Summer is (finally) just around the corner, and with it, the Rugby Europe 7s season is about to be unleashed. From the Conference levels to the Championship tier, fans will have the chance to see a heavy mix of rising talents and seasoned tricksters ready to take the fray, focused on delivering something special.
With Rugby Europe TV broadcasting every single piece of the action, supporters won’t have any excuses to not follow their favourite teams and be entangled in what promises to be another spectacular 7s season.
So, with the lead taken care of, where does it all start? With the Trophy!
Trophy about to turn up the heat
The Trophy Series is the 2nd division of the 7s competitions, featuring 12 teams in the men's and women's sides of the aisles, with the two best sides winning a ticket to the Championship level.
Be it by winning the gold at Makarska and/or Chisinau, or amassing enough points to overcome the competition, the road to the Championship couldn’t be any clearer.
As for the challengers, you will find Sweden, Romania, Latvia, Türkiye, Switzerland, Croatia, Moldova, Hungary, Norway, Monaco and Malta fighting for the dream over in the men’s; while in the women’s, Italy, Georgia, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland, Norway, Moldova, Austria, Andorra, Montenegro and Croatia will battle it out.
The beautiful coastal city of Makarska goes live first, with the competition happening between the 5th and the 7th of June. Then on the 26th of June, teams will head on to Moldova's Chisinau to wrap up the Trophy.
For those who are looking for a good story and journey, the men’s Malta team and the women’s Andorra side deserve your attention, as they have spread more than a bit of fireworks on their way to reaching the Trophy.
But what about the Conference?
Conference: the cradle for brilliant stories
The 2026 Conference season starts on the 12th of June, when Andorra hosts the nine best teams of this division, while Kosovo’s Istog welcomes, in the same weekend, Men’s teams of countries that are playing for the first time or that are easing their way into the Rugby Europe competitions.
In the men's side of the Conference, you will find Luxembourg, Cyprus, Finland, Australia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Andorra, Serbia and Israel fighting for the chance to go up. At the same time, San Marino, Montenegro, Bosnia, Gibraltar, Estonia, Slovakia, Kosovo and Greece will clash in the bottom half of the division.
As for the women's eleven countries that will be in contention for promotion to the Trophy, these are Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Malta, Estonia, Greece, Finland, Luxembourg, Israel and Bosnia.
© Travis Prior
Be it in the men’s or women’s, teams will go through a pool stage first and depending on their results, they will be involved in the Championship or Ranking finals.
Gibraltar is one of the newcomers and a nation that seeks to earn a spot amongst the best, while Luxembourg and Malta will certainly be targeting the gold medal.
As for the top tier of the Rugby Europe 7s world, what can we say about the Championship?
Championship Series: home of living legends
Will France go for a three-peat, or is their two-year run as the Men’s Championship 7s winners coming to an end? That’s a question that the Les Bleus will have to answer starting on the 3rd of July, when the Championship Series 2026 kicks off in the historical and thrilling city of Hamburg. Between the 3rd and the 5th of July, 24 nations will be locked in a race to win the title or avoid relegation.
France oversees the Men's division from its golden throne, but they will have to be on the lookout as Spain, Team Great Britain, Ukraine, Germany, Czechia, Poland, Italy, Belgium, Georgia and Lithuania are sharpening their claws to land a successful title bid.
In the women's competition, Team Great Britain took the title home in 2025 and will certainly be looking to retain it, although Poland, France, Spain, Czechia, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Türkiye are ready to throw the gauntlet.
© Jurgen Kessler
Denmark, which came in second place in the Trophy in 2025, will certainly deserve fans' attention, as they have been slowly creating their own epic story, dyed in a relentless attitude and magical sidesteps.
And if you had to ask us to pick a men’s side, France is always a shiny golden nugget, as they are capable of unleashing a universe of total rugby fireworks that can set the world alight.
As already stated, Hamburg opens the 7s Championship Series season with the Croatian city of Split drawing the curtain of the Rugby Europe 7s season. The Championship's second leg is scheduled for the 24th to 26th of July, with everything at stake when it goes live.
So, if you love 7s and are enticed to find more about the competition keep your eyes peeled for content and the live stream of the competition, as Rugby Europe is ready to supply you with the very best of the most ludicrous way of playing the game.
By Francisco Isaac
