Established at the back to compensate for the unavailability of New Zealander Toby Arnold, he opened the entry mark before securing the success of the Lyon club at the end of the meeting, suffering from the reaction of the Parisians, by wearing the score at 33-27 in the 79th minute.

"I remember his first training well. It was a young 18-year-old Georgian who arrived. We weren't sure who he was. But straight away we saw that he was very good with the ball in hand, that he made good decisions, that he had good + skills + (good skills, editor's note). He had a great acceleration. We said to ourselves + Wow, who is this young phenomenon from Georgia? +", testifies Kendrick Lynn, head coach of the club.

Originally, his recruitment from the Georgian club Khvamli was a bet on the future of the boss of the Lyon training center, Philippe Agostini, who had initially hired him on a three-season Espoirs contract.

winning bet

Bet about to be won: the player, Georgian international (11 caps) initially thought of playing only with young people but, holder from the 3rd day of the Top 14 last season, he finally participated in twenty league matches of France for five trials entered.

And there are already three for this start of the season, all obtained at the Gerland stadium.

Because to the successful double against Stade Français, there is also the one scored against La Rochelle (21-23 defeat).

A prolific summer for Niniashvili (1.86m, 87kg), voted man of the match in the European Challenge final won by Lyon against Toulon (30-12) on May 27, before being the man of the historic victory for Georgia ahead of Italy (28-19), July 10.

Aware of having a great future in its workforce, the LOU has already locked the contract of Niniashvili, who celebrated his 20th birthday in July, by having him sign a one-year extension this summer with a strong salary increase, until 'in 2025.

"Now, in rugby, the positions of wingers and fullbacks are very similar. Since the start of the season, Davit asked me every week if he was going to start at the back! I knew he would answer this against the French stadium. He is right, he plays very well in position", explains the Lyon technician.

Workforce

"He had his chance. He scored two tries. But he mostly won balls under pressure, balls in the air. He is very strong in that area. He also used the length of his kicking game" , continues Lynn.

"Each time, we know he's going to give 100%. He can make the difference in a match," said the latter.

He also praises his hard work and his constant desire to progress.

"He always stays after training. Sometimes even a little too much! He works a lot. I'm not surprised by his performance. He has a lot of self-confidence," continues the technician.

In what area is the Georgian still perfectible?

"Around the rucks. When he has to clean up, get the ball out, he's still not very comfortable. We're also still working on the kicking game. His is long, but he has to be even more precise when he's under pressure. But all the players have things to improve. And we try to work on those strengths," concludes Kendrick Lynn.

© 2022 AFP