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Georgia crowned European Nations champions
Harry Kimble
Roar Guru
16th March, 2014
15
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Harry Kimble
Roar Guru
16th March, 2014
15

So it came down to this. After two years of competition, the final round of the European Nations Cup (Six Nations B) was to decide the winner.

Going into this match, both Romania and Georgia were undefeated. The game they played in the first round resulted in a dour 9-all draw in Bucharest.

Both teams beat the other four nations (Russia, Spain, Portugal and Belgium) quite easily, though Georgia struggled a little against Spain last month. As a result, they missed out on a bonus point so the Romanian Oaks were one point ahead on the table.

The European Nations Cup is controlled by FIRA and matches in this top division doubled as Rugby World Cup2015 qualifiers. Romania and Georgia had already qualified for the finals, but this match would decide which pools they would contest.

Played in bright sunshine in Tbilisi, the big game between Georgia and Romania was a fast, open spectacle with both teams running the ball. Both are renowned for their defence, though, and their attack lacks flair or variety.

It was mostly played between the two 22-metre lines as each team, when they could not break the line, kicked ahead and then that team ran it back.

Georgia’s Lelos made three breaks, one of which saw prop Davit Zirakashvili score wide out for the game’s only try in the 25th minute.

The Oaks were leading 9-6 at the time and the Lelos led 16-9 at half time. The Oaks made two clear breaks, one in which they were unfortunate to have a try disallowed.

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The second half ebbed and flowed between the two 22s and although Georgia dominated both territory and possession, they could not crack the determined Oaks defence.

They sill added two penalty goals to win the game 22-9 and become the 2014 European rugby champions, retaining the title they won in 2012.

None of this deterred the raucous official crowd of 27,517, though some believed it to be closer to 55,000. The local supporters loved every minute and stayed on for the presentations.

For the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Georgia will play in pool C with New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga, while Romania will be in the easier pool D with France, Ireland and Italy.

The president of the Georgian Rugby Union has already stated that Georgia and Romania have outgrown the European Nations Cup and want to go a step higher.

He intimated that he would be lobbying at the next Rugby World Cup for these two countries to be included in the Six Nations. I can’t see the Brits agreeing to either a larger competition or Scotland and Italy being relegated.

There is no doubt, though, that Georgia and Romania are of a much higher standard than the rest of the FIRA nations. The major disappointment has been the fall of Russia, once mooted as the next big thing in world rugby.

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Russia have qualified for the repechage as they have defeated the other three nations who have now been eliminated. Russia will now play Netherlands in the next stage.

Belgium has been relegated to the European B division for the next European Championships. It is not known yet who will replace them as the B division have not played all their second round games.

At the moment, it is a three-horse race between Germany, Poland and Moldova.

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