More than 100 people - including children waving Georgian flags - turned out at Queenstown Airport last night to welcome the Georgia Rugby World Cup squad to the resort and New Zealand. Members of the Georgia RWC squad, including captain Irakli Abuseridze (second from right) are pictured taking in the atmosphere at the airport.
The Georgian team arrived in Queenstown from Christchurch just after 5pm, to be greeted by more than 100 flag-waving supporters, including junior Queenstown rugby players.
Mayor Vanessa van Uden told the team, using an interpreter, she wished it all the very best for the RWC 2011 and hoped players and management felt "very much at home here".
"In a country where rugby is our national sport, we take great delight in hosting players from so far away."
The civic welcome for the Georgian squad will be held this afternoon at the Skyline Gondola and Luge.