Merab Sharikadze
Merab Sharikadze is a Georgian professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Super Cup club Black Lion and captains the Georgia national [rugby union team|Georgia national team].
Early life
Merab Sharikadze began rugby in Tbilisi with the club 'Academia'. Aged just 16, he was called up to Georgia U18 team. In 2011, thanks to a partnership between the GRU and Hartpury College, Merab Sharikadze went to England to learn and play for Hartpury College R.F.C.. Thanks to his strong performances, he was called up to play for Gloucester U19. The same year, he was named Georgia U19's captain. He made his full international debut on the 21 February 2012 against Spain, aged only 18, the 7th youngest player to be capped by Georgia.Career
In September 2013, Merab Sharikadze joined the French side Union Sportive Bressane, just promoted in Pro D2, the French second division. The team finished on the bottom of the table and was relegated. Sharikadze signed to another Pro D2 side, Stade Aurillacois Cantal Auvergne and joined them during the summer 2014. At international level, the inside centre played his first game against a Tier1 nation in November 2014, against Ireland at Aviva Stadium. He showed his defensive skills, making 22 tackles during the game.During an interview with Setanta Sports Georgia in November 2025, Sharikadze revealed that he had been issued with a six-year ban in December 2024 for an anti-doping rule violation relating to providing his urine for other players for their tests. It was reported that World Rugby and WADA had not publicly commented on the case. Sharikadze added during the interview that was seeking a reduction on the sanction and had changed his sport to mixed martial arts.