Rugby Europe Championship Round Up

Well another Rugby Europe Championship has come to an end! We were off to the moon with the first round of the tournament, but it lulled off again for the next three rounds, until Spain beat Portugal in the Iberian Derby in Lisbon. Then the Fianl Play Off rounds threw up some surprises and plenty of drama! What a way to start and end the tournament, but did the middle do enough to create any jeopardy over the Rugby World Cup Qualification. Not really that was wrapped up in 2 games, then Belgium saved the best till last to blow the Dutch away in Amsterdam! We will review the tournament team by team in order they finished, so buckle up!

1. Georgia

Well, you could easily run out of superlatives when speaking about the current Georgian juggernaught. But Richard Cockerill will be frustrated with a few moments in this tournament where they should and could do better.

The first game of the tournament, they completely blew the Swiss away. And butchered 5 or 6 clear cut chances on the way to their 110 - 0 demolition. The result will have been pleasing but some of the execution will have given moments to work on at training. They then hosted a wounded Netherlands side in Tbilisi but could only put 40 points on the Dutch with tries disallowed and conceding late on to miss out on another clean sheet. The Dutch turned up with a point to proved and put in a brilliant defensive display to limit the scoring, but their discipline destroyed any hope with 3 yellow cards on the day for the Dutch. But the Georgian discipline gremlins surfaced with a straight red card for a high tackle.

The red card in the Netherlands game was only the start of the disciplinary gremlins though, as we will have all seen the Rumble in Madrid. 3 Yellows and another Red card were dished out in Madrid, in a fiesty affair. The Spaniards also suffered 3 yellow cards, which created space for the Georgian attack to still get 10 tries over the line at will, but the kicking let them down a bit with 4 conversions missed. But they got the job done with relative ease, but speaking with Richard Cockerill after the game. He was not best pleased with how they let the Spanish into the game with discipline and switching off around the breakdown.

They then hosted a Romanian side that were completely out of sorts and just been on the end of a heavy defeat to Portugal in their own backyard. So, the Georgians faced a different type of opposition with the physical Romanian side. Another fast start allowed them to set the pace of the game, but missing 3 of the 7 conversions will be frustrating for the Georgian kicking team. They also conceded late on again, which would have given them another clean sheet. Although, the discipline gremlins had gone away for the day with no cards coming out the pocket.

The Final was set for a rematch against Spain but in the Tbilisi sunshine this time. Even though they went in ahead 17-16 at half time, Spain had frustrated the Georgian game plan and firmly put themselves into the final. 2 missed conversions and a disallowed try in the first half allowed the Spainiards to remain in touching distance. The Georgian discipline was being tested and for a change they were under the pump at the scrum with the officials showing an eagle eye over the proceedings. Georgia went to the well in the second half and dominated with the rolling maul. They managed to pull away in the second half but the kicking was still wayward for the Georgians.

Overall a solid tournament again for the Georgians, but without the step up to the 6 Nations. Where can they progress from the Rugby Europe Championship, they are kind of in the Tier 1.5 area of Rugby. Not a Tier 1 nation but too good for the Tier 2 competition at the minute, while other nations work on closing the gap.

2. Spain

Think Spain will be arguably the happiest team out of the tournament for their performance and progression.

They managed to get rid of a few gremlins and still get results that they may have previously not converted. Their stats will be skewed by having to face Georgia twice but for periods in both of those games, they were able to ask questions of Georgia.

They managed to prove they have a strength of depth in the squad too, with players having to drop out due to injury etc and their replacements able to step in and offer a competitive suitor for the position. Versatility was also key, with a balanced bench available, and players like Alberto Carmona being able to play in 3 different positions in this tournament. Being able to draw on players from the Top 14 has also, really helped with the development of the squad. This was clear to see in the physicality in defence.

Pablo Bouza has managed to mold this young Spanish team together with a physical defence but willing to attack the space with pace. A similar model that is afforded throughout Spanish rugby, which shows the potential for a continued conveyor belt of Spanish rugby talent.

They are still not the finished article, discipline and game management potentially let them down at times. Switching off at the breakdown cost them a few tries too, which they improved on as the tournament went on too.

Having a player with a boot like Gonzalo Lopez-Bontempo has been critical for Spain in this tournament, being able to keep the board ticking over from pretty much anywhere on the park is a huge asset. But he is not just a kicking machine, he offers another dimension at 12, which has the opposition guessing his next move. Rafael Nieto was another stand out performer throughout the tournament, basically, being everywhere and at the right times too.

Overall a great tournament for Spain and what seemed to be an elusive Rugby World Cup Qualification secured finally!

3. Romania

Well where to begin with Romania, David Gerard declared the team is in a rebuild period. This was clear to see in performances throughout the tournament, however, a rugby powerhouse in the making can be seen lurking under the surface still. Starting the tournament under Friday Night Lights against Germany saw Romania under the pump for the first 20 minutes against a committed German side. But the levels finally kicked in and Romania got the job done relatively comfortably, but had a few things to take away and work on. Next up was a Belgium side, that had run Portugal close the week before, but Romania dealt with this challenge very easily, against a Belgian side that looked hungover from their efforts against the Portuguese.

Romania then welcomed the Portuguese but could not find a answer against them. The Romanian discipline went out the window again, and allowed Los Lobos to play their brand of rugby. That defeat set them up with a trip to Tbilisi to take on old foes, Georgia, that result was again in Georgia’s favour again. Romania looked a bit lost and struggling to keep their discipline together to mount their usual solid challenge in the REC.

Then the rain came to Lisbon! What a difference that made for Romania, they seemed to find a whole new level of physicality in their 3rd place play off. Opting for a kicking battle which they were winning from most areas of the park. Their defence was solid, apart fromt he obligatory Romanian Yellow Card, that led to teh Portuguese try. However, Captain fantastic marius Simionescu seemed to have rocket boots on when he was jumping in the aerial battle. It looked like the old Romania was remerging.

The Oaks will have plenty of positives to take away from the 3rd place finish but still have plenty to work on and build the new Romanian way. They won’t be happy with most of the tournament and how they performed but will be buoyed by the final performance. Once, it finally clicks the physicality of the Romanian backline will run through teams. The next Rugby Europe Championship is looking extremely exciting already if all these teams improve at the same time.

4. Portugal

Portugal started the tournament against a strong Belgian side that were out to make a statement. Portugal managed to start fast, but their game management let the Belgians back in through out the match and put themselves within touching distance at the end. Los Lobos managed the job and moved onto dismantling what turned out to be a very below par German team in the tournament. However, that game management gremlin crept in again, when they completely switched off at the breakdown with Germany walking through the middle of the park. Then in the final minute tried to play out in their own 22 with the clock in the red and passed the ball straight into the path of an on charging Felix Lammers. Otherwise, they looked very good against Germany and kept them at bay for the majority of the game. Full of confidence and playing exciting rugby, Portugal set off for Romania, with RWC qualification secured and the target to win their group!

They did not dissappoint with a comfortable victory of group rivals, Romania. This victory was potentially too comfortable for them, because the Iberian Derby was next!

Portugal came in to the game without losing to Spain in their last 2 clashes in Lisbon, but spain had another plan. They managed to slow the play down against Portugal, which stopped them being able to play their exciting expansive 7s style of rugby. Having spoke with Tomas Appleton after the game, he confessed that Portugal were potentially too expectant that the job was done already. It showed on the pitch too, they were shell shocked after being limited to small pockets of their play in the game. Appleton told me they were also in a period of rebuild after their previous RWC success but potentially got caught out at the right time before it happened further down the road. Simon Maddix was not best pleased with the performance and stated they were second to pretty much every aspect of the game on the day. But they will go away and work on that ahead of the 3rd place final.

Portugal lost Captain Tomas Appleton in the lead up to the game against Romania to injure. So, a reshuffled backline and opting for a developing 10 for this game in the torrential downpour, sadly did not turn out as planned. Portugal took till the 60th minute to score a point in the game, which was strewn with handling errors and ill discipline in terrible weather conditions. What started as a explosive tournament, fizzled away in the latter stages. Los Lobos will go away and lick their wounds and have to figure out what went wrong in the end. Another team looking to come back stronger for the next installment of the REC in 2026.

5. Belgium

Belgium started the tournament looking like a real force to be reckoned with in their group! Pushing Portugal in the opening game through to the final whistle, but losing 40 - 30 in Lisbon. Expectations then looked high for Belgium in this REC, but they switched off when they hosted Romania, and didn’t look as clinical in the match. Even with Romania, letting them into the game with their own discipline issues, but Belgium couldn’t capitalise. However, Hugo de Francq was a stand out performer still from both games with his reliable boot when he gets the opportunity. Jean - Maurice Decubber was a menace around the park too with Maximilien Hendricx offering a strong and dominant tackling defence when available.

Belgium finally got their chance to assert their level against an ill disciplined Germany in the final group game, They set off quickly and kept the Germans under the pump for long spells of the game. but not always able to get through the German defence. Hugo de Francq managed to keep the board ticking when the Germans obliged with their penalties. Even with Germany have a late spell in the game to make the result look closer than it potentially should have been, it confirmed a home draw for the Belgians in the play off game.

A few injuries, and tactical changes for the game hosting Switzerland in the play off. Belgium gave a pretty lacklustre display against the Swiss, and only won 38 - 5 compared to other teams in the REC. Belgium had pretty poor discipline for this game, a yellow card and 12 penalties conceded kept giving the Swiss opportunities to keep the Belgians in their half. Switzerland dominated the possession and territory stats in this match which was a shock for this game and potentially questions around the strength in depth for the Belgian side.

The Netherlands had a strong performance against the Germans too, and gave them the home advantage against Belgium for the 5th place play off. I for one, did not expect to see what happened in the 5th place final!

Belgium were so dominant, they made the game unplayable for the Dutch. They dominated every tackle, every breakdown, every scrum and every lineout for sustained periods in the game. They frustrated the home team, with a phenomenal display which hadn’t really been seen since the start of the tournament. They played the kicking game exceptionally well, and put the Dutch on the back foot on many occassions with accurate kicking. 21 kicks in play by the Belgians compared too the 17 by the Dutch were crucial in a extremely windy Amsterdam day. Alongside the kicking game, Belgium kept the ball alive as much as possible with 14 offloads, they tidied up the discipline too, with only 8 penalties conceded compared to 17 Dutch gifts.

It will be a tournament of 2 games really for Belgium but the second was the most crucial, they now get their shot at the RWC 2027 Qualification. There are many positives from their first game against Portugal, and gives them a blueprint for what they can do at that level. But they run a tight rope for a period, and could have potentially done better in the group than they did. However, the criticism is nothing compared to their leap in the performance from last tournament and their World Rankings jump. What a great platform they now have, and will be exciting to follow their further qualification journey too.

6. Netherlands

The Netherlands will be wondering what happended to them in the last game against Belgium. They had really grown into the tournament, after a tough first game against the Spanish in Madrid. It was their first game together for a while and was a real test for them, even though the result went against them. The Netherlands had plenty of positives in attack but their defence needed work. They then had to travel to Tbilisi to take on Georgia, after their 110 - 0 demolition of Switzerland. The Dutch went back to training and had real work to do to ensure they didnt get a similar dismantling. Training paid off, they held the Georgians to a 40 - 7 scoreline but looked alot stronger in all aspects. Even managing to force themselves over for a try in the 83rd minute with a strong attacking forwards display. But discipline let them down, having 3 yellow cards against Georgia, is not going to help any challenge.

Still they had a strong performance to take them into the Switzerland game, they really enjoyed that game in Amsterdam. A 73 - 0 victory was a real statement for the Dutch, with 18 points missed from missed conversions and a dissallowed try and conversion could have seen a 99 - 0 victory by the Dutch. What a result the 73 - 0 was anyway but that 99 - 0 could have been a real shockwave to the tournament on top of the 110 - 0 win by Georgia only weeks earlier. Kicking was becoming a real issue for the Dutch, leaving alot of points off the table from conversions and penalties. As could be seen with Belgium managing to keep the board ticking over from Hugo de Francq, the Netherlands could not find the same at this tournament.

The Dutch managed to rotate heavily ahead of the Germany game, and still win comfortably ahead of the Belgium match. The Netherlands discipline let them down in the first half with a yellow card and 2 penalty goal gifts for the Germans, a try in the 39th minute and another missed conversion, sent the Dutch 5 - 6 at half time. Another early penalty to Germany found the Netherlands having to go to the well to get this game back on track. They finally got going and managed to run the game out 38 - 9 winners but a worrying first half for the Dutch where they couldn’t find any points until a minute before the end of the half. Another couple of conversions missed didn’t impact the result much but shows the work on needed in the Dutch set up.

Then the 5th place final happened! Another Dutch performance where they couldn’t find any points until the 39th minute, this time the Belgians were not letting them back into the game like the Germans did. The Netherlands looked shell shocked by the intensity by the Belgians, and their kicking was going wayward again, even with recalling Willie Du Plessis for this crucial game.

The Netherlands will have to go away and review what could have been. It looked like it was their turn for teh RWC qualification, but they switched off at the wrong time. Their is plenty of great players in the Dutch team, and a strong programme of games will allow them to really progress as a team. A trip to play the USA in the summer is a strong start, but they will need to keep this group together and consistently to improve on their performance in REC 2026.

7. Switzerland

Some could argue that Switzerland are the biggest improvers for this tournament!

Having started with that 110 - 0 welcome by Georgia in the first weekend, away in Tbilisi. To having their first home game in the REC against Spain, and getting their first try in the competition on home soil. A stronger performance held the Spaniards to a 13 - 43 victory, even with a rotated Spanish side. They then went away to Amsterdam to lose 73 - 0 which as mentioned above could have been alot more. Were the Swiss well out of their depth, and was this promotion far too early for the Nation with only 5000 players in their current player pool?

Another trip to Belgium saw another defeat, 38 - 5, but they looked a bit more controlled in this match. They were able to put the Belgians under pressure, but unable to execute their chances. Was this the start of the Swiss making themselves a Championship team? It has been clear to see, they have jumped into the deep end but their is noticeable improvements in each game, even when the results don’t look great.

Then that kick made history! It reminded me of Wilko dropping into the pocket for that kick in the 2003 RWC Final! Jules Porcher put the Swiss firmly in Rugby Europe folklore and turned their fortunes in what was a pretty abstract tournament. The first half looked to be a foregone conclusion of the Swiss being on the end of another away defeat. They were 14 - 3 down at half time and Germany looked dominant, but the half time whistle went at the wrong time for Germany. Switzerland come out in the second half looking like a different team, their kicking game was on fire and they were pushing the Germans to the limit in defence in the right parts of the park.

However, this could all be in vein ahead of the next Rugby Europe Championship. The Swiss team don’t seem to have any scheduled fixtures in the summer or autumn at the minute going into the relegation cycle for REC 2026.

They have really turned up at the right time of the tournament and that 7th place is written into the history books. But they can’t let that go to waste in the next REC. Even with only 5000 players in the player pool, how far can the Swiss develop Rugby in their country.

8. Germany

Germany were a shadow of their former selves! Having finished 6th last year after losing to the Netherlands in the 5th place final. They looked steady to put in another similar performance, and the first 20 minutes from the Friday night opener in Bucharest looked to support this mindset. That could be argued as the last glimmer of hope for this German side, alot of tactical and injury enforced changes throughout the tournament looked to unsettle any continuity in the performances.

The German discipline was their biggest achilles heel in the REC, they couldn’t seem to keep all 15 players on the pitch in games. And giving penalties away at the wrong times, especially when the games were starting to turn in their favour. Handling errors were far too regular in their pursuit of getting a foot hold in matches. There is no need to breakdown the matches from a German point of view, as they were obviously dissappointed and frustrated from every match. Then the final nail in the coffin came against Switzerland to finish bottom of the tournament. The only positive from this year tournament is that its not a relegation year!

Stand out performances from Shawn Ingle and Leo Wolf, would have seen them in the conversation of Team of the Tournament if they hadn’t finished last. Christopher Hennig got his debut at senior level and looks like a bright prospect for them to build around. However, there will be a big investigation into what went wrong and it needs to be fast and effective.