Ukraine girls, Latvia boys and Georgia boys were all winners on a busy weekend of Rugby Europe under-18 Trophy sevens action in Budapest, Hungary.
The Dr. Koltai Jenő Sports Center was the venue for the girls’ Trophy tournament and the boys’ Trophy 1 and Trophy 2 events.
In the girls’ Trophy seven teams were involved and, in the first stage of things they were split into two pools.
Pool A had Ukraine, Hungary and Moldova in it and the Ukrainians showed how good they could be by winning two games out of two to top the section. Hungary finished second in there with Moldova third.
In Pool B, Switzerland won three games out of three to top the four-team section, Sweden finishing second followed by Portugal and Andorra.
In the knock-out phase, Sweden pushed Ukraine all the way before going down 12-10 in the first semi-final and then Switzerland turned on the style to get the better of Hungary 34-5.
That semi-final showing by Switzerland gave them hope heading into the final, but in that one Ukraine were just too strong and won 17-7 to lift the trophy, worth of promotion to Championship level next season.
Sweden defeated Hungary 24-7 to finish third while, after rankings pool games, Portugal finished fifth, Andorra finished sixth and Moldova finished seventh.
© Csaba Toth
There were eight teams in the boys’ Trophy 1 event and Monaco topped Pool A after two wins and a draw. Sweden were second in that four-team section with Luxembourg third and Croatia fourth.
In Pool B, Latvia showed they were the team to beat by winning three from three while scoring 92 points in the process and conceding just 15.
Israel finished second behind them with Andorra third and Moldova fourth.
In the semi-finals, Monaco and Latvia were both in good form to get the better of Israel 26-8 and Sweden 29-12 respectively. That then set up an intriguing final which Latvia were able to win 19-7. Both teams will join the Championship division in 2027.
Israel defeated Sweden 17-0 to finish third while, after rankings games, Luxembourg were fifth, Croatia were sixth, Andorra were seventh and Moldova eighth. Moldova will play in Trophy 2 next year
© Csaba Toth
Finally, seven teams were contesting the boys’ Trophy 2 event.
Bosnia and Herzegovina were the in-form side in Pool A, winning two games from two to top the three-team section with Bulgaria and Serbia behind them.
There were four teams in Pool B and Georgia won three games from three to top that group ahead of Austria, Hungary and Estonia.
Austria may have finished second in their pool, but in the first semi-final they really turned on the style to beat Pool A winners Bosnia and Herzegovina 40-0.
The second semi was a lot tighter, Georgia eventually getting past Bulgaria 19-14.
Georgia then found their flow in the final to defeat Austria 31-0 to spark celebrations. The Lelos reach the upper division thanks to this perfect tournament.
Bulgaria defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 40-5 to finish third while, after rankings pool games, Hungary were fifth, Serbia were sixth and Estonia were seventh.
© Csaba Toth
Attention now turns back to senior sevens with the second and final event of the women’s and men’s Championship Series taking place in Split, Croatia, from Friday until Sunday.
By Gary Heatly
