 points off the tee to help lead Black Lion secure their first ever EPCR Challenge Cup win "humiliating" the
Llanelli
; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...
based side. He started in Black Lions third
Rugby Europe Super Cup
The Rugby Europe Super Cup is an annual men's rugby union club tournament organised by the continental governing body, Rugby Europe. Featuring clubs outside the traditional Six Nations strongholds of the sport, it effectively forms a third tier ...
final in 2023, scoring 2 penalties and 3 conversions not missing a kick off the tee.
RC Junkers
He joined RC Junkers in the Didi 10. He made his debut in the 7th round in a 35–29 win over Ares Kutaisi, scoring 15 points in the Junkers 2nd win of the season. In total he made 6 appearances scoring 37 points, however it was not enough as they were relegated to the Georgian First League.
Khvamli Tbilisi
In 2022 he joined Khvamli Tbilisi in the Didi 10, he featured once for the side coming off the bench in the final round of the season, beating
RC Aia Kutaisi
RC Aia Kutasi is a Georgian rugby union team. Aia Kutasi was one of the best teams of the Soviet Union, holding three national titles, in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Aia Kutaisi has been one of the best teams ...
18–17.
RC Batumi
He was named in the
RC Batumi
Rugby Club Batumi LLC is a Georgian professional rugby union club from Batumi, who plays in the Didi 10, the first division of Georgian rugby. They have won the competition a total of 5 times.
History
Didi 10
They have won the top flight ...
squad for the
2023–24 Didi 10 season
The 2023–24 Didi 10 is the 34th season of the Didi 10, top flight of Georgian domestic rugby union competition. RC Aia Kutaisi were champions after beating Lelo Saracens in the final.
Teams
The competition featured 10 teams, the reigning cha ...
however he did not feature.
Montpellier Hérault Rugby
In July 2023 he was set to be joining
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 ...
side
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
for two seasons, however the deal did not go through with Ryan Louwrens signing for the French side instead.
Castres Olympique
Castres Olympique (, ) is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the Top 14, the top level of the French league system.
Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They pla ...
in April 2025 for the rest of the 2024-25 Top 14 season as injury cover for Pierre Poplin. He made his debut in round 22 of the Top 14 starting at fly-half in a 52
–
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
6 loss against
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, he scored Castres only point of the game in 2 penalties.
Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship
The Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship is an annual rugby union championship for Under-18 national teams, held since 2004. The championship is organised by rugby's European governing body, Rugby Europe.scrum-half in all three of their matches, scoring in their 64-10 over host country
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
Under-19
He featured for Georgia under-19 when South Africa under-19 toured
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 ...
.
Senior
2022
Matkava was named in the 35-man squad for the Autumn internationals, making his international debut coming off the bench against
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
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 ...
, he slotted the winning penalty in the 77th minute to seal the victory.
2023
He appeared in all of Georgia's matches in the
2023 Rugby Europe Championship
The 2023 Rugby Europe Championship was the seventh Rugby Europe Championship, the annual rugby union for the top European national teams outside the Six Nations Championship, and the 53rd edition of the competition (including all its previous inca ...
, where in which Georgia went unbeaten, winning the competition for the 15th time. He started only once, his first international start, in the round one victory over
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
where in which he went onto to win
Player of the Match
In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
. He was named in the Georgian squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup Warmups, where he featured in another historic win for Georgia starting at
fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16 ...
in a historic win over
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. Matkava scoring 5 conversions, 1 penalty and a try in the largest ever win for Georgia over Romania. He made his
Rugby World Cup
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport.
The tournament is administer ...
debut starting in a 35-15 loss to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
where he was considered the best performer of the
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 ...
players. He featured in all of Georgia's matches, starting in all but the draw against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. Georgia came 4th in Pool C, unable to win a match.
2024
Matkava started at fly-half in all of Georgia's matches in the
2024 Rugby Europe Championship
The 2024 Rugby Europe Championship was the eighth Rugby Europe Championship, the annual rugby union competition for the top European national teams outside the Six Nations Championship, and the 53rd edition of the competition (including all its p ...
including the final where he scored 16 points in a 36–10 win over
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. He made his first international start at full back in the
2024 mid-year rugby union tests
The 2024 mid-year rugby union internationals (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) are international rugby union matches mostly played in the Southern Hemisphere during the July international window.
Series and tours ...
against
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
in
Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...
, He scored all of Georgia's points in the 12–21 loss. The following week on the 13 July, Matkava started in Georgia's 3rd ever win over a Tier 1 nation, scoring 10 points in a famous 23–25 victory over
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Statistics
Club Statistics
International tries
Honours
Georgia Under-18
*
Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship
The Rugby Europe Under-18 Championship is an annual rugby union championship for Under-18 national teams, held since 2004. The championship is organised by rugby's European governing body, Rugby Europe.Rugby Europe Championship
The Rugby Europe International Championships is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations.
The tournament is the latest formation of a competition with history going back to 1932. At that time, France had been expelled ...
** Champions: (3)
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
,
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
,
2025
So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
*
Antim Cup
The Antim Cup ( ka, ანთიმოზ ივერიელის თასი, tr; ) is contested between the rugby union teams of Romania national rugby union team, Romania (The Oaks) and Georgia national rugby union team, Georgia ("The Lel ...
: (4) March 2023, August 2023, 2024, 2025
Black Lion
*
Rugby Europe Super Cup
The Rugby Europe Super Cup is an annual men's rugby union club tournament organised by the continental governing body, Rugby Europe. Featuring clubs outside the traditional Six Nations strongholds of the sport, it effectively forms a third tier ...
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
,
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
,
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...