Georgia captain Merab Sharikadze recalls predicting Jonny Hill's success while college...

[ASFN Admin]

Even when Jonny Hill’s faith in himself was wavering, Merab Sharikadze believed his former Hartpury College colleague would make the grade. Sharikadze, who will captain Georgia at Twickenham on Saturday, was part of the Hartpury team that beat Henley College 34-21 in the 2012 AASE League final on the same ground eight years ago. Also in that talented squad, skippered by Bath lock Elliott Stooke, was the current England duo of Hill and Ellis Genge as well as Wales back-rower Ross Moriarty, Italy scrum-half Callum Braley and Ulster fly-half Billy Burns. A dogged centre who left French club Aurillac over the summer, Sharikadze remembers an enjoyable spell at Hartpury where he made “good friends”. Hill, the Exeter Chief who made his England debut in Rome last month, was one of them. “Jonny probably doesn’t remember but one day he was a bit upset about something,” said Sharikadze. “He was saying he would probably not make it to the [top level]. I was looking at him, saying: ‘Just wait, you’ll be one of the best in the world’. “I remember that, and [now] he’s one of the best in the world.” Georgia’s inclusion in the Autumn Nations Cup comes at a tricky juncture for the Lelos, following the retirement of two veteran players in Mamuka Gorgodze and Davit Kacharava and less than two months after reports of a shooting at their union headquarters in Tbilisi. Milton Haig, head coach since 2011, bowed out after a Rugby World Cup 2019 that featured a solitary victory over Uruguay. Earlier this year, Georgia won all four of their games to secure another Rugby Europe Championship title but were beaten 48-7 by Scotland on October 23. Even so, with fixtures against Wales and Ireland later in November before a final play-off, head coach Levan Maisashvili hailed a first-ever Twickenham Test as “the biggest opportunity”.

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