2017–18 Rugby Europe International Championships

2017–18 Rugby Europe International Championships
Date	October 2017 – June 2018
Countries	35
Tournament statistics
Champions	Championship  Georgia (10) Trophy  Portugal (2) Conference 1  Lithuania (2)  Malta (2) Conference 2  Luxembourg (1)  Cyprus (1) Development  Bulgaria (1)
Antim Cup	(11th title)
Matches played	73
Attendance	190,278 (2,607 per match)
Tries scored	509 (6.97 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Championship Yuri Kushnarev (45) Trophy Liam McBride (57) Conference Cassius Deschamps (59) Development Petar Nikolov (41)
Top try scorer(s)	Championship Sione Faka'osilea (3) Paula Kinikinilau (3) Giorgi Kveseladze (3) Fernando López Pérez (3) Anton Rudoy (3) Trophy Sep Visser (8) Conference Gauthier Bares (5) Igor Dejanović (5) James Kirk (5) Christian Melgaard (5) Luke Watts (5) Development Ivayilo Ivanov (4)
Official website	Rugby Europe
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The 2017–18 Rugby Europe International Championships is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations. The 2017–18 season is the second of its new format and structure, where all Levels play on a one-year cycle, replacing the old format of a two-year cycle, with the teams playing each other both home and away.

For all teams competing in the Championship, except for Georgia, this year's edition of the Rugby Europe International Championships doubles as the second year of 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifiers for the European region, where the winner of the two-year cycle, excluding Georgia, automatically qualifies to the tournament as Europe 1. All other teams remain in contention, playing in their respective leagues, but also playing in World Cup play-offs, for the right to play in the Europe/Oceania play-off against Oceania 3.

Countries

Pre-tournament World Rugby rankings in parentheses. Trophy and Conference as of 9 October 2017. Championship as of 5 February 2018.

Legend:
* Champion of 2016–17 season; ↑ Promoted from lower division during 2016–17 season; • Division Champion but not promoted during 2016–17 season; ‡ Last place inside own division but not relegated during 2016–17 season; ↓ Relegated from higher division during 2016–17 season.

2018 Rugby Europe Championship

The six teams participating in the 2018 Championship remain the same as the 2017 season, after Belgium survived a relegation threat by defeating Portugal in a playoff in May 2017. Following the match on 18 March 2018 between Belgium and Spain, an appeal by the Spanish Rugby Federation to World Rugby and Rugby Europe was published for the match to be replayed, following the appointment of a Romanian referee – Romania needed Spain to lose in order to qualify. In the meantime, World Rugby also received complaints amid European countries fielding ineligible players, in breach of Regulation 8, during the qualification process; issues were made against all competing five nations. The appeal from Spain for their match to be replayed was held whilst the appointed panel investigated the accused ineligible players, although the final verdict around the Belgium–Spain was for the result to stand. The neutral panel cleared Germany and Russia of the alleged ineligible players, but found Belgium, Romania and Spain guilty of breaching Regulation 8. The panel determined that each nation would be deducted 5 points for each game they had fielded an ineligible player, regardless of if more than one ineligible player had been fielded. The investigation found that Belgium and Romania had fielded ineligible players 6 times (a deduction of 30 points) and Spain 8 times (a deduction of 40 points) during the qualification process. This meant, with the deducted points for the respective nations, Russia would qualify ahead of Romania and Germany would advance to the play-off's ahead of Spain.^[1][2][3]

Champions

Advances Promotion/ Relegation play-off

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Georgia	5	5	0	0	188	35	+153	3	0	1	24
2	Russia	5	2	0	3	142	84	+58	2	1	0	11
3	Germany	5	0	0	5	34	359	−325	0	0	0	0
4	Belgium	5	2	0	3	106	182	−76	1	0	0	-1*
5	Spain	5	3	0	2	146	74	+72	1	0	0	-7*
6	Romania	5	3	0	2	198	80	+118	2	0	0	-11*
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:[4] Win – 4 points : Draw – 2 points  : Loss within 7 points – 1 point : Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points: At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point (will not be counted towards World Cup Qualification) * deducted points [5][6][7]

Matches

10 February 2018 14:00 GET (UTC+04) (1 TBP) Georgia  47–0  Belgium Gamesheet AIA Arena (Kutaisi), Kutaisi Attendance: 4,900 Referee: Marius Mitrea 10 February 2018 15:00 MSK (UTC+03) (1 LBP) Russia  13–20  Spain Gamesheet Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar Attendance: 11,500 Referee: Frank Murphy 10 February 2018 16:00 EET (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Romania  85–6  Germany Gamesheet Cluj Arena, Cluj Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Max Burlet 17 February 2018 15:00 MSK (UTC+03) (1 TBP) Russia  48–7  Belgium Gamesheet Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Iñigo Atorrasagasti 17 February 2018 14:30 CET (UTC+01) Germany  0–64  Georgia (1 TBP) Gamesheet Sparda-Bank-Hessen-Stadion, Offenbach am Main Attendance: 2,150 Referee: Craig Evans 18 February 2018 12:45 CET (UTC+01) Spain  22–10  Romania Gamesheet Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Thomas Charabas 3 March 2018 18:00 GET (UTC+04) Georgia  23–10  Spain Gamesheet Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Ian Davies 3 March 2018 16:00 EET (UTC+02) Romania  25–15  Russia Gamesheet Cluj Arena, Cluj Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz 3 March 2018 16:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Belgium  69–15  Germany Gamesheet Nelson Mandela Sports Centre, Brussels Attendance: 1,600 Referee: Pierre Brousset 10 March 2018 13:00 EET (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Romania  62–12  Belgium Gamesheet Stadionul Municipal, Buzău Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Sam Grove-White 10 March 2018 15:00 MSK (UTC+03) Russia  9–29  Georgia (1 TBP) Gamesheet Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe 11 March 2018 12:30 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Spain  84–10  Germany Gamesheet Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 15,753 Referee: Marius Mitrea 18 March 2018 16:00 GET (UTC+04) (1 TBP) Georgia  25–16  Romania Gamesheet Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi Attendance: 38,000 Referee: Pierre Brousset 18 March 2018 13:00 CET (UTC+01) Germany  3–57  Russia (1 TBP) Gamesheet Sportpark Höhenberg, Köln Attendance: 2,600 Referee: Ian Tempest 18 March 2018 13:00 CET (UTC+01) Belgium  18–10  Spain Gamesheet King Baudouin Stadium – Annex 2, Brussels Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu

2017–18 Rugby Europe Trophy

Champions and advances to Promotion/ Relegation play-off

Relegated

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Portugal	5	5	0	0	168	76	+92	2	0	1	23
2	Netherlands	5	4	0	1	199	110	+89	3	0	0	19
3	Czech Republic	5	3	0	2	93	120	−27	0	0	0	12
4	Switzerland	5	2	0	3	109	122	−13	0	2	0	10
5	Poland	5	1	0	4	106	147	−41	0	3	0	7
6	Moldova	5	0	0	5	58	158	−100	0	1	0	1
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:[4] Win – 4 points : Draw – 2 points  : Loss within 7 points – 1 point : Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points: At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point (will not be counted towards World Cup Qualification)

Matches

28 October 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Czech Republic  19–14  Poland (1 LBP) Gamesheet Stadion Markéta, Prague Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu 11 November 2017 13:30 EET (UTC+02) Moldova  7–59  Netherlands (1 TBP) Gamesheet Complexul Sportiv Raional, Orhei Attendance: 400 Referee: Claudio Blessano 18 November 2017 15:00 WET (UTC+00) (1 TBP) Portugal  45–12  Czech Republic Gamesheet CAR Rugby do Jamor, Oeiras Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Christophe Ridley 18 November 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 LBP) Switzerland  27–30  Netherlands Gamesheet Stade Municipal, Yverdon-les-Bains Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Iñigo Atorrasagasti 18 November 2017 17:30 CET (UTC+01) Poland  13–0  Moldova Gamesheet MoSiR Stadium, Gdańsk Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Paulo Duarte 25 November 2017 13:15 EET (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Moldova  20–22   Switzerland Gamesheet Complexul Sportiv Raional, Orhei Attendance: 300 Referee: Nigel Correll 10 February 2018 15:00 WET (UTC+00) (1 TBP) Portugal  36–12  Netherlands Gamesheet CAR Rugby do Jamor, Oeiras Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Minery Sebastien 24 February 2018 15:00 WET (UTC+00) Portugal  31–17   Switzerland Gamesheet Complexo Municipal de Atletismo, Setúbal Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu 3 March 2018 15:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Netherlands  71–30  Poland Gamesheet NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Ludovic Cayre 10 March 2018 13:15 EET (UTC+02) Moldova  10–29  Portugal Gamesheet Stadionul Raional, Anenii Noi Attendance: 350 Referee: Shoda Tevzadze 10 March 2018 14:00 CET (UTC+01) Czech Republic  17–13   Switzerland (1 LBP) Gamesheet Stadion Markéta, Prague Attendance: 800 Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu 17 March 2018 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Switzerland  30–24  Poland (1 LBP) Gamesheet Stade des Cherpines, Plan-les-Ouates Attendance: 800 Referee: Andrea Piardi 17 March 2018 15:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Netherlands  27–10  Czech Republic Gamesheet NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Maxime Burlet 24 March 2018 18:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 LBP) Poland  25–27  Portugal Gamesheet Stadion Widzewa, Łódź Attendance: 600 Referee: Dan Jones 21 April 2018 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) Czech Republic  35–21  Moldova Gamesheet Stadion Markéta, Prague Attendance: 600 Referee: Finlay Brown

2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference

Conference 1

Conference 1 North

Champions and advances to Promotion play-off

Relegated

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Lithuania	4	4	0	0	127	78	+49	2	0	1	19
2	Ukraine	4	2	1	1	92	63	+79	2	0	0	12
3	Sweden	4	2	0	2	92	109	−17	1	0	0	9
4	Hungary	4	0	1	3	60	72	−12	0	3	0	5
5	Latvia	4	1	0	3	72	121	−49	0	0	0	4
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:[4] Win – 4 points : Draw – 2 points  : Loss within 7 points – 1 point : Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points: At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point (will not be counted towards World Cup Qualification)

Matches

14 October 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Sweden  12–10  Hungary (1 LBP) Gamesheet Bollspelaren, Norrköping Attendance: 650 Referee: Philippe Lenne 21 October 2017 12:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Hungary  6–12  Latvia Gamesheet Frankarénában, Esztergom Attendance: 300 Referee: Tomáš Tuma 28 October 2017 14:00 EEST (UTC+03) (1 TBP) Ukraine  29–8  Sweden Gamesheet Spartak Stadium, Odesa Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Ionuț Bodea 28 November 2017 15:00 EET (UTC+02) Latvia  19–33  Lithuania (1 TBP) Gamesheet Zemgale Olympic Center, Jelgava Attendance: 500 Referee: Dan Maughan 4 November 2017 14:00 EET (UTC+02) Lithuania  22–12  Ukraine Gamesheet Aukstaitijos Sporto Kompleksas, Panevėžys Attendance: 500 Referee: Killian O'Brien 21 April 2018 12:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Hungary  25–29  Lithuania Gamesheet Városi Szabadidő Központ, Százhalombatta Attendance: 400 Referee: Claudio Blessano 28 April 2018 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) (1 TBP) Lithuania  43–22  Sweden Gamesheet Telšių Miesto Stadionas, Telšiai Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Alexei Bryzgalin 28 April 2018 16:00 EEST (UTC+03) Ukraine  19–19  Hungary Gamesheet Yunist' Stadium, Lviv Attendance: 300 Referee: Matteo Liperini 5 May 2018 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) Latvia  14–32  Ukraine (1 TBP) Gamesheet Upesciema Stadions, Upesciems Attendance: n.a. Referee: Hrvoje Bartolic 12 May 2018 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Sweden  50–27  Latvia Gamesheet Enköpings RK, Enköping Attendance: 500 Referee: Yann Benoît

Conference 1 South

Champions and advances to Promotion play-off

Relegated

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Malta	4	4	0	0	221	48	+173	3	0	1	20
2	Croatia	4	2	1	1	85	97	−12	1	0	0	11
3	Israel	4	2	0	2	105	86	+19	1	1	0	10
4	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	1	0	3	54	140	−86	0	0	0	4
5	Andorra	4	0	1	3	60	154	−94	0	2	0	4
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:[4] Win – 4 points : Draw – 2 points  : Loss within 7 points – 1 point : Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points: At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point (will not be counted towards World Cup Qualification)

Matches

21 October 2017 18:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Andorra  22–27  Israel Gamesheet Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella Attendance: 600 Referee: Yann Benoit 28 October 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Croatia  32–17  Israel Gamesheet Stari Plac Stadion, Split Attendance: 600 Referee: Matteo Liperini 28 October 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Bosnia and Herzegovina  20–52  Malta (1 TBP) Gamesheet Atletski Stadion, Zenica Attendance: n.a. Referee: Stepan Cekal 4 November 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Malta  56–8  Croatia Gamesheet Hibernians Stadium, Paola Attendance: 3,000 Referee: François Bouzac 11 November 2017 15:00 IST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Israel  44–8  Bosnia and Herzegovina Gamesheet Wingate Institute, Netanya Attendance: 1,400 Referee: John Catteau 17 March 2018 15:00 IST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Israel  17–24  Malta Gamesheet Wingate Institute, Netanya Attendance: 500 Referee: Jorge Mopeceres 17 March 2018 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Bosnia and Herzegovina  20–17  Andorra (1 LBP) Gamesheet Arena Zenica, Zenica Attendance: 500 Referee: Cristian Șerban 24 March 2018 15:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Malta  89–3  Andorra Gamesheet Hibernians Stadium, Paola Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Matej Razga 28 April 2018 18:30 CEST (UTC+02) Croatia  27–6  Bosnia and Herzegovina Gamesheet Stadion NŠC Stjepan Spajić, Zagreb Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Mark Patton 5 May 2018 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Andorra  18–18  Croatia Gamesheet Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella Attendance: 500 Referee: Philippe Lenne

Conference 2

Conference 2 North

Champions and Promoted

Relegated

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Luxembourg	4	4	0	0	162	24	+138	2	0	1	19
2	Denmark	4	3	0	1	211	45	+166	2	0	0	14
3	Finland	4	2	0	2	107	120	−13	1	0	0	9
4	Norway	4	1	0	3	83	90	−7	1	1	0	6
5	Estonia	4	0	0	4	31	315	−284	0	0	0	0
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:[4] Win – 4 points : Draw – 2 points  : Loss within 7 points – 1 point : Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points: At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point (will not be counted towards World Cup Qualification)

Matches

14 October 2017 18:00 CEST (UTC+02) Denmark  3–18  Luxembourg Gamesheet Atletikstadion, Odense Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Rami Aro 14 October 2017 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) Finland  15–8  Norway (1 LBP) Gamesheet Myllypuron urheilupuisto, Helsinki Attendance: 250 Referee: Alhambra Nievas 28 October 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Norway  12–24  Denmark Gamesheet Bislett Stadium, Oslo Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Joy Neville 11 November 2017 14:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Luxembourg  64–0  Estonia Gamesheet Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Attendance: 600 Referee: Michael Hawkins 14 April 2018 16:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Luxembourg  45–5  Finland Gamesheet Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,300 Referee: Gert Visser 28 April 2018 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Denmark  127–5  Estonia Gamesheet Atletikstadion, Odense Attendance: 200 Referee: Finlay Brown 28 April 2018 18:00 CEST (UTC+02) Luxembourg  35–17  Norway Gamesheet Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Dan Maughan 12 May 2018 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) Finland  10–57  Denmark (1 TBP) Gamesheet Myllypuron urheilupuisto, Helsinki Attendance: 250 Referee: Lukasz Jasinski 12 May 2018 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) Estonia  16–47  Norway (1 TBP) Gamesheet Tamme Staadion, Tartu Attendance: 100 Referee: Ramunas Grumbinas 9 June 2018 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) Estonia  10–77  Finland (1 TBP) Gamesheet Tamme Staadion, Tartu Attendance: 100 Referee: Arthur Kaptyukh

Conference 2 South

Champions and Promoted

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Cyprus	4	3	0	1	114	51	+63	2	0	0	14
2	Austria	4	3	0	1	110	85	+25	1	0	0	13
3	Serbia	4	2	0	2	131	98	+33	1	1	0	10
4	Slovenia	4	2	0	2	82	75	+7	0	1	0	9
5	Slovakia	4	0	0	4	45	173	−128	0	0	0	0
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:[4] Win – 4 points : Draw – 2 points  : Loss within 7 points – 1 point : Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points: At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point (will not be counted towards World Cup Qualification)

Matches

21 October 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Austria  27–25  Serbia (1 LBP) Gamesheet Wiener Sportclub-Platz, Wien Attendance: 1170 Referee: Csaba Priskin 28 October 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Serbia  21–30  Slovenia Gamesheet Stadion Borca, Starčevo Attendance: 450 Referee: Lukasz Jasinski 4 November 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Slovenia  29–15  Slovakia Gamesheet Stadion park Šiška, Ljubljana Attendance: 600 Referee: Hrvoje Bartolić 11 November 2017 15:00 EET (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Cyprus  42–5  Austria Gamesheet Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, Paphos Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Ariel Cabral 25 November 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Slovakia  6–38  Cyprus (1TBP) Gamesheet Štadión PFK, Piešťany Attendance: 300 Referee: Nicolas Vandecauter 24 March 2018 15:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Austria  56–0  Slovakia Gamesheet Wiener Sportclub-Platz, Wien Attendance: 800 Referee: Afonso Noguiera 24 March 2018 15:00 EET (UTC+02) Cyprus  17–5  Slovenia Gamesheet Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, Paphos Attendance: n.a. Referee: Tomáš Tuma 7 April 2018 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Slovenia  8–22  Austria Gamesheet Stadion park Šiška, Ljubljana Attendance: 225 Referee: Nika Amashukeli 21 April 2018 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) Slovakia  24–50  Serbia (1 TBP) Gamesheet Štadión PFK, Piešťany Attendance: 250 Referee: David Sutherland 28 April 2018 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) Serbia  35–17  Cyprus Gamesheet Stadion NC Makiš, Beograd Attendance: 300 Referee: Pedro Mendes Silva

2018 Rugby Europe Development

Champions and Promoted

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Bulgaria	2	2	0	0	96	25	+71	1	0	0	9
2	Turkey	2	1	0	1	38	47	−9	0	0	0	4
3	Montenegro	2	0	0	2	8	70	−62	0	1	0	1
Points were awarded to the teams as follows:[4] Win – 4 points : Draw – 2 points  : Loss within 7 points – 1 point : Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points: At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point (will not be counted towards World Cup Qualification)

Matches

14 April 2018 12:00 CEST (UTC+02) Montenegro  0–57  Bulgaria (1 TBP) Gamesheet Stadion kraj Bistrice, Nikšić Attendance: 200 Referee: Rami Aro 28 April 2018 16:00 TRT (UTC+03) Turkey  13–8  Montenegro (1 LBP) Gamesheet Maltepe Hasan Polat Stadyumu, Istanbul Attendance: 300 Referee: Alexandru Ionescu 5 May 2018 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) Bulgaria  39–25  Turkey Gamesheet NSA Vassil Levski, Sofia Attendance: 600 Referee: Dejan Stiglic

Play-offs

Championship-Trophy Promotion play-off

Conference 1 promotion to Trophy play-off

See also

• 2019 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification

References