მსოფლიო ჩემპიონატის ოფიციალურ საიტზე შკინინზე სტატია დაიდო, მაგარია წაიკითხეთ
http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/news/new...inin+wing+rugbyNew hero: Giorgi Shkinin celebrates his try
[B]War sees Shkinin wing his way to rugby[/B}
(Rugby News Service) Monday 17 September 2007
By Lena Zak
From Villefranche
VILLEFRANCHE, 17 September - After scoring Georgia's first try at the IRB Rugby World Cup, and being named man of the match in Saturday's 14-10 defeat to Ireland, Giorgi Shkinin is modestly accepting the attention while remaining focused on the task ahead.
However, after the match, with Georgia's flag draped over his shoulders and circling the pitch with his team-mates, Shkinin, 24, looked every bit the star.
"This feeling is unforgettable," he said, clutching his man of the match trophy and promising to "display it in the most visible place in my home, and have it as part of the inheritance for generations to come".
Shkinin's rugby career started at 16 when a neighbour convinced him to give up swimming and join him at rugby training for local team Hooligana ('Hooligans').
From childhood Shkinin was in a local swim squad, but when Georgia's war broke out in the early 1990s it was no longer an option.
"During war, there's no pools," he explained.
After the war Shkinin returned to swimming, but it was too late for him to be accepted into a squad.
The Hooligans, whose name comes from the nickname of former Georgian rugby player Mikheil Koridze, who died in the civil war, became a second family to Shkinin. He now plays for Blois in France.
"The Hooligans meant everything to me. They were a family and the bonds between us were something irreplaceable. But to play on the national team is a sportsman's dream.
"Every single one of us gives their all. When you see your team-mates run and fall on their face, push themselves to every limit, you can't help but be the same," Shkinin said.
Though Namibia have been dubbed Georgia's only real opponents in Pool D, both sides' performance against Ireland showed they are capable of much more.
"Now maybe the others will think of us as worthy opponents," Shkinin said. "We're doing all we can so they don't think of Georgia and Namibia as just a passing phase to be dealt with on the way to more important things."
Georgia's objective now is to have faith in themselves.
"The realisation that we can take those moments and grab the game into our own hands is new for us. When we found ourselves with 3-6 against Argentina (in their first Pool D match), we just weren't ready for that moment," said Shkinin.
"We came back from half time and were so obsessed with the points we already had, we couldn't continue performing. With Ireland it was different."
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