Big scores and exciting match-ups in the opening round of the U20 Rugby Europe Championship saw Portugal, Czechia, the Netherlands and Belgium qualify for the semifinals, while Moldova, Romania, Poland and Germany will contend for the rankings placements.
Lobos with a record win over Moldova
The reigning champions were absolutely relentless in their pursuit of qualifying for the Championship semifinals, earning a 120-00 win over Moldova to kick off their campaign to a flying start.
At the break, the current title holders were leading 71-0. Despite Moldova's best intentions, Portugal's superior speed and handling ability kept cracking holes open, with Tomás Baptista and Tomás Marques marshalling the young Lobos to an uncontested win.
Winger Rodrigo Socorro landed a try-poker, crossing the whitewash four times, while António Carmona, Salvador Guimarães, Thomas Ribeiro and Hugo Cristóvão each scored a brace. While it wasn't the performance Moldova was chasing, there were still some positive glimpses of a side that made their U20 Men's Rugby Europe Championship debut, with two more games to follow.
The Netherlands break the Swiss clock
The U20 Oranje are through to the semifinals after putting out a confident, ambitious performance to secure an 87-14 win over Switzerland.
The 2025 runners-up had to wait just four minutes before scoring their first of the day, as winger Kian Vos found space on the wing to ground the ball. Fly-half Hein Thielen, who took the in-goal kicking duties, clinched his first of eleven conversions.
The Dutch driving maul was making a dent on the Swiss side, who failed to find a legal way to stop it, and that set-piece dominance eventually translated into tries, with no.8 Jim Lee Salman steering the maul inside the try area.
Before the half-time break, Twan Stevens, Tibbe van de Kamp, Sam Grillis, Finn Kelliher and Salman added five more finishes, extending their lead to 45-0.
The second half was more of the same, as the Netherlands continued to mount pressure and tries, with Toine Obiang Nguema scoring first. The prop made one of the match's most impressive runs, evading the Swiss backline with a flurry of fends and side-steps before crashing into the in-goal area.
Cameron Vandergoot, with a brace, Lasse van der Tempel, Florian van Vondelen and Salman (completing a hat-trick!) wrapped up the Netherlands' win, whilst Peyo Rivera and Marco Mazzali claimed Switzerland's consolation tries after a tough afternoon.
Belgium through to the semis
After an electrifying 80 minutes, Belgium did enough to qualify for the Championship semifinals, beating Poland 52-26.
Poland were first to get points on the tally as hooker Mateusz Dogiel steered a driving maul to glory. The U20 World Rugby Challenger runners-up had to dig deep to break the Polish blockade, and at the 14th minute, they managed a break when Mylo Bouckaert found space through the middle before dotting down the oval ball - Charles Depasse added the conversion.
From that moment on, Belgium were in the driver's seat and further extended their lead with four more tries, going into the half-time break up 33-7.
Poland's indiscipline proved costly, giving their Belgian rivals a steady platform to strike and build an unassailable lead, which they expanded in the following 40 minutes.
Sohan Faquez and Iyad Meksoud banked two more finishes for the U20 Diables Noires before Poland finally enjoyed their best 15 minutes of the game, scoring tries from Pedro Brezinski, Szymon Zuczkowski and Johan Janiec.
In the final five minutes, both sides scored one more five-pointer each, wrapping up one of the most entertaining games of the opening weekend of the U18/U20 Men's Rugby Europe Championship.
Belgium will now face the Netherlands over a spot in the competition's final, in what is expected to be a monumental clash between two long-time rivals.
Hosts reaffirm their growth
Czechia has also booked their seat in the Championship semifinals, after convincingly defeating Romania 68-7.
In a one-sided game, the hosts quickly took the lead with a spot-on penalty conversion from scrum-half Matej Sehnal. They bag their first try just before the 5th-minute mark, with Krystof Uchytil finishing a spectacular team play started by fly-half Martin Pracka.
Romania kept conceding penalties, giving Matej Sehnal a platform to turn those opportunities into 3-pointers, and Czechia comfortably built a 27-point lead before we even reached the first 20 minutes. The young Stejarii's sole try came from Matei Niculai, who carried from close range, brushing a few defenders aside before grounding the ball.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they went down to 14 after a red card, with Czechia expanding their score to 41-7 before the 15-minute break.
In the final leg of the game, Czechia kept the momentum going, adding 27 more points to their lead, with the Sehnal brothers creating havoc for their Romanian rivals, who struggled to contain Czechia.
They will now face off against Portugal for a chance to secure a spot in the final—a potential first for Czechia, while the Portuguese will have the opportunity to keep their hopes of a third consecutive title alive.
