2018–19 Rugby Europe International Championships

2018–19 Rugby Europe International Championships
Date	September 2018 – June 2019
Countries	35
Tournament statistics
Champions	Championship  Georgia (11) Trophy  Portugal (3) Conference 1  Ukraine (1)  Malta (3) Conference 2  Latvia (2)  Slovenia (2) Development  Turkey (1)
Antim Cup	Georgia (12th title)
Matches played	72
Attendance	114,468 (1,590 per match)
Tries scored	454 (6.31 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Championship Florin Vlaicu (34) Trophy Jorge Abecassis (49) Conference Petar Nikolov (60) Development Mihraç Ertürk (24)
Top try scorer(s)	Championship Mirian Modebadze (4) Trophy João Belo (5) Rodrigo Marta (5) Conference Ivayilo Ivanov (4) Edisher Jamrulidze (4) Blaž Pilko (4) Development Mihraç Ertürk (4)
Official website	Rugby Europe
← 2017–18 (Previous) (Next) 2019–20 →

The 2018–19 Rugby Europe International Championships is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations. The 2018–19 season is the third 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.

After the eligibility controversy of the 2018 Championship season, and the following points deduction, Romania faced and defeated Portugal in the relegation play-off to determine the last competitor for the 2019 Championship edition.

Countries

Pre-tournament World Rugby rankings in parentheses. Trophy as of 24 September 2018, Conferences as of 8 October 2018 and Championship rankings as of 4 February 2019.^[1] After winning the relegation play-off between the winner of the 2018 Trophy, Portugal, and the last placed 2018 Championship team, Romania, and the win by the latter Portugal remained on the Trophy level, whereas Romania stayed inside the Championship.^[2] Following the 2017–18 season and the promotion of Bulgaria as well as the relegation of Estonia, Rugby Europe reallocated Austria from Conference 2 South to Conference 2 North for the 2018–19 Conference season.

Legend:
* Champion of 2017–18 season; ↑ Promoted from lower division during 2017–18 season; • Division Champion but not promoted during 2017–18 season; ‡ Last place inside own division but not relegated during 2017–18 season; ↓ Relegated from higher division during 2017–18 season

2019 Rugby Europe Championship

Champions

Advances to promotion/ relegation play-off

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			Tries			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	For	Against	Diff
1	Georgia	5	5	0	0	162	34	+128	25	2	+23	3	0	1	24
2	Spain	5	4	0	1	127	75	+52	18	9	+9	2	0	0	18
3	Romania	5	3	0	2	130	86	+44	14	12	+2	2	1	0	15
4	Russia	5	2	0	3	130	85	+45	20	8	+12	1	2	0	11
5	Belgium	5	1	0	4	68	222	-154	8	33	-25	0	0	0	4
6	Germany	5	0	0	5	63	178	-115	7	28	-21	0	1	0	1
Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win – 4 points | Draw – 2 points | At least 3 or more tries than opponent – 1 point | Loss within 7 points – 1 point | Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points | Completing a Grand Slam – 1 point[3]

Matches

9 February 2019 16:00 EET (UTC+02) Romania  9 - 18  Georgia Gamesheet Cluj Arena, Cluj Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Sean Gallagher 9 February 2019 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Belgium  29 - 22  Germany (1 LBP) Gamesheet King Baudouin Stadium – Annex 2, Brussels Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Shota Tevzadze 10 February 2019 13:00 CET (UTC+01) Spain  16 - 14  Russia (1 LBP) Gamesheet Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 5,800 Referee: Joy Neville 16 February 2019 14:00 MSK (UTC+03) (1 TBP) Russia  64-7  Belgium Gamesheet Slava Metreveli Central Stadium, Sochi Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Cristian Serban 16 February 2019 15:00 EET (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Romania  38-10  Germany Gamesheet Stadionul Municipal, Botoşani Attendance: n.a. Referee: Nika Amashukeli 16 February 2019 16:00 GET (UTC+03) Georgia  24-10  Spain Gamesheet Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Christopher Ridley 2 March 2019 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Germany  18-26  Russia Gamesheet Fritz-Grunebaum-Sportpark, Heidelberg Attendance: 2,100 Referee: Ludovic Cayre 2 March 2019 16:00 CET (UTC+01) Belgium  6-46  Georgia (1 TBP) Gamesheet King Baudouin Stadium - Annex 2, Brussels Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Ben Blain 3 March 2019 13:00 CET (UTC+01) Spain  21-18  Romania (1 LBP) Gamesheet Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 6,900 Referee: Adam Jones 9 March 2019 17:00 EET (UTC+02) Romania  22-20  Russia (1 LBP) Gamesheet Stadionul Municipal, Botoşani Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Thomas Charabas 10 March 2019 13:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Spain  47-9  Belgium Gamesheet Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 8,100 Referee: Marius Mitrea 10 March 2019 16:00 GET (UTC+04) (1 TBP) Georgia  52-3  Germany Gamesheet AIA Arena, Kutaisi Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Keith Allen 17 March 2019 15:00 MSK (UTC+03) Russia  6-22  Georgia (1 TBP) Gamesheet Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar Attendance: 5,850 Referee: Tom Foley 17 March 2019 13:00 CET (UTC+01) Germany  10-33  Spain (1 TBP) Gamesheet Sportpark Höhenberg, Köln Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Andrea Piardi 17 March 2019 13:00 CET (UTC+01) Belgium  17-43  Romania (1 TBP) Gamesheet King Baudouin Stadium – Annex 2, Brussels Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Craig Evans

2018–19 Rugby Europe Trophy

Champions and advances to promotion/ relegation play-off

Relegated

Place	Nation	Games				Points			Tries			Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	For	Against	Diff
1	Portugal	5	5	0	0	272	31	+241	4	0	1	25
2	Netherlands	5	4	0	1	164	58	+106	2	0	0	18
3	Switzerland	5	3	0	2	108	138	−20	0	0	0	12
4	Poland	5	2	0	3	104	164	-60	1	1	0	10
5	Lithuania	5	1	0	4	63	175	−112	1	0	0	5
6	Czech Republic	5	0	0	5	59	205	−146	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

Matches

29 September 2018 16:00 CEST (UTC+02) Czech Republic  22–41  Poland Gamesheet Stadion Mládeže, Zlín Attendance: 500 Referee: Stuart Gaffikin 13 October 2018 14:00 EEST (UTC+03) (1 TBP) Lithuania  30–10  Czech Republic Gamesheet Šiaulių savivaldybės stadionas, Šiauliai Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Pedro Mendes Silva 3 November 2018 18:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 TBP) Poland  33–0  Lithuania Gamesheet Stadion Miejski, Łódź Attendance: 2,155 Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi 17 November 2018 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Switzerland  17–5  Czech Republic Gamesheet Stade Municipal, Yverdon-les-Bains Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Maxime Burlet 17 November 2018 18:00 CET (UTC+01) Poland  0–49  Netherlands (1 TBP) Gamesheet Arena Lublin, Lublin Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Keith Allen 24 November 2018 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Netherlands  36–15   Switzerland Gamesheet NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Shota Tevzadze 16 February 2019 15:00 WET (UTC+00) (1 TBP) Portugal  65-5  Poland Gamesheet Complexo Municipal de Atletismo, Setúbal Attendance: n.a. Referee: Manuel Bottino 9 March 2019 15:00 CET (UTC+01) Netherlands  5-18  Portugal Gamesheet NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Maxime Burlet 16 March 2019 15:30 CET (UTC+01) Switzerland  14-48  Portugal (1 TBP) Gamesheet Centre sportif de Colovray, Nyon Attendance: 2,107 Referee: Inigo Atorrasagasti 16 March 2019 15:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 LBP) Czech Republic  22-24  Netherlands Gamesheet Tarta Arena, Smíchov Attendance: 850 Referee: Paulo Duarte 23 March 2019 15:00 WET (UTC+00) (1 TBP) Portugal  93-0  Czech Republic Gamesheet Complexo Desportivo, Caldas da Rainha Attendance: n.a Referee: Tual Trainini 23 March 2019 18:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 LBP) Poland  25-28   Switzerland Gamesheet Stadion Miejski, Łódź Attendance: 2,500[5] Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu 6 April 2019 17:00 EEST (UTC+03) Lithuania  7-48  Portugal (1 TBP) Gamesheet Sporto centras, Jurbarkas Attendance: 1,700 Referee: Jonathan Dufort 13 April 2019 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Switzerland  34–24  Lithuania Gamesheet Stadion Breite, Schaffhausen Attendance: 1,309 Referee: Alad Evans 8 June 2019 17:00 EEST (UTC+03) Lithuania  3–50  Netherlands Gamesheet Panevėžio kūno kultūros ir sporto centras, Panevėžys Attendance: n/a Referee: Jonathan Erskine

2018–19 Rugby Europe Conference

Conference 1

Conference 1 North

Champions and promoted to 2019–20 Rugby Europe Trophy

Relegated

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Ukraine	4	3	0	1	113	29	+84	1	1	0	14
2	Sweden	4	3	0	1	140	65	+75	1	0	0	13
3	Luxembourg	4	2	0	2	63	59	+4	1	1	0	9
4	Hungary	4	1	0	3	97	118	-21	1	1	0	6
5	Moldova	4	1	0	3	49	147	-98	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

Matches

13 October 2018 14:00 EEST (UTC+03) Ukraine  24–13  Luxembourg Gamesheet Yunist' Stadium, Lviv Attendance: 250 Referee: Cristian Serban 20 October 2018 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Sweden  80–6  Moldova Gamesheet Bollspelaren, Norrköping Attendance: 400 Referee: Gert Visser 3 November 2018 16:00 EET (UTC+02) Moldova  16–31  Hungary (1 TBP) Gamesheet Stadionul Raional, Anenii Noi Attendance: 200 Referee: Tornike Gvirjishvili 3 November 2018 16:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 LBP) Luxembourg  9–10  Sweden Gamesheet Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Yann Benoît 10 November 2018 14:00 CET (UTC+01) Hungary  24–48  Ukraine (1 TBP) Gamesheet Városi Szabadidő Központ, Százhalombatta Attendance: 600 Referee: Dan O'Connell 13 April 2019 16:00 CEST (UTC+02) Luxembourg  23-10  Moldova Gamesheet Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Killian O'BRIEN 20 April 2019 13:00 EEST (UTC+03) Moldova  17-13  Ukraine (1 LBP) Gamesheet Stadionul Central orașului , Drochia Attendance: 500 Referee: Bartolic Hrvoje 4 May 2019 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Hungary  15-18  Luxembourg Gamesheet Városi Szabadidő Központ, Százhalombatta Attendance: 200 Referee: Pedro Cardios M. Silva 11 May 2019 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Sweden  36-27  Hungary Gamesheet Bollspelaren, Norrköping Attendance: 600 Referee: Alexei Bryzgalin 19 May 2019 16:00 EEST (UTC+03) Ukraine  23-14  Sweden Gamesheet Spartak Stadium, Odesa Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Mike English

Conference 1 South

Champions

Relegated

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Malta	4	3	1	0	117	49	+68	2	0	0	16
2	Croatia	4	3	1	0	123	69	+54	2	0	0	16
3	Israel	4	2	0	2	104	62	+42	1	2	0	11
4	Cyprus	4	1	0	3	79	139	−60	0	0	0	4
5	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	0	0	4	40	144	−104	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

Matches

13 October 2018 19:00 CEST (UTC+02) Bosnia and Herzegovina  11–40  Croatia (1 TBP) Gamesheet Stadion Kamberovića polje, Zenica Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Matej Razga 20 October 2018 16:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Croatia  46–24  Cyprus Gamesheet Stadion Stari plac, Split Attendance: n.a. Referee: Manuel Bottino 20 October 2018 14:00 IDT (UTC+03) (1 LBP) Israel  14–21  Malta Gamesheet Wingate Institute, Netanya Attendance: n.a. Referee: John Catteau 27 October 2018 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Malta  41–7  Bosnia and Herzegovina Gamesheet Hibernians Stadium, Paola Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Anthony Lac 27 October 2018 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Croatia  19–16  Israel (1 LBP) Gamesheet Stadion NŠC Stjepan Spajić, Zagreb Attendance: n.a. Referee: Ben Breakspear 10 November 2018 15:00 EET (UTC+02) Cyprus  22–34  Israel Gamesheet Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, Paphos Attendance: n.a. Referee: Jorge Molpeceres 16 March 2018 15:00 IST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Israel  40–0  Bosnia and Herzegovina Gamesheet Wingate Institute, Netanya Attendance: 500 Referee: Ethan Glass 23 March 2018 15:00 EET (UTC+02) Cyprus  10-37  Malta (1 TBP) Gamesheet Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, Paphos Attendance: 700 Referee: Hollie Davidson 6 April 2019 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Bosnia and Herzegovina  22-23  Cyprus Gamesheet Stadion Kamberovića polje, Zenica Attendance: 250 Referee: Georgii Kopp 13 April 2019 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) Malta  18-18  Croatia Gamesheet Hibernians Stadium, Paola Attendance: 1,800 Referee: Jorge Molpeceres

Conference 2

Conference 2 North

Champions and promoted

Possible relegation

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Latvia	4	4	0	0	118	43	+75	3	0	1	20
2	Finland	4	3	0	1	95	93	+2	0	0	0	12
3	Denmark	4	2	0	2	100	77	+23	2	1	0	11
4	Norway	4	1	0	3	54	112	−58	0	0	0	4
5	Austria	4	0	0	4	62	104	−42	0	3	0	3
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

Matches

13 October 2018 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) Finland  22–18  Denmark (1 LBP) Gamesheet Myllypuron urheilupuisto, Helsinki Attendance: 300 Referee: Jacob Bäverstam 13 October 2018 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) Norway  9–6  Austria (1 LBP) Gamesheet Fana Stadion, Bergen Attendance: 300 Referee: Nicolas Vandecauter 20 October 2018 15:00 EEST (UTC+03) (1 TBP) Latvia  24–7  Finland Gamesheet Daugavas stadions, Riga Attendance: 500 Referee: Alexandru Ionescu 27 October 2018 17:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Denmark  42–10  Norway Gamesheet Atletikstadion, Odense Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Lukasz Jasiński 27 October 2018 19:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Austria  20–26  Latvia Gamesheet Wiener Sportclub-Platz, Wien Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Killian O'Brien 30 March 2019 18:00 CET (UTC+01) (1 LBP) Austria  29-32  Finland Gamesheet Wiener Sportclub-Platz, Wien Attendance: 500 Referee: Dejean Stligic 27 April 2019 16:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Denmark  37-7  Austria Gamesheet Atletikstadion, Odense Attendance: 857 Referee: Anthony Lac 4 May 2019 17:00 EEST (UTC+03) (1 TBP) Latvia  38-3  Denmark Gamesheet Baldone Stadium, Baldone Attendance: 350 Referee: Ethan Glass 25 May 2019 16:00 CEST (UTC+02) Norway  13-30  Latvia (1 TBP) Gamesheet Kanalbanen, Horten Rugby Klubb, Horten Attendance: n/a Referee: Rami Aro 1 June 2019 17:00 EEST (UTC+03) Finland  34-22  Norway Gamesheet Myllypuron urheilupuisto, Helsinki Attendance: 110 Referee: Gert Visser

Conference 2 South

Champions and promoted

Relegated

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Slovenia	4	3	0	1	191	67	+124	2	0	0	14
2	Bulgaria	4	3	0	1	125	98	+27	0	0	0	12
3	Serbia	4	2	0	2	101	105	-4	1	1	0	10
4	Andorra	4	2	0	2	94	103	−9	1	0	0	9
5	Slovakia	4	0	0	4	53	191	−138	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

Matches

13 October 2018 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 LBP) Serbia  29–35  Bulgaria Gamesheet Stadion Kralj Petar Prvi, Beograd Attendance: n.a. Referee: Stepan Cekal 20 October 2018 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Slovenia  48–14  Andorra Gamesheet Rugby stadion OVAL, Ljubljana Attendance: 400 Referee: Hrvoje Bartolić 27 October 2018 16:00 CEST (UTC+02) Bulgaria  13–25  Slovenia Gamesheet NSA Vassil Levski, Sofia Attendance: 600 Referee: Dejan Stiglic 3 November 2018 17:00 CET (UTC+01) Andorra  27–14  Slovakia Gamesheet Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella Attendance: 400 Referee: Ariel Cabral 10 November 2018 14:00 CET (UTC+01) Slovakia  10–37  Serbia (1 TBP) Gamesheet Štadión PFK, Piešťany Attendance: 200 Referee: Mike Hawkins 20 April 2019 17:00 CEST (UTC+02) Slovakia  24-36  Bulgaria Gamesheet Štadión PFK, Piešťany Attendance: 200 Referee: Alexei Lebedev 11 May 2019 14:00 CEST (UTC+02) Serbia  35-27  Slovenia Gamesheet Stadion Borca, Starčevo Attendance: 400 Referee: Ariel Cabral 11 May 2019 17:00 EEST (UTC+03) Bulgaria  41-20  Andorra Gamesheet NSA Vassil Levski, Sofia Attendance: 800 Referee: Mike Hawkins 18 May 2019 15:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Slovenia  91-5  Slovakia Gamesheet Rugby stadion OVAL, Ljubljana Attendance: 300 Referee: Matej Razga 18 May 2019 18:00 CEST (UTC+02) (1 TBP) Andorra  33-0  Serbia Gamesheet Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella Attendance: 600 Referee: Jao Costa

2019 Rugby Europe Development

Champions and promoted

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff
1	Turkey	2	2	0	0	104	39	+65	2	0	1	11
2	Estonia	2	0	0	2	39	104	-65	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

Matches
20 April 2019 13:00 TRT (UTC+03) (1 TBP) Turkey  61-20  Estonia Gamesheet Atatürk Olympic Stadium (Athletics venue), Istanbul Attendance: 500 Referee: Eugeniu Procopi 25 May 2019 16:00 EEST (UTC+03) Estonia  19-43  Turkey (1 TBP) Gamesheet Kalevi Central Stadium, Tallinn Attendance: 130 Referee: Norbert Mátrai

Play-offs

Championship–Trophy promotion play-off

References