No stuns or shocks, but we did have another enjoyable round from the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship 2026. While the Portuguese backline and the Georgian pack were on fire, Romania had to dig deep to claim a win, and Switzerland made Spain sweat for most of the opening half.
Find out what the Hot Stats of Round 2 reveal about each game and how some of the teams fared.
Portugal: clean breaking through everything
Portugal had a field day against Germany, collecting a 10-try performance to allow them to continue in control of Pool B of the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship 2026.
With Rodrigo Marta, Vincent Pinto, Domingos Cabral, José Monteiro and Manuel Cardoso Pinto sliding and gliding through the German defence, Simon Mannix’s side were voracious and intent on putting on a show for the Lobos fans.
At the end of the day, the Portuguese players forced their way through the German defence 17 times, outpacing and outmanoeuvring the opposition to reach the in-goal ten times.
Rodrigo Marta, with five, Manuel Cardoso Pinto and Guilherme Vasconcelo,s with four and three, respectively, were the Lobos prime line breakers, cracking open the Schwarze Adler dam with furious talent.
Although the Lobos didn’t set a record, it was a warning sign for any team with lingering doubts about Portuguese creativity, acceleration, and pace.
17 line breaks, 36 defenders beaten and an enticing and exciting performance to keep their winning spree going.
Romania: the physicality battle was won in the breakdown
A battle that reminded rugby of an ancient, lost age was won by Romania, who survived the harsh weather conditions and a resilient Belgian side to claim 4 precious points.
But in the game that was ultimately decided in the last 25 minutes, how did the Stejarii find themselves again? Breakdown turnovers, scrum dominance and a mauling physicality made enough damage for the Diables Noirs to concede defeat.
The locals' work in contact was formidable, pressuring the Belgian players to take risks and expose the ball carrier, resulting in nine successful breakdown turnovers. Two of which ended up leading to a penalty kick converted by Alin Conache and Kemal Altinok’s try.
The openside flanker was one of Romania’s leading jacklers, poaching two successful breakdown steals to boost his side’s chances.
The ferocity with which the Stejarii approached every area of contact was key to unlocking the path to victory, showing that they can achieve great things if they embrace the physicality that brought glory to Romania in past years.
Georgia: a perfect set-piece performance
Eight own scrums won, and two opposition scrums conquered; 14 lineouts won and two steals, completing what was Georgia’s best set-piece performance since 2022.
The Lelos didn’t leave their fate to chance, and from the get-go, bossed the Dutch forward pack around, setting a steady and powerful platform in their way to attack the opposition’s in-goal area.
With Luka Matkava running a keen show from the back, the massive shift from Luka Goginava, Vano Karkadze, Irakli Aptsiauri, Luka Ivanshvili and Beka Saginadze was crucial in their way to claim a 61-12 win at the end of the day.
Despite all the (deserved) talk and mentions to the Georgian backline, the Lelos forward pack machine still carries the water like a sturdy, unbreakable mill.
Can Spain find a way to put a stop to it, or is there no stopping this well-oiled machine that has yet to make a scrum mistake in this year’s Men’s Rugby Europe Championship?
Switzerland: a first-half performance to remember
Although Spain was the victor in Saturday's match against Switzerland, the visitors put up a fierce fight and trailed by just seven points when match official Edwin van der Spek sent the teams for a well-deserved rest.
The 21-14 score wasn’t by chance or mere luck, as Switzerland worked tirelessly to not only contest every Spanish carry, set-piece and kick, but also to show what they could do with the ball under their possession.
Although this isn’t a Hot Stat per se, the fact that they have been able to challenge and compete against two of the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship sides deserves a worthy mention.
In the first half, Spain was feeling the pressure of the Swiss set-piece with the likes of Samuel Sjoberg, Alex Pantillon, Ahmed Kane or Nicolas Mousties throwing down the gauntlet up front.
Against Georgia, they were losing by mere four points at the break, which shows how determined this side can be in the opening 40 minutes. If they can replicate their performance in the second half, there's a real possibility that something remarkable could be about to unfold.
