The U18 Men’s Rugby Europe Championship has a new champion, as Spain has taken over the tile from Georgia for the first time in their history. The Netherlands won the bronze medal, while Germany was able to beat Portugal for the first time even in the 5th place playoff and Poland finished in 7th.
Los Leones are the new champions!
There’s a new champion in town, as Spain has snatched the title from Georgia after overcoming the U18 Lelos 16-11 in a spectacular clash played at the Marketa Stadium.
The opening half was a full-on strongman arm-wrestle with both teams holding their own and denying any space to be given. Spain went first from the tee, as Guzmán Vinuesa Garcia slotted in a successful penalty four minutes in.
Georgia’s indiscipline was an ever-lasting issue, as it starved the Lelos of scoring any points until the first-half’s final play. At that moment, Luka Tsiklauri scored from the back of a maul, giving his team the lead at the break.
Despite having never defeated Georgia at this level, the young Leones relied in their abilities. They slowly got a grip on the game, finally retaking the lead after another penalty from Vinuesa Garcia.
The centre would up the ante and scored a superb try out wide, taking several defenders out with a fend and a sidestep to raise Spain's lead to an eight-point gap.
With most of the game played in midfield, Georgia was losing control of possession, and even their intense set-pieces were unable to breach the Spanish defence.
Three minutes to the end, Spanish fly-half Alfonso Enciso Tejerina added three more points with Georgia needing a miracle to retake the lead.
With just a few seconds left to the final whistle, Giorgi Gabunia managed to find a way in and got his team’s second, but it ended being to no avail as Spain held the line until full-time.
Celebrations ensued, and Spain, for the first time in their history, lifted the U18 Men’s Rugby Europe Championship trophy to the delight of their fans.
Netherlands defeat hosts in brutal contest for the bronze medal
The Netherlands were deserved victors in the bronze final, but the young Oranje had to dig deep to put down a relentless Czechia, which fought for the win until the very end, in a 26-15 clash.
The Dutch team were the first to put points on the scoreboard following a short carry from lock Sjoerd Bakker, who bounced a few tacklers off before reaching the try-area.
They would claim a second at the 23-minute mark, with scrum half Joren Buijs hitting the line from close range.
Although down 10 points, the home side were doing their best to find a way back into the game, and after a few attempts, they managed to land their first points, scored by Markos Michopulos boot.
With just a few seconds to spare before the break, the Czechs levelled the score thanks to a piledrive carry from prop Tomáš Pták.
The U18 Oranje were feeling the pressure but got back in control straight from the second-half kick-off, banking three more points following a Tim Boers penalty.
The fly half added two more penalties before his scrum half, Joren Buijs, picked up a brace, expanding his side’s lead to 26-10.
Even though a win wasn’t on the cards, Czechia never backed down from the tussle and clinched a third five-pointer to put an end to an entertaining bout.
An historic German win for 5th place
Germany secured one of their best overall U18 campaigns, as the Schwarze Adler finished in 5th place after beating Portugal 28-19.
The Germans showed from the get-go that they meant business and quickly built their lead, as Karl Kasper added his team’s first try four minutes into the game.
The Portuguese pack were struggling to withstand the German set-piece, and after several penalties, they were reduced to 14 players. Germany took the advantage and further extended their point margin, adding two more converted tries.
The best the Portuguese could do was a try from Martim Almeida before the teams were sent to a brief rest.
For those expecting to see a U18 Lobos resurgence, it never came, despite scoring two tries in the first 20 minutes of the second half, Germany was able to survive the contest and expand the lead again before the end.
Under the leadership of Johannes Polomsky and Karl Kasper, the German side held their own and fended off the opposition with utter brilliance until the final whistle.
Germany thus won the 5th-place playoff, putting the cherry on top of their campaign and making it one of the most impressive of the last six years.
Poland clinch 7th Place in the final play
A famous day for Polish rugby fans, as their U18 team defeated Belgium 28-24, retaining their place in the U18 Rugby Europe Championship.
Belgium was the first team to change the scoreboard, as Oscar Danjou slotted in three points to give his team the lead. Poland came knocking back, and through their set-piece, they were able to corner the opposition in the 5-meter line, finally scoring their first try of the game following a good carry from Aleksander Lechowski.
It didn't take long before Belgium added their first five-pointer, as Elvis Close pierced the Polish defence from short range to pull his team ahead.
Three minutes to halftime, Poland secured another finish, this time around from Marcel Marczewski, who was unstoppable in his way to reach the in-goal area. Kordian Zaczek added the conversion to take Poland to the break with a 4-point lead.
Poland restarted things well with their third of the day, as Nikodem Wolowczyk glided through the Belgian defence to score one of the day’s final best tries.
However, even though they went down to 14 players, Belgium never gave up and clawed back from an 11-point deficit, scoring two tries to lead until the game’s final minute.
At that moment, Poland mustered all their strength and after more than 13 phases clinched the win, as lock Frankie Nash triumphantly dived inside the Belgian try-area.
Absolute scenes took place, as Poland deservedly earned a precious victory that will allow them to be in next year’s U18 Rugby Europe Championship.
By Francisco Isaac
Photos by Martin and Petr Flousek
