The 2017 Rugby Europe Championship is the premier rugby union competition outside of the Six Nations Championship in Europe. It is the inaugural Championship under its new format, that saw Belgium, Georgia, Germany, Romania, Russia and Spain compete for the title.
This year's edition of the Rugby Europe Championship also served as the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifiers for the European region. The team with the best record across the 2017 and 2018 Championships qualifies as Europe 1. As Georgia have already secured qualification automatically, in the event of a Georgian win, the runner-up will take the Europe 1 qualification spot. 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 the 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 (40-point deduction for Spain, and a 30-point deduction for both Belgium and 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. As the tournament for 2017 had been completed and issues of relegation had been decided in that year, the points deduction was not applied to the 2017 Rugby Europe tournament.
Table ChampionsAdvances to promotion/relegation play-off
PlaceNationGamesPointsTriesTablepointsPlayedWonDrawnLostForAgainstDiffForAgainstDiff4540112278+44169+721019*1540113644+92194+1521019553029154+3795+410013*25203107117–1014140100935203121201–801428−1400086500570153–83719−120202*Source- 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 – 1 point *As the tournament for 2017 had been completed and issues of relegation had been decided in that year, the points deduction should not be applied to the 2017 Rugby Europe tournament (para 51).Committee Decision
Fixtures
Week 1
LP 1 Julius Nostadt HK 2 Michail Tyumenev TP 3 Damien TussacLL 4 Eric MarksRL 5 Michael Poppmeier (c) BF 6 Jacobus OttoOF 7 Sebastian FerreiraN8 8 Jarrid Els SH 9 Tim Menzel FH 10Raynor ParkinsonLW 11Marcel CoetzeeIC 12Carlo Sotera-Merz OC 13Clemens von Grumbkow RW 14Steffen LiebigFB 15Harris Aounallah Replacements:HK 16Dash Barber PR 17Jörn SchröderPR 18Samy Füchsel N8 19Timo Vollenkemper FL 20Kehoma Brenner FH 21Christopher Hilsenbeck SH 22Sean Armstrong CE 23Jamie Murphy Coach:Jacobus Potgieter LP 1 Mihăiţă Lazăr (c)HK 2 Otar Turashvili TP 3 Andrei Ursache LL 4 Valentin PopârlanRL 5 Johan van HeerdenBF 6 Viorel LucaciOF 7 Vlad Nistor N8 8 Andrei Gorcioaia SH 9 Florin Surugiu FH 10Jody Rose LW 11Stephen ShennanIC 12Florin VlaicuOC 13Jack UmagaRW 14Ionuț DumitruFB 15Cătălin FercuReplacements:HK 16Eugen Căpățână PR 17Constantin PristăvițăPR 18Alexandru Țăruș LK 19Ionuț MureșanFL 20Dorin LazărSH 21Valentin Calafeteanu WG 22Mădălin LemnaruWG 23Luke Samoa Coach:Lynn Howells Touch judges: Dely Mathieu (France) Vallon Alexandre (France)
LP 1 Lucas Sotteau HK 2 Thomas Dienst TP 3 Jean-Baptiste de ClercqLL 4 Brieuc Corradi RL 5 Thomas Vervoort BF 6 Tom Coupe OF 7 Baptiste LescarbouraN8 8 Thomas Demolder SH 9 Julien BergerFH 10Kevin Williams (c) LW 11Charles ReynaertIC 12Guillaume BrebantOC 13Guillaume PironRW 14Craig DowsettFB 15Nicolas Meeus Replacements:HK 16Max Dubois PR 17Sep de Backer LK 18Bertrand Billi FL 19Gillian Benoy CE 20Nathan BontemsSH 21Tom Cocqu FH 22Alan Williams PR 23Christopher Debaty Coach:Guillaume Ajac LP 1 Giorgi Tetrashvili HK 2 Badri Alkhazashvili TP 3 Giorgi Melikidze LL 4 Giorgi NemsadzeRL 5 Nodar Tcheishvili BF 6 Lasha LomidzeOF 7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili N8 8 Beka GorgadzeSH 9 Giorgi Begadze FH 10Lasha KhmaladzeLW 11Alexander ToduaIC 12Merab Sharikadze OC 13Giorgi KoshadzeRW 14Giorgi PruidzeFB 15Merab Kvirikashvili (c) Replacements:HK 16Giorgi Chkoidze PR 17Tornike Mataradze PR 18Soso Bekoshvili FL 19Otar Giorgadze FL 20Giorgi Tsutskiridze SH 21Vazha Khutsishvili FH 22Lasha Malaguradze FB 23Beka Tsiklauri Coach:Milton Haig Touch judges: Sean Brickell (Wales) Stuart Kibble (Wales)
LP 1 Fernando López Pérez HK 2 Beñat AuzquiTP 3 Jesús Moreno Rodríguez LL 4 Iñaki Villanueva RL 5 David BarreraBF 6 Pierre BarthèreOF 7 Gautier GibouinN8 8 Jaime Nava de Olano (c)SH 9 Guillaume RouetFH 10Mathieu BélieLW 11Jordi JorbaIC 12Dan Snee OC 13Fabien Perrin RW 14Sébastien AscaratFB 15Brad LinklaterReplacements:HK 16Francisco Blanco Alonso PR 17Unai Lasa ArratibelLK 18Jonathan Garcia FL 19Aníbal Bonán LK 20Víctor Sánchez BorregoSH 21Sébastien RouetWG 22Thibaut Álvarez CE 23Javier CarriónCoach:Santiago Santos LP 1 Andrei Polivalov HK 2 Valery Tsnobiladze TP 3 Azamat Bitiev LL 4 Andrei Garbuzov RL 5 Evgeny ElginBF 6 Viktor GresevOF 7 Pavel Butenko N8 8 Anton Rudoy SH 9 Alexei Shcherban FH 10Yuri Kushnarev LW 11Igor GalinovskiyIC 12Sergey TrishinOC 13Dmitri GerasimovRW 14Vasily Artemyev (c)FB 15Ramil GaisinReplacements:HK 16Nazir Gasanov PR 17Vladimir PodrezovPR 18Evgeni Pronenko FL 19Dmitri Krotov FL 20Tagir GadzhievSH 21Anton RiabovFH 22Sergey SugrobovFB 23Igor Kurashov Coach:Alexandr Pervukhin Touch judges: Nigel Correll (Ireland) Richard Kerr (Ireland)
Week 2
LP 1 Mihăiţă Lazăr (c)HK 2 Otar Turashvili TP 3 Andrei Ursache LL 4 Valentin Popârlan RL 5 Johan van HeerdenBF 6 Viorel Lucaci OF 7 Vlad Nistor N8 8 Dorin LazărSH 9 Florin Surugiu FH 10Luke SamoaLW 11Stephen ShennanIC 12Florin VlaicuOC 13Jack UmagaRW 14Ionuț Dumitru FB 15Cătălin FercuReplacements:HK 16Eugen Căpățână PR 17Constantin PristăvițăPR 18Alexandru Țăruș LK 19Ionuț Mureșan FL 20Andrei Gorcioaia SH 21Valentin Calafeteanu WG 22Mădălin LemnaruFH 23Jody Rose Coach:Lynn Howells LP 1 Fernando López Pérez HK 2 Beñat Auzqui TP 3 Jonathan Garcia LL 4 Iñaki Villanueva RL 5 David Barrera BF 6 Pierre BarthèreOF 7 Gautier GibouinN8 8 Jaime Nava de Olano (c)SH 9 Guillaume Rouet FH 10Mathieu BélieLW 11Jordi JorbaIC 12Thibaut Álvarez OC 13Fabien Perrin RW 14Javier Carrión FB 15Brad LinklaterReplacements:HK 16Francisco Blanco Alonso PR 17Stephen Barnes PR 18Alberto Blanco Alonso LK 19David González LK 20Víctor Sánchez Borrego SH 21Sébastien Rouet FH 22Dan Snee WG 23Federico Casteglioni Algorriz Coach:Santiago Santos Touch judges: Filippo Bertelli (Italy) Stefano Roscini (Italy)
LP 1 Martin Bonnel HK 2 Thomas Dienst TP 3 Jean-Baptiste de Clercq LL 4 Tuur Moelants RL 5 Thomas Vervoort BF 6 Gillian Benoy OF 7 Baptiste LescarbouraN8 8 Thomas Demolder SH 9 Tom Cocqu FH 10Julien Berger (c) LW 11Ervin MuricIC 12Nathan Bontems OC 13Jens TorfsRW 14Charles ReynaertFB 15Alan Williams Replacements:HK 16Max Dubois PR 17Christopher Debaty FL 18Amin HamzaouiFL 19Paul van Laer CE 20Louis Debatty FH 21Kevin Williams CE 22Guillaume Brebant PR 23Sep de Backer Coach:Guillaume Ajac LP 1 Andrei Polivalov HK 2 Valery Tsnobiladze TP 3 Evgeni Pronenko LL 4 Andrei Garbuzov (c)RL 5 Evgeny ElginBF 6 Viktor GresevOF 7 Pavel Butenko N8 8 Anton RudoySH 9 Alexei Shcherban FH 10Yuri KushnarevLW 11Igor Galinovskiy IC 12Sergey SugrobovOC 13Dmitri GerasimovRW 14Igor KurashovFB 15Ramil GaisinReplacements:HK 16Nazir Gasanov PR 17Vladimir Podrezov PR 18Azamat Bitiev FL 19Dmitri Krotov FL 20Bogdan FedotkoSH 21Anton RiabovFH 22Alexei Mikhaltsov FB 23Konstantin UzunovCoach:Alexandr Pervukhin Touch judges: Nicolas Datas (France) Bruno Gabaldon (France)
LP 1 Tornike Mataradze HK 2 Badri Alkhazashvili TP 3 Soso Bekoshvili LL 4 Giorgi Nemsadze RL 5 Nodar Tcheishvili BF 6 Lasha LomidzeOF 7 Giorgi TkhilaishviliN8 8 Beka GorgadzeSH 9 Giorgi Begadze FH 10Revaz JinchvelashviliLW 11Alexander ToduaIC 12Merab Sharikadze (c)OC 13Giorgi KoshadzeRW 14Giorgi PruidzeFB 15Merab Kvirikashvili Replacements:HK 16Giorgi Chkoidze PR 17Giorgi Tetrashvili PR 18Lasha Tabidze LK 19Giorgi Mchedlishvili FL 20Saba Shubitidze SH 21Gela Aprasidze FH 22Lasha Khmaladze FH 23Lasha Malaguradze Coach:Milton Haig LP 1 Julius Nostadt HK 2 Dash Barber TP 3 Samy Füchsel LL 4 Robert May RL 5 Eric Marks (c)BF 6 Tom Behrendt OF 7 Sebastian FerreiraN8 8 Timo Vollenkemper SH 9 Sean Armstrong (c)FH 10Raynor ParkinsonLW 11Alistair Ledingham IC 12Jamie MurphyOC 13Marcel CoetzeeRW 14Oliver Paine FB 15Harris AounallahReplacements:HK 16Dale Garner PR 17Jörn Schröder PR 18Anthony Dickinson LK 19Sven van Niekerk FL 20Jarrid Els WG 21Mark Sztyndera FH 22Daniel KochCE 23Mathieu Docau Coach:Jacobus Potgieter Touch judges: John Catteau (Belgium) Kevin Sulejmani (Belgium)
Week 3
LP 1 Andrei Polivalov HK 2 Valery Tsnobiladze TP 3 Innokentiy Zykov LL 4 Bogdan Fedotko RL 5 Evgeny Elgin BF 6 Viktor GresevOF 7 Pavel ButenkoN8 8 Anton RudoySH 9 Alexei Shcherban FH 10Ramil GaisinLW 11Denis SimplikevichIC 12Dmitri GerasimovOC 13Vasily Artemyev (c)RW 14Igor GalinovskiyFB 15Yuri KushnarevReplacements:HK 16Nazir Gasanov PR 17Valery Morozov PR 18Azamat Bitiev FL 19Dmitri Krotov FL 20Andrei Temnov FB 21Konstantin Uzunov FH 22Alexei MikhaltsovFB 23Igor KurashovCoach:Alexandr Pervukhin LP 1 Ionel Badiu HK 2 Otar Turashvili TP 3 Alexandru Țăruș LL 4 Marius Antonescu RL 5 Johan van HeerdenBF 6 Mihai Macovei (c)OF 7 Vlad Nistor N8 8 Andrei GorcioaiaSH 9 Valentin CalafeteanuFH 10Florin Vlaicu LW 11Mădălin LemnaruIC 12Sione Faka'osileaOC 13Jack UmagaRW 14Ionuț Dumitru FB 15Cătălin FercuReplacements:HK 16Eugen Căpățână PR 17Constantin Pristăviță PR 18Alex Gordaș LK 19Valentin Popârlan LK 20Ionuț MureșanSH 21Florin SurugiuFH 22Jody Rose WG 23Stephen Shennan Coach:Lynn Howells Touch judges: Kieran Barry (Ireland) Karol Collins (Ireland)
LP 1 Fernando López Pérez HK 2 Stephen Barnes TP 3 Alberto Blanco Alonso LL 4 Ilaitia Gavidi RL 5 Víctor Sánchez Borrego BF 6 Iñaki VillanuevaOF 7 Javier Canosa Schack N8 8 Gautier Gibouin (c)SH 9 Sébastien Rouet FH 10Mathieu Bélie LW 11Jordi JorbaIC 12Thibaut ÁlvarezOC 13Dan Snee RW 14Federico Casteglioni Algorriz FB 15Brad LinklaterReplacements:HK 16Francisco de Blanco Alonso PR 17Beñat Auzqui PR 18Jon Zabala Arrieta LK 19Lucas Guillaume N8 20Matthew Foulds SH 21Juan Ramos Martín CE 22Alvar Gimeno Soria CE 23Gauthier Minguillon Coach:Santiago Santos LP 1 Giorgi Tetrashvili HK 2 Shalva Mamukashvili TP 3 Soso Bekoshvili LL 4 Giorgi NemsadzeRL 5 Konstantin Mikautadze BF 6 Otar Giorgadze OF 7 Giorgi TkhilaishviliN8 8 Lasha LomidzeSH 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze FH 10Lasha KhmaladzeLW 11Alexander Todua IC 12Merab Sharikadze (c) OC 13David KacharavaRW 14Soso MatiashviliFB 15Merab Kvirikashvili Replacements:HK 16Jaba Bregvadze PR 17Tornike Mataradze PR 18Lasha Tabidze FL 19Giorgi Tsutskiridze FL 20Saba Shubitidze SH 21Giorgi Begadze CE 22Badri Liparteliani FB 23Beka Tsiklauri Coach:Milton Haig Touch judges: Wayne Davies (Wales) Justin Williams (Wales)