There’s a familiar face in the Georgian ranks attempting to plot the downfall of Wales this week.
Former Cardiff Blues favourite Paul Tito is part of the coaching team with The Lelos for their autumn campaign, which concludes with Saturday’s Test match at the Principality Stadium.
That has seen him make a return to the Arms Park, with Georgia having been training at the famous old ground where he established himself as such a fans favourite.
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Tito spent five years with Cardiff from 2007 to 2012, making 124 appearances in the second row and captaining the side to European Challenge Cup and EDF Energy Cup triumphs.
He became a cult hero among supporters, with his name echoing around the ground, while his children Livvy and Ollie were both born during his time in the Welsh capital.
“It’s good to be back in Cardiff. I had a great time here,” he said. “Going to work on Monday was easy because we had a successful team and won a lot of games. We had a good balance between experienced Welsh and Kiwi guys and youthful, upcoming boys like Jamie (Roberts), Leigh (Halfpenny) and Josh Navidi.
“When you spend five years somewhere, surrounded by good people and creating good memories, it will always be close to your heart. My babies were born here too, so it always holds a special place in our family.
“I think the Welsh are very similar to Kiwis. It’s often said and I think it’s true. We are modest people that just get on with it and enjoy life. I loved my time in Cardiff and I’d never trade that for anything. We have got a good bond of guys, a good crew that still keeps in touch and I catch up with them when I am back. It’s awesome.”
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It was back in 2007 that the man from Taranaki joined Cardiff Blues, having been signed from the Wellington-based Hurricanes. He was pretty much an instant hit, with fans warming to his physical commitment and whole-hearted endeavour, as well as his lineout expertise.
Since his school days, he had been nicknamed Fish because there’s a fish in New Zealand called the orange roughy and that sort of summed him up, with the ginger-haired lock’s robust style going down well with the Arms Park support.
“What fans want to see is performance out on the park. They like supporting guys that care about the team and someone who is going to roll their sleeves up and do well for the club. Hopefully I did that. It was also about getting into the culture of Wales and getting out there and speaking to people,” he said.
“It was an easy job being captain because there were so many good players around the team. All I really did was point at the posts! We had half-backs that ran the game and people in key positions making decisions. It wasn’t so much me captaining it at all, it was just everyone getting out there and enjoying themselves and putting it on the park.”
As for the highlights of his time with the region, he says: “Beating Toulon in Marseille was great, but the EDF final against Gloucester at Twickenham, when we gave them a stuffing, was pretty special. We were unstoppable that day. It just clicked."
After hanging up his boots and bidding farewell to Wales in 2012, Tito headed back to New Zealand with his family, moving into coaching.
“You get a bit of a feel for it when you are playing. I was often captain of teams and I thought rugby is about all I know, so I’d better stick at something that I’m not bad at!”
He cut his coaching teeth at his former school, New Plymouth Boys’ High, then his former club, New Plymouth Old Boys, before joining Taranaki, where he did the forwards and the defence.
He helped the province win and retain the famous Ranfurly Shield, before heading to the south west of France to spend three years with Pau. Then came a move home to link up with Wellington, with another Ranfurly Shield triumph being secured this year.
Now he is dipping his toe into international waters, which has meant a return to his former stomping ground.
Speaking at Georgia’s training session, he said: “The Arms Park is a special ground which is pretty iconic around the world. It’s is a great spot, steeped in tradition. It’s right in town and there’s no better place to play.
“It’s great we’ve been able to come here and train. I’m obviously here to try and do a job on Wales. So it’s pretty exciting to be able to come back and coach in the big stadium. I’m with Georgia for three weeks and I’m really enjoying it.”
The Lelos have arrived in Cardiff in pretty good shape. They claimed their first victory over a Tier One nation in July when they beat Italy 28-19 in Batumi. As for how they have got on so far this autumn, well they beat Uruguay 34-18 in Tbilisi, with a first-half hat-trick of tries from back row forward Beka Gorgadze. Then, last weekend, they narrowly lost 20-19 at home to Samoa, being denied a notable scalp by a converted try just four minutes from time.
Now they turn their attention to Wales, as they continue to try and press their case for being added to the Six Nations.
That will see Tito going up against some former Cardiff team-mates, with Gethin Jenkins and Martyn Williams among the opposition backroom staff, while two more - Alex Cuthbert and Leigh Halfpenny - are in the match-day 23.
“There’s always ex-players involved and it’s good to see these guys going on. Nugget (Williams) is also there as team manager and there’s a few guys that I played with who will be playing.
“It will be good to see Pens (Leigh Halfpenny), it will be good to catch up with them after the game. I was able to catch up with a few familiar faces earlier in the week and I’ll catch up on Friday with a few of the boys.”
Tito took the opportunity to pop into the home changing room at the Arms Park, which is decorated with name-plates of players who have worn the jersey over the years.
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“It’s a special place and my name was up on the wall with Bob Norster. Bob was the CEO when I was here with Cardiff, and he is a great man. So to have my name alongside him is a real privilege.”
Now 44, he is quick to acknowledge what the sport has brought him.
“It’s a great life and you’ve got to treasure it every day because you never know when it might end,” he said. “We are in a fickle environment where you never know what could happen around the corner. You just have to look around and think we are lucky in what we do."
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