Georgia rugby boss jokes that they are world champions after they beat Italy and Wales beat South Africa

The boss of Georgian rugby has joked that they are now world champions after they beat Italy and Wales beat South Africa.

The Springboks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup. But earlier this month they were beaten at home by Wales, who were themselves beaten at home by Italy in the last game of the Six Nations.

Georgia then triumphed over Italy for the first time 28-19 in their second city Batumi on July 11. Their next big match will be against Wales in Cardiff this November.

‘Wales beat South Africa, Italy beat Wales, and Georgia beat Italy," Georgian rugby President Soso Tkemaladze told the Daily Mail. "It means Georgia is world champion!"

He added that the next step was to explore whether a Georgian club side could join the United Rugby Championship alongside the current 16 teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa.

"We are looking at this and we need an offer to see if we are ready to jump,’ he said. "We need something like the URC, a stronger competition."

Currently, Georgia’s main team the Black Lion, which is based in Tbilisi, plays in the Rugby Europe Super Cup.

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'Doable'

After that, Soso Tkemaladze wanted to see Georgia included in the Six Nations: "Of course, the Six Nations is our dream, but to get there we need to work.

"‘I think he will do our job (joining the Six Nations) in two to three years," he said.

That was part of a long-term plan towards world domination, he added

"When I said to everybody about Georgia rugby’s ambitious plans, they were shocked.

"One day Georgia will become world champions, but to do that we need a strategy which we are working hard on now. After 10 or 15 years, I think big results are very doable."