There will be an exciting weekend of rugby, followed by the crowning of the European Men’s Rugby Champion.Aeon Ship Weekend just ended.
It would be an understatement to say that the 2024 campaign has started on a high note as four very impressive Test matches were played.
The Netherlands and Spain began their Pool A match at Amsterdam’s National Rugby Center on Saturday lunchtime.
A penalty from center David Wiesma gave the Netherlands an early lead, before full-back John Bell scored a try and stand-off Bautista Guemes put Spain up 7-3, before the hosts’ players received a yellow card.
Spain led 20-6 by half-time, with two penalties from Guemes and a converted try from winger Martiniano Sian leading to the Netherlands converting a second penalty from Weersma.
A try from second-row Dennis van Dijken with an hour to go gave the Netherlands hope, and skipper Kane Blumen’s goal with four minutes left had the home crowd on their feet. A stand-off Willy du Plessis scored, but Spain defended and won 20-18.
Spain head coach Pablo Bouza said: “We scored some good tries in the first half and were in good shape. After that we had some chances to score, but we couldn’t score and the Netherlands fought back.” .
Netherlands national team head coach Lynn Jones said: “Before the game we talked about improving and growing from last year and we pushed Spain hard.
“We didn’t play well at times and made some mistakes, but there’s a lot to take from this game.”
One of the most iconic championship games took place on Saturday night at the Stade Charles Tondreau in Mons, as hosts Belgium shocked Portugal in Pool B.
They took an early lead through a penalty from Portuguese standoff Hugo Aubry, but Belgian center Florian Lemieux missed a penalty of his own.
Belgian standoff Hugo de Franck scored a try for Lemieux before a flurry of yellow cards, and Lemieux’s penalty after 30 minutes made it 10-3.
Aubrey’s penalty made it 10-6 at the interval and set the stage for a thrilling second period.
Belgium held on despite their players’ sins and eventually crossed the line for a famous victory, sparking wild celebrations.
“It’s really unbelievable. Everyone involved is very happy,” Belgium head coach Laurent Dossat said.
“The fighting spirit and mindset of the players was really great.”
“Congratulations to Belgium. This is their time and they should celebrate,” Portugal coach Joao Milla said. For us, this is a time for action, not words. ”
The first match on Sunday saw Germany and Georgia face off in Pool A at the Paul Greif’s Stadion in Dessau.
In the end, reigning champion Georgia won 28-17, but Germany can be proud of their effort.
In fact, the hosts were leading 10-7 until they received a yellow card just before half-time.
Georgia quickly took advantage of the extra man, with No. 8 Ilya Spanderashvili converting for stand-off Luke Matkava to score his second try.
A 14-10 lead became 21-10 and then 28-10 by the hour mark, with the second successful try coming from winger Milian Modebadze. The first try of the second half was captain Merab Sharikadze’s 100th try.th cap.
Germany full-back Nikolai Kruinghaus gave them hope with a try with 15 minutes remaining, but the visitors held on.
Georgia head coach Richard Cockerill said, “It’s good to win, but there’s a lot of things to improve on. Credit to Germany for the way they played.”
German national team captain Jorn Schröder said, “I’m proud of the players. It was a great effort. We must take advantage of this result in our next match against Spain.”
Gdynia’s Narodwy Stadion was the venue on Sunday night, with Poland taking on Romania in Pool B as the first round of matches concluded.
Romania took an early lead with a driving lineout try and made it 5-3 12 minutes later with a penalty from Polish standoff Wojciech Piotrowicz.
Just before the end of the first quarter, loosehead prop Alexandre Sabin scored Romania’s second try.
The third try came in the 33rd minute.rd With one man guilty against Poland’s 14, winger Tevita Manumua showed some quick thinking to turn things around. Standoff Tudor Boldor scored the goal to make it 17-3.
The next point did not reach 64 points.th minute, Bol d’Or penalty made it 20-3.
Poland gained the advantage in the 72nd minute when Romania gave a player a yellow card.n.d. Substitute Jordan Tebbutt scored a try in the first minute.
The match ended 20-8 and Romania’s head coach David Gerard said: “The conditions were tough and overall I thought we were quite behind, but the important thing we got was the win. ” he said.
Piotr Rzeztek, captain of the Polish national team, said, “I’m really proud of what we’ve done, and I feel like we can step up even further and compete in this tournament.”
It all continues this weekend with three games on Saturday and one on Sunday.
Tickets are now on sale for the Rugby Europe Championship final to be held at the Stade Jean Bouin on March 17th, with all eight teams competing over four consecutive matches.