The scene is set for the kick-off of the 2025/2026 Men’s Rugby Europe Conference season, with 21 nations ready to take the stage and fight for a chance to earn promotion to the Trophy division.
The competition is due to start on September 27th and will run until May, and fans are welcome to get involved in any of the 35 fixtures scheduled.
But who are the nations competing in Rugby Europe’s third division? And how can your nation win the promotion battle?
Let us explain the dealings of the Men’s Rugby Europe Conference and help you navigate one of the most diverse and intense competitions of the rugby world.
Participants and pools
This season’s Rugby Europe Conference will be split into five pools, with each one working in a round-robin format between teams of the same conference.
Luxembourg, Finland, Latvia, Norway and Estonia comprise Conference A, and Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia coexisting in Conference B.
Moldova, Bulgaria, Türkiye and Ukraine will clash on Conference C, whilst Malta, Andorra, Israel and Cyprus will contend on Conference D.
Finally, Bosnia y Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo are set to face each other in Conference E.
Conference C is the first one to go live, as Türkiye and Ukraine will meet on September 27th. Conference B and E follow next, with several games scheduled for October 4th.
Two weeks later, it will be Conference A’s time to enjoy their first set of games, with Norway and Finland hosting Luxembourg and Estonia, respectively.
Conference D will be the last to make their debut, which is set for November 8th.
The Conferences were drawn in consideration of each nation’s geography proximity and current ranking, giving a chance for unions to find a challenge suited to their level.
Points will be awarded as follows: four points for winning and two for drawing. Attacking bonus points will be granted to teams that score three more tries than the opposition; losing bonus points if a team loses by 7 points or less.
The two pool winners with the most points earned qualify for the Men’s Rugby Europe Conference Play-off Final. However, only teams that have previously announced their intentions of accepting promotion will be admitted, qualifying for the Men’s Conference play-off final. The team with the highest-ranking points earns the right to host that match.
Only pool winners can qualify for that desired promotion match. If none of the highest pool ranking teams aim to win promotion, the last placed team of the Men’s Rugby Europe Trophy level will keep its status and avoid relegation altogether.
Denmark was last season Conference’s victor, having ascended to the Trophy division after defeating Moldavia in the final. Luxembourg, who finished in last place, was demoted to the Men’s Rugby Europe Conference.
The final is scheduled for May 23Rd/24th and every match is expected to be streamed on Rugby Europe TV’s platform, which you can access freely.
Alongside the Men’s Rugby Europe Conference, the Women’s Rugby Europe Conference, which will be Test Match based, will also take place for the first time.
Although no fixtures are still to be announced, Rugby Europe can reveal that Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Georgia, Norway and Romania will meet in this newly development division.
This will provide unions with a great opportunity to prepare for their first ever WXV Test Matches.
By Francisco Isaac
