Cameron Hill

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Rennie also revealed that out-half Richie Mwanga won't be available for selection this summer.

The 31-year-old is currently playing with the Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan and would need to play for Canterbury in the National Provincial Championship to be eligible for selection.

Rennie admitted he had hoped to draft Manga in for their upcoming tour of South Africa.

Ex-captain Murab Sharakadze, who earned 104 senior caps during his career, was handed the heaviest sanction among the seven, an 11-year ban.

Team doctor Nutse Shamitava has been banned for nine years, with hooker Georgi Kyodze suspended for six years, and Lasha Khmeladze, Otar Lakshgi, and Miriani Modabadze banned for three years.

The sanction comes following a joint investigation by World Rugby and WADA, described as the most extensive anti-doping investigation ever undertaken in rugby.

World Rugby's suspicions were first raised in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup, with the governing body prompted to interrogate urine samples from the Georgians going back to 2019.

They initially suspected that the Georgians were trying to conceal the use of performance-enhancing drugs by swapping urine samples, but it turns out the players were actually trying to hide their use of recreational drugs such as cannabis and tramadol.

It was discovered during the investigation that Shamitava had been warning players of out-of-competition testing via team WhatsApp groups.

That'll about do it for today's Rugby Daily.

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I'm Cameron Hill, and I'll be back with more Rugby Daily for you tomorrow.

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