What a way to start the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship 2026 season, with Germany managing to earn a tremendous result over Romania.
But how did the Round 1 winners fare? How did Spain, Portugal and Georgia manage to earn bonus point victories?
We had a thorough look at the stats and picked the hottest ones!
Spain: Scrum pens won vs the opposition
Los Leones came out with a bang, scooping up a 51-33 win in their trip to the Netherlands, with the set-piece playing a key role in what was an enjoyable match.
Spain delivered a blockbuster first half with the forward pack bossing their rivals around, collecting five scrum penalties in under 40 minutes. While the stat might not sound very attractive, it was crucial in helping the visitors set up a platform that led to 15 unanswered points.
The sensational work-rate from the front-row trio Bernardo Vasquéz, Álvaro García, and Hugo Pirlet, and the lock pairing of Matthew Foulds and Ignacio Piñeiro, forced the Dutch pack to concede several penalties and lose their footing.
Samu Ezeala and Alberto Carmona’s first and second tries were a direct result of Spain winning a scrum penalty advantage, giving the Spanish backline time and space to opt for a riskier approach.
Although the Oranje second half performance was a step up from what happened in the opening 40 minutes, it wasn’t enough to overcome Spain’s early lead and to nullify what the Spanish forward pack had accomplished until then.
With Georgia coming up in two weeks, it will be highly interesting to understand where the Los Leones stand regarding the scrum dominance pecking order.
© Erik Den Burger
Portugal: Marques with a 25-point masterclass
Diamonds are forever, and so are the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship legends, with Samuel Marques being a remarkable example of that.
The Lobos scrum half didn’t pull any punches and completely tore apart the Belgium defence by not only scoring one try, but assisting for Rodrigo Marta and Domingos Cabral’s tries, giving a titanic push for Portugal’s win at Stade Charles Tondreau.
While the experienced half back didn’t break any individual all-time competition’s records, you can’t deny how influential he was for his side’s win, injecting the will to win into his fellow teammates and working overtime to give his side a bonus point win.
The cherry on top was his 20 points from the tee, with the 37-year-old slotting eight out of nine kicks to provide a lifeline to Portugal when Belgium was working hard to make a comeback.
Marques will always be regarded as a true great of the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship, and his Player of the Match performance in Mons will help define how big an operator he was and remains for Portugal.
Georgia: 85 tackles made, none missed inside their last 30
Georgia and Switzerland delivered a competitive clash for the fans who had flocked to the Yverdon-les-Bains Stade Municipal, with the reigning champions needing to go deep to earn a 54-03 win.
The Edelweiss army managed only to concede one try in the first 40 minutes, a significant accomplishment considering that only a couple of teams had achieved the same in the last ten years.
Olivier Nier’s side made 189 tackle attempts, completing 165, a stunning number considering who they were playing against. However, Georgia’s 85 successful tackles were also remarkable, as they missed only 10, with none happening from inside their last 30 meters.
While it wasn’t their best overall performance of the last few years, you can’t deny how resolute and relentless their defence was with Beka Saginadze, Giorgi Javakhia, Giorgi Melikidze, and Ioane Iashagashvili locking in several tackles to allow Georgia to fly out of Switzerland with no conceded tries.
Two massive defensive performances, but only one victor, and that was Georgia.
© Neil Dodd
Germany: Aerial take downs took Romania down
From a last-place finish in 2025 to deliver a monumental result in their opening game against Romania, Germany showed they aren’t just here to make up the numbers, as they have a chance to qualify for the Championship semifinals.
While most fans will only remember Leo Wolf’s final and match-winning try, we have to analyse what pushed the Schwarze Adler towards this memorable win: the aerial takedowns.
The German back line issued fifteen high up kicks – the classical up and under – with Romania unable to gather the large majority of those. Not only did the oval-shaped ball spill out of the Stejarii player’s hands, but it also fuelled Germany’s attack, leading to 18 of their 34 points.
Leo Wolf, Christopher Henning, Robin Plüme, and Michael McDonald kept launching what looked like guided missiles, sowing doubt and creating problems on the Romanian side, which was unable to adjust to Germany’s kicking strategy.
In years to come, fans will acknowledge Mark Khulmann and his staff's brilliance, especially in how they found a way to frustrate and overcome Romania.
© Jurgen Kessler
By Francisco Isaac
