sport news Wales' unofficial Six Nations play-off against Georgia will NOT take place this ... trends now
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Hopes of an autumn fixture between Wales and Georgia have been dashed due to player release issues with the two countries now looking at a possible meeting in summer 2025.
The two respective unions had been in amicable discussions over a potential November fixture after Georgia laid down a challenge to face Warren Gatland’s side. Lelos president Ioseb Tkemaladze described a prospective match between the pair as the ‘game everyone wants to see.’
Wales finished bottom of the 2024 men’s Six Nations table without a win while Georgia won the Rugby Europe title in the tier below for the seventh straight year.
It remains the case there is no promotion and relegation between the two competitions. A prospective Wales and Georgia match would have been seen by many as an unofficial Six Nations play-off.
But on Monday, the fixtures for the autumn window were confirmed without such a match in the schedule.
Hopes of an autumn fixture between Wales and Georgia have been dashed due to player release issues
Georgia, who won their seventh-consecutive Rugby Europe title in Paris last month, could now face Wales in the summer of 2025
Wales' Six Nations captain Dafydd Jenkins (right) was among the players who would have been ineligible to feature
Mail Sport understands that the fact the game would have had to have taken place on November 2 and outside World Rugby’s designated Test window proved to be an insurmountable stumbling block. That’s because both teams would have been without some of their best players who are based outside their homelands under the game’s eligibility rulings.
For Wales, that list would have included their Six Nations captain Dafydd Jenkins, flanker Tommy Reffell, lock Will Rowlands and others including Nick Tompkins and Christ Tshiunza.
Georgia, meanwhile, would have been weakened considerably
