Claude Saurel is already assured of his place in Georgian sporting history, the Frenchman having masterminded the national team’s emergence onto the world stage and their status as the first team to represent Georgia in the finals of a major tournament.
The 54 year old, who coached Morocco for a couple of years in the mid 1990s, was initially invited to conduct an audit of Georgian rugby in 1997 and worked with their sevens side before being appointed national coach in the summer of 1999.
Under Saurel’s tutelage the popularity of rugby has blossomed, boosted by Georgia winning the European Nations Cup B, finishing 10th at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2001 and finally qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2003.
This success has not gone unnoticed with Saurel having been awarded the Order of Merit by the Georgian government in 2001 and short listed for the International Coach of the Year by the International Rugby Board the following year.
Saurel, who was instrumental in the sending of 40 players to France to develop their skills and gain experience, was a flanker with his native Béziers and won several French Championships with them as a player and coach in the 1970s and 1980s.