Georgia in action against the Springboks in 2025 in Nelspruit. Six players from the national team have been suspended for doping violations dating back to before the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Image: BackpagePix
World Rugby has confirmed that six members of the Georgia men’s national rugby union team, along with a member of the team’s support staff, have committed anti-doping rule violations following a major joint investigation with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The probe began after irregularities were detected in urine samples through World Rugby’s athlete biological passport monitoring programme. The anomalies related to a period before the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France and prompted the governing body to alert WADA, triggering a complex investigation involving both organisations.
Georgia will be one of the Springboks’ opponents in the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. The two sides faced each other a year ago in Mbombela, with Georgia putting up a strong fight against the reigning world champions.
According to officials, the inquiry included targeted testing of players as well as DNA analysis of samples. Some of the samples examined had been retained through World Rugby’s long-term storage programme, allowing investigators to revisit historical material as the case developed.
The investigation ultimately uncovered what authorities described as an organised scheme involving recreational drugs and the substitution of urine samples, a practice strictly prohibited under the WADA Code and World Rugby’s anti-doping regulations. Six players from the Georgian national side and one member of the support staff have now been charged and sanctioned in connection with the violations.
“What has been happening in Georgian rugby is outrageous and will send shockwaves through Georgian sport and government, as well as the global game of rugby,” WADA President, Witold Bańka, said in a statement.
“I want to thank WADA’s independent Intelligence & Investigations team for their diligence and expertise in relentlessly pursuing this operation with determination and professionalism. I also praise World Rugby’s commitment to uncovering the facts and its willingness to work collaboratively with WADA to deliver this strong result for rugby.
“This is not the end of the story as further investigation is now going on deeper into Georgian sport. WADA has brought Operation Obsidian’s findings to the attention of the Government of Georgia to address the issues in the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency. As the next steps are being considered, clearly, WADA has lost confidence in GADA’s anti-doping program and wholesale changes must now be made by the relevant authorities.”
Details of the sanctions have not yet been fully disclosed.
World Rugby said that, under its anti-doping rules, it is unable to comment further until the formal disciplinary process has been completed and the final outcomes are published. The governing body reiterated its commitment to protecting the integrity of the sport, emphasising that anti-doping enforcement remains a central priority.
“World Rugby takes all anti-doping matters extremely seriously and remains an unwavering champion of clean sport,” the organisation said in a statement.