{"id":483556,"date":"2026-02-16T11:22:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483556\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T11:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:22:22","slug":"slighted-world-cup-regular-hits-back-in-rugby-europe-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483556\/","title":{"rendered":"Slighted World Cup regular hits back in Rugby Europe Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a breathtaking first round, the Men\u2019s Rugby Europe Championship<\/a> moved into round two, with no stuns this time around.<\/p>\n

Portugal<\/a> and Georgia<\/a> dominated their clashes against Germany<\/a> and the Netherlands, while Spain<\/a> and Romania<\/a> also defeated Switzerland<\/a> and Belgium.<\/p>\n

Ravenous Lobos claim 10-try win over Germany
Simon Mannix\u2019s Portugal gave no hope to their German hosts, as the Lobos produced one of their best performances to secure a 68-10 win at the Paul Greifzu Stadium.<\/p>\n

In what was a one-way contest, the visitors were quick to get on the board following a try from US Colomiers\u2019 Rodrigo Marta<\/a>, with the utility back bagging a second five-pointer later on. Portugal\u2019s set-piece stole the show, giving time and space for their backline to score four additional tries before the break.<\/p>\n

Mark Khulmann\u2019s Germany trailed 33-0 at half-time, unable to break through the opposition\u2019s structure and spending most of the first half boxed inside their own 22.<\/p>\n

\"RugbyCredit: REC<\/p>\n

To make matters worse for the hosts, Portugal secured their sixth try just a few minutes into the second half, as Provence\u2019s Manuel Vareiro<\/a> dived into the corner to resume the Lobos show.<\/p>\n

The visitors collected four more tries before the final whistle, while Germany managed two of their own to give their fans something to cheer.<\/p>\n

Portugal will now face Romania in Lisbon in a bid to claim top spot in Pool B, while Germany still have a chance to qualify for the Championship semi-finals but need at least a draw against Belgium.<\/p>\n

Los Leones survive early scare to see off Switzerland
Contrary to what happened with their Iberian rivals, Spain had to dig deep to overcome a spirited Swiss side that led twice before the hosts were able to steady themselves and earn a 53-14 win at Valladolid\u2019s Pepe Rojo.<\/p>\n

As noted earlier, Olivier Nier\u2019s Switzerland took the lead in the 12th minute when blindside flanker Nicolas Mousties<\/a> wriggled his way through the opposition defence. Fly-half Willy Gonnet<\/a> added the extras.<\/p>\n

Spurred on by their fans, Los Leones levelled the score a few minutes later thanks to Estanislao Bay<\/a>, as the scrum-half took advantage of a Swiss mistake to ground the ball.<\/p>\n

\"RugbyEstanislao\u00a0Bay scores vs Switzerland Credit; REC<\/p>\n

However, the Swiss were determined to make a statement and bossed the Spanish pack before lock Martin Even<\/a> claimed his side\u2019s second try of the game.<\/p>\n

With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Spain found their rhythm and collected two tries through Alejandro Laforga<\/a> and debutant Oriol Marsinyac<\/a>, giving them a 21-14 lead at half-time.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the visitors, as had already happened against Georgia, their form dipped, allowing Spain to regain control and mount a six-try spree.<\/p>\n

Veteran hooker Santi Ovejero steered a driving maul deep into Switzerland\u2019s in-goal area before number eight Alex Saleta<\/a> completed a brace to extend the lead to 38-14.<\/p>\n

Despite Switzerland\u2019s best efforts, they were unable to stave off Spain, with the home side scoring three more times before the conclusion.<\/p>\n

Spain will travel to Tbilisi to face the Lelos, with the winner claiming first place in Pool A. As for the Edelweiss, they will host the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

Matkava brings the fireworks to the National Rugby Center
The Lelos travelled to Amsterdam\u2019s National Rugby Center to face the Netherlands<\/a> and, after a competitive contest, the Georgians came out on top 61-12.<\/p>\n

The 17-time Men\u2019s Rugby Europe Championship winners only managed to burst the Dutch dam after the 10-minute mark, and in unorthodox fashion. After several unsuccessful attempts, prop Luka Goginava<\/a> broke the line, fended off an incoming tackler and assisted Gela Aprasidze<\/a> for the scrum-half\u2019s try.<\/p>\n

\"RugbyGeorgian maul \u2013 Credit: Erik den Burger Rugby Shots Rugby Europe<\/p>\n

However, the hosts responded, managing to find a way inside Georgia\u2019s 22. Playing against 14 due to Akaki Tabutsadze being sent to the sin-bin, Bryan Easson\u2019s side added their first five-pointer following a strong carry from Sem Verplancke.<\/p>\n

Stung by the Dutch resilience, Georgia went on a mission to assert their physical and tactical dominance and eventually scored their second, through Bristol<\/a> Bears flanker Luka Ivanishvili.<\/p>\n

For the remainder of the first half, Georgia claimed two more converted tries, both from Luka Matkava<\/a>, to extend their lead to 28-5 before Max Weston sent the teams into the break.<\/p>\n

Contrary to the opening 40 minutes, it was the home side who struck first after the restart, through Jules Swier. The speedster found space out wide and side-stepped two Georgians before grounding the ball.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, momentum remained with Georgia and, like an avalanche, they added further tries through Gela Aprasidze<\/a>, Mamik Mstoian<\/a>, Bachuki Tchumbadze<\/a>, Otar Metreveli<\/a> and Georges Shvelidze.<\/p>\n

With five points in the bag, Georgia return home to host Spain in Pool A\u2019s decider. Whoever comes out on top will earn a home semi-final. As for the Netherlands, they will meet Switzerland at the Stade Municipal in Yverdon-les-Bains.<\/p>\n

Stejarii overcome the elements to return to winning ways
Through mud, snow and freezing conditions, Romania delivered a 23-6 win over Belgium<\/a> to climb to second place with one round remaining.<\/p>\n

With the match played at Ia?i\u2019s Emil Alexandrescu Stadium, the hosts were first on the board following a well-taken penalty from Alin Conache.<\/p>\n

While the Stejarii took the early lead, Belgium controlled possession for long spells, moving steadily towards the opposition 22, with Florian Remue<\/a> kicking the visitors\u2019 first points from the tee.<\/p>\n

In the 28th minute, Remue added a second penalty following a scrum infringement. Romania missed a few opportunities and had to wait until the final minute of the half to level the score, with Conache converting another penalty to make it 6-6.<\/p>\n

The direction of the game shifted after the break, as the Romanian pack took control and boxed Belgium inside their own half.<\/p>\n

The hosts had to wait until the 58th minute for their first try, finished by Kemal Altinok<\/a> after several attacking phases, with the Stejarii looking more physical and direct.<\/p>\n

Rugby Europe Championship <\/p>\n

Pool A<\/p>\n

P<\/p>\n

W<\/p>\n

L<\/p>\n

D<\/p>\n

PF<\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

PD<\/p>\n

BP T<\/p>\n

BP-7<\/p>\n

BP<\/p>\n

Total<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"Georgia\"\/ <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

10 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"Spain\"\/ <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

10 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\"Netherlands\"\/ <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

\"Switzerland\"\/ <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

Pool B<\/p>\n

P<\/p>\n

W<\/p>\n

L<\/p>\n

D<\/p>\n

PF<\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

PD<\/p>\n

BP T<\/p>\n

BP-7<\/p>\n

BP<\/p>\n

Total<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"Portugal\"\/ <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

10 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"Romania\"\/ <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\"Germany\"\/ <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

\"Belgium\"\/ <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

With Conache adding the extras and another penalty, Romania piled on and claimed a second try through Eduard Cioraba.<\/p>\n

Belgium were unable to counter the hosts\u2019 control, with referee Saba Abulashvili bringing the game to an end.<\/p>\n

Romania head to Lisbon needing a strong result to secure second place, regardless of the outcome of Belgium v Germany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a breathtaking first round, the Men\u2019s Rugby Europe Championship moved into round two, with no stuns this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-483556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}