Dimitri Yachvili

Dimitri Yachvili (born 19 September 1980 in Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze) is a semi-French, semi-Georgian rugby union footballer who plays scrum-half for Biarritz in the French Top 14 and France internationally.

He is of Georgian descent. His father Michel was a French international before him, his mother Germaine was the daughter of Alexandre Markarian whose parents miraculously escaped the Armenian genocide. His paternal grandfather was a Georgian POW during the WWII in France, and his brother Grégoire chose to play for the Georgian national team.

He made his international debut in November 2002 in a 35–3 victory against Canada.

Since the retirement of Fabien Galthié, Yachvili has been in and out of the starting 15 but can always be relied upon to produce. What Yachvili also provides is a dependable boot. When Frederic Michalak misfires Yachvili can be called upon to take penalties and conversions, a job he also does for his club side Biarritz Olympique.

During the 2005 Six Nations Championship he regained his position as the first choice scrum-half for the French national team, cementing his position with a virtuoso goal-kicking performance against England at Twickenham. He also captained the French national team, surrendering the captaincy permanently for the 2005 summer tour to South Africa, which he missed through injury.

He was considered the number two scrum-half behind Jean-Baptiste Élissalde in the......
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