2018 Rugby Europe Championship

2018 Rugby Europe Championship
2018 Rugby Europe Championship
Date	10 February 2018 – 18 March 2018
Countries	Belgium; Georgia; Germany; Romania; Russia; Spain
Tournament statistics
Champions	Georgia (10th title)
Grand Slam	Georgia (7th)
Antim Cup	Georgia (11th title)
Matches played	15
Attendance	139,003 (9,267 per match)
Tries scored	109 (7.27 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Yuri Kushnarev (45)
Top try scorer(s)	Sione Faka'osilea (3) ; Paula Kinikinilau (3) ; Giorgi Kveseladze (3) ; Fernando López Pérez (3) ; Anton Rudoy (3)
Official website	Rugby International Championship
← 2017 (Previous)	(Next) 2019 →

The 2018 Rugby Europe Championship is the premier rugby union competition outside of the Six Nations Championship in Europe. This is the second season under its new format,^{[clarification needed]} that saw Georgia, Germany, Romania, Russia, Spain and Belgium compete for the title.

This year's edition of the Rugby Europe Championship also served as a key stage of the European region qualification process for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The team with the best record across the 2017 and 2018 Championships qualified as Europe 1.^[1] As Georgia have already secured qualification automatically, results involving that team are discarded for the purposes of Rugby World Cup qualification.

Both the Championship and the Qualification Process were heavily affected by controversial disciplinary issues involving player eligibility and the selection of neutral officials (namely, Romanian referee Vlad Iordachescu in Belgium-Spain). In respect of matters relating to the eligibility of players, following a full review of the evidence, including statements and submissions from World Rugby, Rugby Europe, Belgium, Romania, Spain and Russia, the independent committee found:

Belgium had fielded one or more ineligible players on 7 occasions during the 2017 and 2018 Rugby Europe Championships (of which 6 matches related to Rugby World Cup 2019 qualifying);
Romania has fielded one ineligible player on 8 occasions during the 2017 and 2018 Rugby Europe Championships (of which 6 matches related to Rugby World Cup 2019 qualifying);
Spain had fielded one or more ineligible players on 9 occasions during the 2017 and 2018 Rugby Europe Championships (of which 8 matches related to Rugby World Cup 2019 qualifying).

In respect of sanctions, pursuant to Regulation 18, the independent committee determined the following:

The deduction of 5 points for any match in which a union fielded an ineligible player. in practice this meant the following

40-point deduction for Spain
30-point deduction for Belgium;
30-point deduction for Romania.

Therefore, based on a re-modelling of the Rugby Europe Championship tables in the context of Rugby World Cup 2019 qualifying, Russia would qualify as Europe 1 into Pool A replacing Romania and Germany will replace Spain in the European play-off against Portugal.^[2]

Georgia's victory in the 2018 Rugby Europe Championship itself was unaffected. Germany's proposed promotion/relegation play-off with Portugal, however, becomes a Romania-Portugal play-off. Ironically, Germany would now face Portugal in the Rugby World Cup European qualification play-off.

Table[edit]

Champions
Advances to promotion/relegation play-off

Pos.	Team	Games				Points			Tries			TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
Pos.	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	For	Against	Diff	TBP	LBP	GS	Table points
1	Georgia	5	5	0	0	188	35	+153	26	2	+25	3	0	1	24
2	Russia	5	2	0	3	142	84	+58	19	12	+7	2	1	0	11
3	Germany	5	0	0	5	34	359	−325	3	55	−52	0	0	0	0
4	Belgium	5	2	0	3	106	182	−76	14	26	−12	1	0	0	−1*
5	Spain	5	3	0	2	146	74	+72	19	4	+18	1	0	0	−7*
6	Romania	5	3	0	2	198	80	+118	28	9	+19	2	0	0	−11*
Source- ^[3] Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win – 4 points \| Draw – 2 points \| At least 3 more tries than opponent – 1 point \| Loss within 7 points – 1 point \| Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points \| Completing a Grand Slam – (not counted towards World Cup qualification)^[4] * deducted points ^[5]^[6]^[7]

Fixtures[edit]

Week 1[edit]

10 February 2018
14:00 GET (UTC+04)

(1 TBP) Georgia	47–0	Belgium
Try: Chilachava 9' c Mamukashvili 16' c Zhvania 26' c Tsiklauri 40+1' c Pruidze 55' m Todua 67' c Sitchinava 79' c Con: Tsiklauri (6/7) 10', 17', 27', 40+2', 68', 79'	Gamesheet

AIA Arena (Kutaisi), Kutaisi
Attendance: 4,900
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)


LP	1	Zurab Zhvania		52'
HK	2	Shalva Mamukashvili	41' to 51'			60'
TP	3	Levan Chilachava		52'
LL	4	Giorgi Nemsadze (c)
RL	5	Nodar Tcheishvili		70'
BF	6	Otar Giorgadze		43' to 52'
OF	7	Giorgi Tkhilaishvili		41'
N8	8	Lasha Lomidze
SH	9	Gela Aprasidze		60'
FH	10	Revaz Jinchvelashvili
LW	11	Alexander Todua
IC	12	Giorgi Kveseladze
OC	13	David Kacharava		60'
RW	14	Giorgi Pruidze
FB	15	Beka Tsiklauri
Replacements:
HK	16	Giorgi Chkoidze		43'	52'	60'
PR	17	Tornike Mataradze		52'	65'
PR	18	Giorgi Melikidze		52'
FL	19	Mikheil Gachechiladze		41'
FL	20	Guram Shengelia		70'
SH	21	Vasil Lobzhanidze		60'
FH	22	Lasha Malaguradze		60'
WG	23	Anzor Sitchinava			65'
Coach:
Milton Haig


LP	1	Lucas Sotteau	52'
HK	2	Thomas Dienst (c)	45'
TP	3	Sydney Mulumba	41'
LL	4	Guillaume Mortier
RL	5	Sven d'Hooghe
BF	6	Bertrand Billi
OF	7	Amin Hamzaoui	70'
N8	8	Brieuc Corradi	20'
SH	9	Tom Cocqu	45'
FH	10	Vincent Hart
LW	11	Ervin Muric
IC	12	Nathan Bontems
OC	13	Guillaume Piron
RW	14	Thomas Wallraf
FB	15	Dazzy Cornez	41'
Replacements:
HK	16	Max Dubois	45'
PR	17	Bastien Gallaire	52'
PR	18	Tom Herenger
FL	19	Vincent Tauzia	20'
FL	20	Isaac Montoisy	45'
SH	21	Benjamin Cocu	41'
CE	22	Louis Debatty	70'
PR	23	Romain Pinte	41'
Coach:
Guillaume Ajac

Touch judges:
Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Simone Boaretto (Italy)

10 February 2018
15:00 MSK (UTC+03)

(1 LBP) Russia	13–20	Spain
Try: Gerasimov 8' c Con: Kushnarev (1/1) 9' Pen: Kushnarev (2/2) 29', 63'	Gamesheet	Try: Rouet (2) 25' m, 31' c Barthère 66' m Con: Linklater (1/3) 32' Pen: Linklater (1/2) 40'

Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar
Attendance: 11,500
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)


LP	1	Andrei Polivalov	56'
HK	2	Stanislav Selskii	46'
TP	3	Innoentiy Zykov	79'
LL	4	Evgeny Elgin
RL	5	Andrei Ostrikov	70'
BF	6	Victor Gresev	48'
OF	7	Andrei Temnov
N8	8	Anton Rudoy
SH	9	Alexei Shcherban	79'
FH	10	Ramil Gaisin
LW	11	Vasily Artemyev (c)	74'
IC	12	Dmitri Gerasimov
OC	13	Igor Galinovskiy	70'
RW	14	German Davydov
FB	15	Yuri Kushnarev
Replacements:
HK	16	Valery Tsnobiladze	46'
PR	17	Valery Morozov	56'
PR	18	Magomed Davudov	79'
FL	19	Andrei Garbuzov	70'
LK	20	Tagir Gadzhiev	48'
FB	21	Vasily Dorofeev	79'
WG	22	Vladislav Sozonov	74'
CE	23	Sergey Trishin	70'
Coach:
Aleksandr Pervukhin


LP	1	Beñat Auzqui	56'
HK	2	Marco Pinto Ferrer	71' to 78'
TP	3	Jonathan García	5'
LL	4	David Barrera
RL	5	Lucas Guillaume	52'
BF	6	Pierre Barthère
OF	7	Gautier Gibouin
N8	8	Jaime Nava de Olano (c)	63'
SH	9	Guillaume Rouet	75'
FH	10	Mathieu Bélie	74'
LW	11	Sebastien Ascarat
IC	12	Daniel Snee
OC	13	Fabien Perrin
RW	14	Bradley Linklater	68'
FB	15	Charlie Malié
Replacements:
PR	16	Fernando López Pérez	56'
HK	17	Juan Anaya Lazaro	71'	78'
PR	18	Anibal Bonán	52'
FL	19	Thibaut Visensang	63'
SH	20	Sébastien Rouet	75'
CE	21	Ignacio Contardi Medina	68'
WG	22	Bastien Fuster	74'
PR	23	Jesús Moreno Rodríguez	5'
Coach:
Santiago Santos

Touch judges:
Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland)
Chris Harrington (Ireland)

10 February 2018
16:00 EET (UTC+02)

(1 TBP) Romania	85–6	Germany
Try: Faka'osilea (2) 5' c, 60' c Lazăr 15' c Fonovai (2) 27' m, 35' c Macovei (2) 40' m, 69' m Burcea 44' c Kinikinilau (2) 47' c, 62' c Dumitru 51' c Coste 73' c Shennan 80' Con: Vlaicu (8/10) 6', 16', 36', 45', 47', 53', 61', 63' Calafeteanu (2/3) 75', 80+1'	Gamesheet	Pen: Menzel (2/3) 18', 31'

Cluj Arena, Cluj
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Max Burlet (Belgium)


LP	1	Mihăiţă Lazăr	55'
HK	2	Andrei Rădoi	70'
TP	3	Andrei Ursache	53'
LL	4	Johan van Heerden	53'
RL	5	Marius Antonescu
BF	6	Valentin Ursache	60'
OF	7	Mihai Macovei (c)
N8	8	Stelian Burcea
SH	9	Florin Surugiu	48'
FH	10	Florin Vlaicu	66'
LW	11	Ionuț Dumitru	55'
IC	12	Sione Faka'osilea
OC	13	Paula Kinikinilau
RW	14	Tangimana Fonovai
FB	15	Cătălin Fercu
Replacements:
HK	16	Florin Bărdașu	70'
PR	17	Ionel Badiu	55'
PR	18	Alexandru Țăruș	53'
LK	19	Alin Coste	53'
FL	20	Andrei Gorcioaia	60'
SH	21	Valentin Calafeteanu	48'
WG	22	Stephen Shennan	55'
WG	23	Jack Umaga	66'
Coach:
Lynn Howells


LP	1	Julius Nostadt (c)	56'
HK	2	Senzokuhle Ngubane	69'
TP	3	Paul Weiss	77'
LL	4	Eric Marks
RL	5	Stefan Mau
BF	6	Falk Duwe	77'
OF	7	Rafael Dutta	50'
N8	8	Luke Dyckhoff
SH	9	Tim Menzel
FH	10	Daniel Koch
LW	11	Christopher Korn	70'
IC	12	Yassin Ayachi	41'
OC	13	Robin Plümpe	60'
RW	14	Paul Pfisterer
FB	15	Marvin Dieckmann
Replacements:
HK	16	Sam Ramsay	69'
PR	17	Felix Martel	77'
PR	18	Marcus Bender	56'
FL	19	Yasar Bauer	77'
N8	20	Carsten Lang	50'
FB	21	Jan Piosik	70'
WG	22	Mark Sztyndera	41'
CE	23	Clemens von Grumbkow	60'
Coach:
Pablo Lemoine

Touch judges:
John Catteau (Belgium)
Kevin Sulejmani (Belgium)

Week 2[edit]

17 February 2018
15:00 MSK (UTC+03)

(1 TBP) Russia	48–7	Belgium
Try: Babaev 7' c Garbuzov 24' m Gadzhiev 39' c Elgin (2) 56' m, 71' c Galinovskiy 65' c Fedotko 74' c Con: Kushnarev (5/7) 8', 40', 66', 72', 75' Pen: Kushnarev (1/1) 52'	Gamesheet	Try: Hart 47' c Con: Hart (1/1) 48'

Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Iñigo Atorrasagasti (Spain)


LP	1	Sergey Sekisov	50'
HK	2	Valery Tsnobiladze	53'
TP	3	Innoentiy Zykov	66'
LL	4	Andrei Garbuzov	50'
RL	5	Evgeny Elgin
BF	6	Andrei Temnov	58'
OF	7	Tagir Gadzhiev
N8	8	Anton Rudoy
SH	9	Vasily Dorofeev	57'
FH	10	Ramil Gaisin	66'
LW	11	Vladislav Sozonov
IC	12	Dmitri Gerasimov
OC	13	Mikhail Babaev
RW	14	German Davydov	58'
FB	15	Yuri Kushnarev (c)
Replacements:
HK	16	Nazir Gazanov	53'
PR	17	Andrei Polivalov	50'
PR	18	Magomed Davudov	66'
LK	19	Bogdan Fedotko	50'
FL	20	Viktor Gresev	58'
SH	21	Alexei Shcherban	57'
WG	22	Igor Galinovskiy	58'
WG	23	Denis Simplikevich	66'
Coach:
Aleksandr Pervukhin


LP	1	Lucas Sotteau	45'
HK	2	Thomas Dienst	45'
TP	3	Alexis Cuffolo	59'
LL	4	Tuur Moelants
RL	5	Sven d'Hooghe	63'
BF	6	Bertrand Billi
OF	7	Amin Hamzaoui	45'
N8	8	Thomas Demolder
SH	9	Julien Berger (c)	48'
FH	10	Sébastien Guns	72'	79'
LW	11	Louis Debatty	66'
IC	12	Nathan Bontems
OC	13	Guillaume Piron
RW	14	Thomas Wallraf		79'
FB	15	Vincent Hart
Replacements:
HK	16	Max Dubois	45'
PR	17	Bastien Gallaire	45'
LK	18	Guillaume Mortier	63'
FL	19	Maxime Temmerman	45'
WG	20	Eliott van Trappen	66'
SH	21	Tom Cocqu	48'
SH	22	Isaac Montoisy	72'
PR	23	Romain Pinte	59'
Coach:
Guillaume Ajac

Touch judges:
Jorge Molpeceres (Spain)
Eki Fanlo (Spain)

17 February 2018
14:30 CET (UTC+01)

Germany	0–64	Georgia (1 TBP)
	Gamesheet	Try: Kveseladze (3) 10' c, 62' c, 76' m Todua 15' m Chilachava 28' c Peikrishvili 49' c Gachechiladze 59' c Giorgadze 69' c Zhvania 73' m Khmaladze 80+1' c Con: Tsiklauri (7/10) 11', 29', 50', 60', 64', 70', 80+2'

Sparda-Bank-Hessen-Stadion, Offenbach am Main
Attendance: 2,150
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)


LP	1	Marcus Bender		75'
HK	2	Gilles Valette		55'
TP	3	Felix Martel		54'
LL	4	Eric Marks
RL	5	Stefan Mau		60'
BF	6	Falk Duwe
OF	7	Kain Rix
N8	8	Luke Dyckhoff		74'
SH	9	Oliver Paine		65'
FH	10	Wynston Cameron-Dow
LW	11	Zani Dembele		9'
IC	12	Clemens von Grumbkow (c)
OC	13	Robin Plümpe		70'
RW	14	Paul Pfisterer	51' to 62'
FB	15	Daniel Koch
Replacements:
HK	16	Sam Ramsay		75'
PR	17	Senzokuhle Ngubane		55'
PR	18	Paul Weiss		54'
LK	19	Jens Listmann		60'
N8	20	Carsten Lang		74'
FB	21	Jan Piosik		65'
CE	22	Yassin Ayachi		70'
CE	23	Pascal Fischer		9'
Coach:
Pablo Lemoine


LP	1	Mikheil Nariashvili	57'
HK	2	Shalva Mamukashvili	57'
TP	3	Levan Chilachava	41'
LL	4	Giorgi Nemsadze (c)
RL	5	Nodar Tcheishvili	60'
BF	6	Mikheil Gachechiladze
OF	7	Viktor Kolelishvili	64'
N8	8	Lasha Lomidze
SH	9	Gela Aprasidze	41'
FH	10	Lasha Khmaladze
LW	11	Alexander Todua	73'
IC	12	Giorgi Kveseladze
OC	13	David Kacharava	64'
RW	14	Anzor Sitchinava
FB	15	Beka Tsiklauri
Replacements:
HK	16	Badri Alkhazashvili	57'
PR	17	Zurab Zhvania	57'
PR	18	Anton Peikrishvili	41'
FL	19	Otar Giorgadze	60'
FL	20	Giorgi Tsutskiridze	64'
SH	21	Vasil Lobzhanidze	41'
FH	22	Lasha Malaguradze	64'
WG	23	Giorgi Pruidze	73'
Coach:
Milton Haig

Touch judges:
Mike English (Wales)
Dewi Philips (Wales)

18 February 2018
12:45 CET (UTC+01)

Spain	22–10	Romania
Try: Auzqui 4' m Ascarat 8' m Pen: Linklater (4/4) 21', 46', 62', 71'	Gamesheet	Try: Faka'osilea^[8] 77' c Con: Calafeteanu (1/1) 77' Pen: Vlaicu (1/1) 13'

Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Thomas Charabas (France)


LP	1	Beñat Auzqui		51'
HK	2	Marco Pinto Ferrer		65'
TP	3	Jesús Moreno Rodríguez		58'
LL	4	David Barrera
RL	5	Ilaitia Gavidi		53'
BF	6	Pierre Barthère
OF	7	Lucas Guillaume		69'
N8	8	Gautier Gibouin (c)
SH	9	Guillaume Rouet		70'
FH	10	Mathieu Bélie		35' to 40'
LW	11	Sébastien Ascarat				78'
IC	12	Daniel Snee	26' to 36'	71'
OC	13	Fabien Perrin
RW	14	Bradley Linklater
FB	15	Charlie Malié
Replacements:
PR	16	Fernando López Pérez		51'
HK	17	Juan Anaya Lazaro		65'
FL	18	Anibal Bonán		53'
FL	19	Thibaut Visensang		69'
SH	20	Sébastien Rouet		70'
CE	21	Ignacio Contardi Medina		35'	40'	78'
WG	22	Bastien Fuster		71'
PR	23	Xerom Civil Bonaventure		58'
Coach:
Santiago Santos


LP	1	Mihăiţă Lazăr		53'
HK	2	Andrei Rădoi		72'
TP	3	Andrei Ursache		69'
LL	4	Johan van Heerden
RL	5	Marius Antonescu		61'
BF	6	Valentin Ursache
OF	7	Mihai Macovei (c)
N8	8	Stelian Burcea		69'
SH	9	Florin Surugiu		62'
FH	10	Florin Vlaicu		70'
LW	11	Stephen Shennan		65'
IC	12	Sione Faka'osilea
OC	13	Paula Kinikinilau
RW	14	Tangimana Fonovai	1' to 11'
FB	15	Cătălin Fercu
Replacements:
HK	16	Eugen Căpățână		72'
PR	17	Ionel Badiu		53'
PR	18	Alexandru Țăruș		69'
LK	19	Valentin Popârlan		61'
FL	20	Andrei Gorcioaia		69'
SH	21	Valentin Calafeteanu		62'
WG	22	Ionuț Dumitru		65'
WG	23	Jack Umaga		70'
Coach:
Lynn Howells

Touch judges:
Vivien Praderie (France)
Cyrille Le Gall (France)

Week 3[edit]

3 March 2018
18:00 GET (UTC+04)

Georgia	23–10	Spain
Try: Penalty try 54' Melikidze 80+7' c Con: Matiashvili (1/1) 80+8' Pen: Matiashvili (3/4) 10', 28', 40'	Gamesheet	Try: Tauli 80+4' c Con: Peluchon (1/1) 80+5' Pen: Peluchon (1/2) 34'

Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi
Attendance: 27,000
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)


LP	1	Mikheil Nariashvili		58'
HK	2	Shalva Mamukashvili		62'
TP	3	Levan Chilachava		62'
LL	4	Giorgi Nemsadze (c)
RL	5	Shalva Sutiashvili		66'
BF	6	Giorgi Tkhilaishvili		66'
OF	7	Viktor Kolelishvili
N8	8	Lasha Lomidze
SH	9	Vasil Lobzhanidze		62'
FH	10	Lasha Khmaladze		80+6'
LW	11	Alexander Todua
IC	12	Giorgi Kveseladze
OC	13	David Kacharava	80+2' to 80+8'
RW	14	Anzor Sitchinava		78'
FB	15	Soso Matiashvili
Replacements:
HK	16	Badri Alkhazashvili		62'
PR	17	Zurab Zhvania		58'
PR	18	Giorgi Melikidze		62'
FL	19	Otar Giorgadze		66'
FL	20	Mikheil Gachechiladze		66'
SH	21	Gela Aprasidze		62'
FH	22	Lasha Malaguradze		80+6'
CE	23	Giorgi Koshadze		78'
Coach:
Milton Haig


LP	1	Fernando López Pérez	62'
HK	2	Quentin García	66'
TP	3	Jesús Moreno Rodríguez	48'
LL	4	David González	60'
RL	5	Joshua Peters	70'
BF	6	Asier Ussáraga Latierro
OF	7	Matthew Foulds
N8	8	Ilaitia Gavidi	55'
SH	9	Sébastien Rouet	60'
FH	10	Daniel Snee (c)
LW	11	Silvio Casteglioni Algorriz	55'
IC	12	Thibaut Álvarez
OC	13	Joan Losada Gifra
RW	14	Javier Carrión Llorens
FB	15	Mathieu Peluchon
Replacements:
PR	16	Jean-Baptiste Custoja	62'
HK	17	Stephen Barnes	66'
FL	18	Manuel Mora Ruiz	60'
FL	19	Lionel Tauli	55'
SH	20	Grégory Maiquez	60'
CE	21	Iñaki Mateu Spuches	70'
WG	22	Julen Goia Iriberri	55'
PR	23	Alberto Blanco Alonso	48'
Coach:
Santiago Santos

Touch judges:
Elgan Williams (Wales)
Gareth John (Wales)

3 March 2018
16:00 EET (UTC+02)

Romania	25–15	Russia
Try: Penalty try 6' Shennan 49' m Kinikinilau 74' m Căpățână 79' m Pen: Calafeteanu (1/1) 38'	Gamesheet	Try: Gerasimov 30' m Gaisin 69' c Con: Gaisin (1/1) 70' Pen: Kushnarev (1/1) 35'

Cluj Arena, Cluj
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)


LP	1	Mihăiţă Lazăr	50'
HK	2	Andrei Rădoi	65'
TP	3	Alexandru Țăruș	71'
LL	4	Johan van Heerden
RL	5	Valentin Popârlan	61'
BF	6	Vlad Nistor	41'
OF	7	Andrei Gorcioaia
N8	8	Stelian Burcea (c)
SH	9	Valentin Calafeteanu	72'
FH	10	Jack Umaga
LW	11	Ionuț Dumitru
IC	12	Sione Faka'osilea
OC	13	Paula Kinikinilau
RW	14	Tangimana Fonovai	34'
FB	15	Cătălin Fercu
Replacements:
HK	16	Eugen Căpățână	65'
PR	17	Ionel Badiu	50'
PR	18	Constantin Pristăviță	71'
LK	19	Marius Antonescu	61'
FL	20	Kuselo Moyake	41'
SH	21	Florin Surugiu	72'
WG	22	Stephen Shennan	34'	57'
FH	23	Florin Vlaicu		57'
Coach:
Lynn Howells


LP	1	Sergey Sekisov	50'
HK	2	Valery Tsnobiladze	63'
TP	3	Innoentiy Zykov	75'
LL	4	Andrei Garbuzov
RL	5	Evgeny Elgin	75'
BF	6	Viktor Gresev	71'
OF	7	Tagir Gadzhiev
N8	8	Dmitri Krotov
SH	9	Vasily Dorofeev	50'
FH	10	Yuri Kushnarev (c)	63'
LW	11	Evgeni Nepeivoda	72'
IC	12	Dmitri Gerasimov
OC	13	Sergey Trishin
RW	14	Mikhail Babaev
FB	15	Ramil Gaisin
Replacements:
HK	16	Nazir Gazanov	63'
PR	17	Andrei Polivalov	50'
PR	18	Magomed Davudov	75'
LK	19	Anton Sychev	75'
N8	20	Anton Rudoy	71'
SH	21	Alexei Shcherban	50'
WG	22	Alexey Mikhaltsov	72'
FB	23	Alexander Budychenko	63'
Coach:
Mark McDermott

Touch judges:
Luc Ramos (France)
Pierre-Baptiste Nuchy (France)

3 March 2018
16:00 CET (UTC+01)

(1 TBP) Belgium	69–15	Germany
Try: Reynaert (2) 2' m, 79' c Berger 8' c Penalty try 14' Williams 17' m Jadot 21' m Piron (2) 26' c, 54' m Benoy 31' c Hart 50' c d'Hooghe 67' c Con: Williams (6/10) 8', 27', 32', 51', 68', 89'	Gamesheet	Try: Listmann 65' m Harris 76' c Con: Cameron-Dow (1/2) 77' Pen: Cameron-Dow (1/1) 6'

Nelson Mandela Sports Centre, Brussels
Attendance: 1,600
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)


LP	1	Alexis Cuffolo	45'
HK	2	Thomas Dienst	41'
TP	3	Maxime Jadot	53'
LL	4	Tuur Moelants	50'
RL	5	Thomas Vervoort			59'
BF	6	Gillian Benoy	10' to 14'
OF	7	Bertrand Billi
N8	8	Thomas Demolder
SH	9	Julien Berger	55'
FH	10	Vincent Hart	55'
LW	11	Craig Dowsett
IC	12	Jens Torfs (c)
OC	13	Guillaume Piron	55'
RW	14	Charles Reynaert
FB	15	Alan Williams
Replacements:
PR	16	Victor Paquet	41'
PR	17	Lucas Sotteau	45'
LK	18	Sven d'Hooghe	50'
FL	19	Amin Hamzaoui	10'	14'	59'
FH	20	Sebastian Guns	55'
SH	21	Tom Cocqu	55'
CE	22	Nathan Bontems	55'
PR	23	Romain Pinte	53'
Coach:
Guillaume Ajac


LP	1	Marcus Bender	73'
HK	2	Michail Tyumenev	57'
TP	3	Paul Weiss	57'
LL	4	Jens Listmann	70'
RL	5	Stefan Mau	32'
BF	6	Falk Duwe
OF	7	Eric Marks (c)
N8	8	Luke Dyckhoff
SH	9	Oliver Paine	57'
FH	10	Wynston Cameron-Dow
LW	11	Nico Müller
IC	12	Robin Plümpe	6'
OC	13	Sam Harris
RW	14	Pascal Fischer
FB	15	Lukas Deichmann
Replacements:
HK	16	Sam Ramsay	73'
PR	17	Senzokuhle Ngubane	70'
PR	18	Felix Martel	57'
FL	19	Elias Haase	32'
N8	20	Carsten Lang	57'
FB	21	Jan Piosik	57'
FL	22	Robert Lehmann		70'
WG	23	Mark Sztyndera	6'	70'
Coach:
Pablo Lemoine

Touch judges:
Aurélie Groizeleau (France)
Clara Munarini (Italy)

Week 4[edit]

10 March 2018
13:00 EET (UTC+02)

(1 TBP) Romania	62–12	Belgium
Try: Penalty try (3) 11', 43', 74' Umaga 17' m Burcea 23' c Moyake (2) 28' c, 51' c Dumitru 54' m Badiu 64' c Con: Calafeteanu (2/3) 24', 30' Fercu (1/2) 52' Vlaicu (1/1) 64' Pen: Calafeteanu 40'	Gamesheet	Try: Cocu 37' m Muric 75' c Con: Vassart (1/1) 76'

Stadionul Municipal, Buzău
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)


LP	1	Ionel Badiu	33' to 43'			66'
HK	2	Eugen Căpățână
TP	3	Alexandru Țăruș		60'
LL	4	Johan van Heerden		66'
RL	5	Valentin Popârlan
BF	6	Andrei Gorcioaia
OF	7	Kuselo Moyake
N8	8	Stelian Burcea (c)		39' to 41'		55'
SH	9	Valentin Calafeteanu		47'
FH	10	Jack Umaga
LW	11	Ionuț Dumitru
IC	12	Sione Faka'osilea		56'
OC	13	Paula Kinikinilau
RW	14	Marius Simionescu		73'
FB	15	Cătălin Fercu
Replacements:
HK	16	Andrei Rădoi
PR	17	Constantin Pristăviță		39'	41'	66'
PR	18	Alex Gordaș		60'
LK	19	Adrian Motoc		66'
FL	20	Razvan Iliescu				55'
SH	21	Florin Surugiu		47'
WG	22	Robert Neagu		73'
FH	23	Florin Vlaicu		56'
Coach:
Lynn Howells


LP	1	Lucas Sotteau		41'
HK	2	Alexis Cuffolo		49'
TP	3	James Pearse	70' to 80'
LL	4	Tom Herenger
RL	5	Sven d'Hooghe
BF	6	Gillian Benoy		55'
OF	7	Amin Hamzaoui	47' to 57'	72'
N8	8	Maxime Temmerman		35'
SH	9	Oliver Claxton
FH	10	Sebastien Guns		64'
LW	11	Ervin Muric
IC	12	Florian Piron		61'
OC	13	Benjamin Cocu
RW	14	Thomas Wallraf
FB	15	Craig Dowsett (c)		55'
Replacements:
HK	16	Thomas Dienst		49'
PR	17	Romain Pinte		41'
LK	18	Tuur Moelants		55'
N8	19	Keran Caro		35'
CE	20	Louis Debatty		61'
SH	21	Isaac Montoisy		64'
CE	22	Antoine Vassart		55'
PR	23	Adelin Mehrez		72'
Coach:
Guillaume Ajac (France)

Touch judges:
Keith Allen (Scotland)
Graeme Ormiston (Scotland)

10 March 2018
15:00 MSK (UTC+03)

Russia	9–29	Georgia (1 TBP)
Pen: Kushnarev (3/3) 17', 30', 39'	Gamesheet	Try: Peikrishvili 25' c Asieshvili 66' c Gachechiladze 72' c Kvirikashvili 76' m Con: Matiashvili (3/3) 26', 67', 73' Pen: Matiashvili (1/1) 48'

Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)


LP	1	Sergey Sekisov	58'
HK	2	Stanislav Selskiy	64'
TP	3	Evgeny Pronenko	74'
LL	4	Andrei Garbuzov
RL	5	Evgeny Elgin
BF	6	Viktor Gresev
OF	7	Tagir Gadzhiev	52'
N8	8	Anton Rudoy	68'
SH	9	Vasily Dorofeev	64'
FH	10	Yuri Kushnarev (c)
LW	11	Evgeni Nepeivoda	71'
IC	12	Dmitri Gerasimov
OC	13	Sergey Trishin	74'
RW	14	Mikhail Babaev
FB	15	Ramil Gaisin
Replacements:
HK	16	Nazir Gazanov	64'
PR	17	Andrei Polivalov	58'
PR	18	Magomed Davudov	74'
LK	19	Alexander Ilyin	68'
LK	20	Anton Sychev	52'
SH	21	Alexei Shcherban	64'
WG	22	Alexey Mikhaltsov	71'
FB	23	Alexander Budychenko	74'
Coach:
Mark McDermott


LP	1	Mikheil Nariashvili	58'
HK	2	Shalva Mamukashvili	68'
TP	3	Anton Peikrishvili	49'
LL	4	Giorgi Nemsadze (c)
RL	5	Nodar Tcheishvili	61'
BF	6	Giorgi Tkhilaishvili
OF	7	Viktor Kolelishvili
N8	8	Lasha Lomidze
SH	9	Vasil Lobzhanidze
FH	10	Lasha Khmaladze
LW	11	Soso Matiashvili	74'
IC	12	Giorgi Kveseladze	71'
OC	13	David Kacharava
RW	14	Anzor Sitchinava	76'
FB	15	Merab Kvirikashvili
Replacements:
HK	16	Badri Alkhazashvili	68'
PR	17	Karlen Asieshvili	58'
PR	18	Giorgi Melikidze	49'
LK	19	Shalva Sutiashvili	61'
FL	20	Mikheil Gachechiladze
SH	21	Gela Aprasidze	76'
FH	22	Lasha Malaguradze	71'
CE	23	Giorgi Koshadze	74'
Coach:
Milton Haig

Touch judges:
Michael Hudson (England)
Alex Bryzgalin (Russia)

11 March 2018
12:30 CET (UTC+01)

(1 TBP) Spain	84–10	Germany
Try: Barthère 13' c Contardi Medina 17' c Penalty try 20' Bonán (2) 27' m, 64' m Álvarez 33' c Gibouin 41' López Pérez (2) 49' c, 68' c Visensang 55' c Ascarat 76' m Linklater 80+4' Con: Peluchon (6/7) 13', 18', 33', 41', 49', 55' Linklater (2/4) 68', 80+4' Pen: Peluchon (2/2) 3', 7'	Gamesheet	Try: Hees 60' c Con: Koch (1/1) 60' Pen: Koch (1/1) 52'

Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid
Attendance: 15,753
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)


LP	1	Beñat Auzqui	41'
HK	2	Marco Pinto Ferrer	41'
TP	3	Jesús Moreno Rodríguez	41'
LL	4	Anibal Bonán
RL	5	David Barrera
BF	6	Pierre Barthère			48'
OF	7	Gautier Gibouin	55'
N8	8	Jaime Nava de Olano (c)	25' to 39'
SH	9	Guillaume Rouet	41'
FH	10	Mathieu Bélie	41'
LW	11	Sébastien Ascarat
IC	12	Thibaut Álvarez
OC	13	Fabien Perrin
RW	14	Ignacio Contardi Medina
FB	15	Mathieu Peluchon	61'
Replacements:
PR	16	Fernando López Pérez	41'
HK	17	Juan Anaya Lazaro	41'
FL	18	Ilaitia Gavidi	55'
FL	19	Thibaut Visensang	25'	39'	48'
SH	20	Sébastien Rouet	41'
CE	21	Daniel Snee	41'
FB	22	Bradley Linklater	61'
PR	23	Alberto Blanco Alfonso	41'
Coach:
Santiago Santos


LP	1	Senzokuhle Ngubane		47'
HK	2	Michail Tyumenev		47'
TP	3	Matthias Schösser		70'
LL	4	Jens Listmann
RL	5	Eric Marks (c)		79' to 80+4'
BF	6	Elias Haase		57'
OF	7	Falk Duwe	20' to 30'	70'
N8	8	Carsten Lang		41'
SH	9	Jan Piosik
FH	10	Kieron Davies
LW	11	Nico Müller		41'
IC	12	Tomás van Gelderen
OC	13	Yassin Ayachi		55'
RW	14	Zinzan Hees
FB	15	Daniel Koch
Replacements:
HK	16	Sam Ramsay		70'
PR	17	Felix Martel		70'
PR	18	Marcus Bender		47'
HK	19	Gilles Valette		47'
FL	20	Robert Lehmann		57'
WG	21	Christopher Korn		55'
CE	22	Pascal Fischer		41'
CE	23	Kain Rix		41'
Coach:
Pablo Lemoine

Touch judges:
Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Matteo Franco (Italy)

Week 5[edit]

18 March 2018
16:00 GET (UTC+04)

Georgia	25–16	Romania
Try: Lomidze 20' c Sitchinava 42' c Asieshvili 69' m Con: Matiashvili (2/3) 21', 43' Pen: Matiashvili (2/2) 8', 47'	Gamesheet	Try: Rădoi 78' c Con: Vlaicu (1/1) 78' Pen: Vlaicu (3/3) 11', 37', 60'

Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi
Attendance: 38,000
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)


LP	1	Mikheil Nariashvili		51'
HK	2	Shalva Mamukashvili		54'
TP	3	Levan Chilachava		60'
LL	4	Giorgi Nemsadze (c)	36' to 46'
RL	5	Nodar Tcheishvili		54'	57'	60'
BF	6	Giorgi Tkhilaishvili
OF	7	Viktor Kolelishvili		54'
N8	8	Lasha Lomidze			57' to 60'
SH	9	Vasil Lobzhanidze		71'
FH	10	Lasha Khmaladze
LW	11	Soso Matiashvili
IC	12	Giorgi Kveseladze		74'
OC	13	David Kacharava
RW	14	Anzor Sitchinava
FB	15	Merab Kvirikashvili		63'
Replacements:
HK	16	Badri Alkhazashvili		54'
PR	17	Karlen Asieshvili		51'
PR	18	Giorgi Melikidze		60'
LK	19	Shalva Sutiashvili		54'
FL	20	Mikheil Gachechiladze		54'
SH	21	Gela Aprasidze		71'
FH	22	Lasha Malaguradze		74'
WG	23	Alexander Todua		63'
Coach:
Milton Haig


LP	1	Ionel Badiu	19' to 30'			70'
HK	2	Eugen Căpățână		59'
TP	3	Alexandru Țăruș		60'
LL	4	Johan van Heerden	48' to 58'
RL	5	Valentin Popârlan
BF	6	Dumani Mtya		65'
OF	7	Kuselo Moyake
N8	8	Stelian Burcea (c)		72'
SH	9	Florin Surugiu		62'
FH	10	Jack Umaga
LW	11	Ionuț Dumitru		19'	30'
IC	12	Florin Vlaicu
OC	13	Paula Kinikinilau		41'
RW	14	Tangimana Fonovai
FB	15	Cătălin Fercu		70'
Replacements:
HK	16	Andrei Rădoi		59'
PR	17	Mihăiţă Lazăr		19'	30'	70'
PR	18	Constantin Pristăviță		60'
LK	19	Adrian Motoc		72'
FL	20	Christian Chirica		65'
SH	21	Valentin Calafeteanu		62'
WG	22	Marius Simionescu		70'
CE	23	Sione Faka'osilea		41'
Coach:
Lynn Howells

Touch judges:
Nicolas Dabas (France)
Sébastien Boyer (France)

18 March 2018
13:00 CET (UTC+01)

Germany	3–57	Russia (1 TBP)
Pen: Müller 6'	Gamesheet	Try: Tsnobiladze (2) 10' c, 18' m Rudoy (3) 26' c, 29' c, 80+1' m Krotov 32' c Budychenko 49' Mikhaltsov (2) 57' c, 75' m Con: Kushnarev (6/7) 11', 26', 30', 34', 50', 58'

Sportpark Höhenberg, Köln
Attendance: 2,600
Referee: Ian Tempest (England)


LP	1	Alexander Lidell		66'
HK	2	Senzokuhle Ngubane
TP	3	Felix Martel		53'
LL	4	Stefan Mau	23' to 33'	55'
RL	5	Jens Listmann
BF	6	Eric Marks (c)
OF	7	Robert Lehmann		64'
N8	8	Falk Duwe		69'
SH	9	Jan Piosik		53'
FH	10	Oliver Paine
LW	11	Nico Müller
IC	12	Pascal Fischer
OC	13	Christopher Korn
RW	14	Florian Wehrspann
FB	15	Manuel Müller
Replacements:
HK	16	Sam Ramsay		66'
PR	17
PR	18	Marcus Bender		53'
LK	19	Christian Hug		55'
N8	20	Carsten Lang		64'
FH	21	Kieron Davies		53'
FL	22	Elias Haase		69'
CE	23	Yassin Ayachi
Coach:
Pablo Lemoine


LP	1	Andrei Polivalov	53'
HK	2	Valery Tsnobiladze	53'
TP	3	Evgeny Pronenko	61'
LL	4	Andrei Garbuzov	53'
RL	5	Evgeny Elgin
BF	6	Viktor Gresev	61'
OF	7	Dmitri Krotov
N8	8	Anton Rudoy
SH	9	Vasily Dorofeev	58'
FH	10	Yuri Kushnarev (c)	69'
LW	11	Alexey Mikhaltsov
IC	12	Dmitri Gerasimov
OC	13	Sergey Trishin	66'
RW	14	Mikhail Babaev
FB	15	Alexander Budychenko
Replacements:
HK	16	Stanislav Selskiy	53'
PR	17	Sergey Sekisov	53'
PR	18	Evgeny Mishechkin	61'
LK	19	Alexander Ilyin	53'
FL	20	Nikita Vavilin	61'
SH	21	Alexei Shcherban	58'
SH	22	Konstantin Uzunov	69'
FB	23	Viktor Kononov	66'
Coach:
Mark McDermott

Touch judges:
Simon Harding (England)
Clive Sharp (England)

18 March 2018
13:00 CET (UTC+01)

Belgium	18–10	Spain
Pen: Hart (6/7) 20', 24', 29', 37', 49', 76'	Gamesheet	Try: López Pérez 70' c Con: Peluchon (1/1) 70' Pen: Peluchon (1/1) 74'

King Baudouin Stadium – Annex 2, Brussels
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu (Romania)


LP	1	Julien Massimi	46'
HK	2	Thomas Dienst	61'
TP	3	Maxime Jadot	70'
LL	4	Bertrand Billi	78'
RL	5	Tuur Moelants	60'
BF	6	Gillian Benoy
OF	7	Jean-Maurice Decubber	79'
N8	8	Thomas Demolder
SH	9	Julien Berger	79'
FH	10	Vincent Hart
LW	11	Craig Dowsett
IC	12	Jens Torfs (c)
OC	13	Guillaume Piron
RW	14	Ervin Muric
FB	15	Charles Reynaert	63'
Replacements:
PR	16	Alexis Cuffolo	61'
PR	17	Lucas Sotteau	46'
LK	18	Sven d'Hooghe	79'
N8	19	Keran Caro	60'
FL	20	Amin Hamzaoui	79'
SH	21	Sebastien Guns	79'
WG	22	Thomas Wallraf	63'
PR	23	Romain Pinte	70'
Coach:
Guillaume Ajac


LP	1	Beñat Auzqui	48' to 58'	60'
HK	2	Marco Pinto Ferrer		56'
TP	3	Jesús Moreno Rodríguez		66'
LL	4	David Barrera		49'
RL	5	Ilaitia Gavidi		70'
BF	6	Pierre Barthère
OF	7	Lucas Guillaume
N8	8	Gautier Gibouin (c)
SH	9	Guillaume Rouet
FH	10	Mathieu Bélie
LW	11	Sébastien Ascarat		60'
IC	12	Daniel Snee		66'
OC	13	Fabien Perrin
RW	14	Bradley Linklater
FB	15	Charlie Malie
Replacements:
PR	16	Fernando López Pérez		60'
HK	17	Quentin García		56'
LK	18	Anibal Bonán		49'
FL	19	Thibaut Visensang		70'
SH	20	Sébastien Rouet
FB	21	Mathieu Peluchon		66'
CE	22	Ignacio Contardi Medina		60'
PR	23	Alberto Blanco Alfonso		66'
Coach:
Santiago Santos

Touch judges:
Radu Petrescu (Romania)
Alexandru Ionescu (Romania)

Relegation/promotion play-off[edit]

10 November 2018
16:00 EET (UTC+02)

Romania	36–6	Portugal
	Gamesheet

Stadionul Lascăr Ghineț (Arena Zimbrilor), Baia Mare
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Ian Tempest (England)

References[edit]

^ rugbyworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
^ Release, Press (15 May 2018). "Independent Judicial and Disputes Committee decision: Rugby World Cup 2019 European qualification tournament". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Championship 2021".
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Judicial Committee judgement" (PDF). Retrieved 15 May 2018.
^ Appeal committee decision
^ "FINAL RANKING OF REC 2018 | Rugby Europe". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
^ Though rugbyeurope names Paula Kinikinilau, he did not score the try against Spain. Though he is mentioned on the gamesheet as try scorer with the shirt number 13, video footage clearly shows Sione Fakaosilea with the shirt number 12 as the true try scorer

External links[edit]

Rugby Europe official website

[rugbyworldcup-1] rugbyworldcup.com. "Rugby World Cup 2019". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.

[2] Release, Press (15 May 2018). "Independent Judicial and Disputes Committee decision: Rugby World Cup 2019 European qualification tournament". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[3] "Championship 2021".

[4] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[5] "Judicial Committee judgement" (PDF). Retrieved 15 May 2018.

[6] Appeal committee decision

[7] "FINAL RANKING OF REC 2018 | Rugby Europe". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.

[8] Though rugbyeurope names Paula Kinikinilau, he did not score the try against Spain. Though he is mentioned on the gamesheet as try scorer with the shirt number 13, video footage clearly shows Sione Fakaosilea with the shirt number 12 as the true try scorer

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]