It’s time for knock-out rugby in Men’s Championship 25

The knock-out phase of the men’s Rugby Europe Championship has arrived.

The top four sides from the pool phase - who have all qualified for Rugby World Cup 2027 as a result - will be in Grand Finals semi-final action this weekend.

And the other four sides from the pool phase will be in Rankings Finals semi-final action this weekend. Whoever finishes top in this section, so fifth overall, come two weeks’ time will make it through to another event which will still give them a chance to make Rugby World Cup 2027.

Every match counts then on Saturday and Sunday then.

The first of three Saturday matches takes place in the National Rugby Center in Amsterdam at 1pm local time (noon UTC) as Netherlands take on Germany in a Rankings Finals last four match.

Netherlands finished third in Pool A with one win from three while Germany ended up bottom of Pool B with three defeats from three.

When these sides met in the 5th/6th final last year, the Netherlands ran out easy 45-0 winners so Germany will be looking to push them closer this time around.

Germany’s Head Coach Mark Khhlmann is anticipating a tough encounter for his side, “For us, it’s now about avoiding relegation. That was ultimately our primary goal at the start of the season. Anything else, like a possible World Cup qualification, would have been a great bonus. The Dutch are clear favorites in Amsterdam.

They were already significantly stronger than us last year. Their federation’s structures have become even more professional, and they’ve been able to prepare well for this game. But in the end, they, too, may have fallen short of their own expectations this season.”

Next up on Saturday is the first Grand Finals semi-final and it pits Portugal against Spain at the Estadio Nacional Jamor in Lisbon at 3.30pm local time (3.30pm UTC).

Portugal have home advantage because they topped Pool B with three wins out of three while, after two wins from three, Spain finished second in Pool A.

If this last four clash is as good as last year’s one then we are all in for a treat. Portugal edged out Spain 33-30 that time around.

Captain for Los Leones, Álvaro García, added: “As happy as we are having secured the World cup qualification, we also know that we didnt performed at our best level agains Georgia and Switzerland.

“Playing against Portugal is always special, as we have a huge rivality, it is almosts like a derby for us, because we usually met each other in finals since U18. We want to improve our 3rd position after last year and be in the final for the title, so this game is huge.”

His opposite number, Tomas Appleton, is also looking forward to the enounter, “It’s a really special time every time we face Spain, the dual has been there for years. We want to be present in the final so to do that we need to win against Spain and we’re really confident for it.”

Things then jump over to the Stade du Pachy in Waterloo in Belgium for match number three of Saturday’s card.

At 8pm local time (7pm UTC) Belgium, who came third in Pool B after a win and two losses, will host Switzerland, who were fourth in Pool A after three defeats, in a Rankings Finals semi-final.

It will be a chance for Switzerland’s players to make their mark on the competition, prop Cameron Holenstein, adding, “It’s been a tough and exciting journey so far. We’ve developed as a group and look forward to crunch time against Belgium on Saturday.”

Belgium finished seventh overall last year and will want to improve on that. They will start favourites in this one against a Swiss team still learning at this level.

The one match being played on Sunday is the second semi final and it features reigning champions Georgia and Romania, who will also be contesting the Antim Cup.

At 3pm local time (11am UTC) the side who topped Pool A unbeaten and the outfit that ended up second in Pool B after a loss to Portugal will meet at the Avchala Rugby Stadium in Tbilisi.

Romania’s "We came together after a few days off, we lost someimportant players also we have some boys with injuries, but despite all these things we had a good week of preparation and we want to show a different face in the match with Georgia. We're after a defeat, the atmosphere is quite heavy, but we are trying to leave behind the failure from the match against Portugal.

“We must stick together against Georgia, believe in ourselves and in us as a group and play good level rugby in Tbilisi. We want to show that we know how this game is played, so we'll go there with all our hearts and with the wish to rise to the opponent's level."

It is a repeat of last year’s semi-final when Georgia ran out 43-5 victors and you feel that Romania will have to go some to reverse the result this time.