Rugby Europe International Championships

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The Rugby Europe International Championships is the European Championship for rugby union

The tournament is the latest formation of a competition with history going back to 1932. At that time, France had been expelled from the then Five Nations, and joined with a number of European teams to found an alternative organisation, the International Amateur Rugby Federation (FIRA, now Rugby Europe). While France were eventually readmitted to the Five Nations, the then FIRA-AER continued to run competitions, increasingly taking the role of organiser of European continental rugby below the Five Nations, and in which France continued to compete.

The competition expanded and modified under the new Rugby Europe structure, even as France, then Italy, left to compete solely in the Six Nations. It was held in a variety of formats with a variety of names including the European Nations Cup and the Rugby Europe Nations Championship.

The competition today is split into 3 levels. The highest level is now called the Rugby Europe Championship and, unofficially, was referred to as the Six Nations B, although the event now features eight teams. Below the Championship a six team Rugby Europe Trophy is contested by tier three nations, with promotion and relegation operating between the Championship and the Trophy. Below that, as of 2024, is the Rugby Europe Conference consisting of the lowest ranked teams in Europe in five pools - previously there had been tiers within the conference. A previous Development Tier competition was disbanded at the same time.

History

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International championships before 2000

Following the exclusion of France from the Five Nations Tournament after the 1931 edition, France joined with Italy, Romania, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Netherlands, and Catalonia to create the International Amateur Rugby Federation (FIRA, now Rugby Europe) as an alternative to the International Rugby Football Board (now World Rugby). Three tournaments were held from 1936 to 1938, with France winning all three. Following the Second World War, France was readmitted into the Five Nations Championship, but they also competed in the only two tournaments organised by FIRA, the Rugby Union European Cup, held in 1952 and 1954, winning them both.

From 1965, FIRA attempted to revitalise the European competition by creating the FIRA Nations Cup (1965–1973) and then the FIRA Trophy (1973–1997); however, France fielded a France A side made up mostly of university students.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". While the French students won many of the tournaments, Romania also had their share of tournament titles. In the late 1990s, the championship became irregular, with some editions not taking place because of qualifications for the World Cup. Finally, the European Nations Cup began in 2000, no longer including France and Italy, as they now played in the reformed Six Nations Championship.

European Nations Cup: initial format (since 2000)

File:Rugby Europe Competitions 2025.PNG
2024–25 Rugby Europe International Championships
Key
Six Nations
Championship
Trophy
Conference
Others

After the setup of the divisional system in 2000, Romania won the first competition with maximum points, The initial season also included Morocco.

Russia then replaced Morocco in 2001 when Georgia secured the title and were crowned champions after a 31–20 win over Romania in Bucharest. As the competition format changed from a one-year tournament to two-years, the Netherlands were not relegated after this season.

Romania started 2002 trailing Georgia after the 2001 results, but managed to win all of the remaining five games, including a 31–23 victory in Tbilisi.

Portugal were 16–15 winners over Romania in Lisbon and installed themselves at the top of the 2003–04 table. In the second half of the competition, Romania won 36–6 against Portugal in Constanța, but went down 24–33 to Russia in Krasnodar. Then Portugal clinched their first title with a last-minute 19–18 home win over Russia. The Russia – Czech Republic game was rescheduled due to bad weather and was eventually cancelled.

The 2005–06 championships also served as a qualifying pool for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Romania triumphed finishing level on points with Georgia, while Ukraine were relegated after losing all matches.

The 2007–08 edition saw the return of the Spanish to the top division. The winners were Georgia, following their display at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The Russians recorded their best ever placement, finishing in second. The Czech Republic were the team to finish on the bottom of the table, losing all of their matches, relegating them back to Division 2A.

A new format was decided at the beginning of 2009. Each calendar year had its own champion, but the cumulated ranking over two years determined which team was relegated. The 2009–10 edition was also basis for European qualification to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The 2009 season saw the début of Germany in the top division, Georgia defended their title, and there were wins for Portugal and Russia in Bucharest.

Faced with the possibility of missing a Rugby World Cup for the first time, Romania were managed the 2010 title. This feat was however not enough to overtake Georgia and Russia, who helped by their good results from the previous year, gained the automatic qualification for the 2011 RWC, leaving Romania to go through the Play-Off Qualification Rounds. Germany were relegated after failing to win any games.

Georgia won the 2011 edition, after beating Romania 18–11 in Tbilisi. The promoted team, Ukraine, lost all but one of their matches, single win over Portugal.

European Nations Cup: second format (from 2010 to 2016)

For the 2010–2012 competition (and promotion and relegation between groups going forward to successive competitions), the top two divisions (previously 1 and 2A) were redefined as 1A and 1B, both having six teams (previously six and five). The next four levels (previously 2B, 3A, 3B and 3C) become 2A-2D, under the new system, with the remnants of Division 3D making up the initial group of teams labelled as Division 3. In principle, each division is to encompass a different type of competition.

In Division 1, groups have six teams (meaning more matches and thus more travel), a significant fraction of the players are assumed to be professional or semi-professional (meaning that fixtures are, as often as possible, scheduled within the IRB's international fixtures time windows when clubs must release players for national duty), and only one team is promoted and one relegated every two years (meaning that the competitions are more stable).

In Division 2, groups have only five teams each (usually meaning one home match and one away match in the Autumn, and the same in the Spring, for each team), it is assumed that the majority of players are amateurs (meaning scheduling is not as limited), and in addition to the traditional automatic first-promoted-last-relegated system, fourth place from the higher pool will play second place from the lower pool after every two-year competition, with the winner taking the position in the higher pool. From a five-team group, one team is promoted, one team is relegated and two teams play in playoffs. Thus, a maximum of four of a pool's five teams could change from one two-year competition to the next.

In Division 3, a single-location, short-time-period (one week or 10 days) tournament is organised once per year. This minimises travel costs for teams and time-off-work requirements for players, and allows the flexibility of having a different membership every year, rather than requiring the membership to be constant over two years. The best performing team over two years of tournaments is promoted to Division 2.

In the year of transition to the new system (2010), there were no relegations from any division below the highest, because the second-highest (old 2A, new 1B) was expanded by one team.

International Championships: third format (from 2016 to 2022)

From September 2016, the European Nations Cup became the Rugby Europe International Championships, made up of five levels or divisions:

  • Level 1 - Championship. The top six ranked European teams outside the Six Nations contest the annual title. Replaces the former Division 1A.
  • Level 2 - Trophy. The next six ranked European teams bid for the Trophy title. Replaces the former Division 1B.
  • Level 3 - Conference 1. Division 2, A through to D, becomes the new Conference level, where twenty teams are separated into two Conferences made up of ten teams each, based on their previous year rankings. Each conference is then split into two, North and South, where teams could change each year depending on the competing teams - nations closest to boundary moved from North to South and vice versa each season as necessary to geographically balance the conferences.
  • Level 4 - Conference 2
  • Level 5 - Development. Replaces Division 3.

The Trophy, Conference and Development divisions have normally been held across the turn of the year, in the autumn and winter of one year and the spring of the next. The Championship has usually been held in the spring, concurrent with the second half of the lower three divisions (and also concurrent with the Six Nations Championship).

A promotion and relegation play-off system is maintained across all levels every year, moving away from the two-year system in place since 2003, meaning teams will be promoted and relegated every year.[1]

In the 2020–2021 season, due to the worldwide COVID-19 epidemic, the lower divisions were not held, and much of the 2021 Championship division was delayed, being held over the whole of 2021 (thus, its last matches overlapped with the following 2021–2022 season of the lower divisions). Thus, there was no promotion/relegation between the divisions, including between the Championship and Trophy, following the 2020–2021 season: promotion/relegation resumed following the 2022 Championship (which was held on-time) and the 2021-2022 Trophy, Conference and Development divisions. The structure was slightly changed after 2022, to increase the Championship division to eight rather than six teams: furthermore, Russia (who had played, and lost, their first two matches), were disqualified and banned from the 2022 Championship and from all international rugby until further notice, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine after having played two matches of the 2022 season: their three remaining matches in the 2022 Championship were awarded to their opponents (Portugal, Georgia and Netherlands), by walkover.

Qualification for three European spots in the 2023 Rugby World Cup was determined by the collective results of the 2021 and 2022 Championships added together, which (thanks to the fact of no promotion and relegation following the 2021 season, and the lower divisions not being played at all) formed a full home-and-away round-robin between the six nations of the Championship. The top two teams would qualify as Europe 1 and Europe 2: the third-place team, as Europe 3, would enter the final qualification tournament along with Africa 3 (Kenya), Americas 3 (USA) and the loser of the Asia/Pacific play-off (Hong Kong). Russia's expulsion mattered little, since they had lost all but two of their matches anyway (both in the 2021 season). However, the issue of ineligible players raised its head again, though not to the extent it had in the 2019 qualification: Spain, who had been fourth in 2021 but second in 2022 and were in fact in second place over the collective two years, were penalised 10 points - five in each season - for fielding an ineligible player in two matches. Georgia were far ahead in first place, with 9 wins and 1 draw over the two years: Spain's discomfiture resulted in Romania qualifying directly from the Championship in second place, and Portugal being in third place for the final intercontinental qualifier. Portugal won that tournament to qualify for the World Cup.

Additionally, Rugby Europe made changes to the bonus points system. The standard system, that is applied in the Six Nations Championship was discarded in favour of the French system. The main difference is that where previously a team would be awarded 1 try bonus point for scoring (at least) 4 tries, regardless of the outcome, and whereas now, a team would be awarded 1 "bonus" point for winning while scoring at least the equivalent of 3 or more tries than their opponent.

International Championships: fourth format (from 2022 to 2023)

From October 2022,[2] the Rugby Europe International Championships, made up of five levels or divisions:

  • Level 1 - Championship. The top eight ranked European teams outside the Six Nations contest the annual title.
  • Level 2 - Trophy. The next six (originally intended, ended up as five) ranked European teams bid for the Trophy title.
  • Level 3 - Conference 1
  • Level 4 - Conference 2
  • Level 5 - Development

A statement was released by the Polish Rugby Union in December 2021 confirming that the Rugby Europe Championship, will expand to 8 teams in 2022/2023 season. To accommodate this expansion, no team will be relegated from the top tier, while two teams from the second tier Trophy Championship will be promoted following the completion of the 2021/2022 Championship.[3] The serpentine system is applied to allocate each team to their respective groups.[2] Each team will play a total of five games (three round robin group matches to determine the team's path and two play-off matches).[2] Seeding (for group) and relegation is calculated over a two-year cycle, as is the promotion from Trophy competition.[2]

This was further altered by Russia's expulsion from international sport following the invasion of Ukraine, which left only five teams from those who had contested the 2022 Championship. Three teams, rather than the originally intended two, were promoted from the Trophy - Belgium, Germany and Poland: and the Trophy, in 2022–23, thus contained only five teams rather than the previous six, even with the promotion of Sweden and Croatia from the Conference to join Ukraine, Lithuania and Croatia.

A relegation system is maintained across all levels two-year, moving away from the one-year system in place since 2016, meaning teams will be promoted and relegated every two year.

International Championships: fifth format (from 2023 to 2024)

From 2023, the Rugby Europe International Championships, made up of four levels or divisions:

  • Level 1 - Championship. The top eight ranked European teams outside the Six Nations contest the annual title. For the 2024 Championship, these were the same eight teams as in 2023.
  • Level 2 - Trophy. The next six ranked European teams bid for the Trophy title. (The five teams from the 2022–23 season were joined by the previous year's Conference champions, the Czech Republic.)
  • Level 3 - Conference. Former Conference 1 and Conference 2 combined to one level, in four groups.
  • Level 4 - Development

A statement was released by the Polish Rugby Union in June 2023, confirming that the Rugby Europe Conference 1 and Conference 2 will be combined to one level. Teams with ambitions of climbing up the rugby pyramid can compete in a play-off to the Trophy after submitting their intentions to Rugby Europe where an assessment on various aspects will be made after winning their respective pool.

International Championships: new format (from 2024)

From 2024, the Rugby Europe International Championships, made up of three levels or divisions:

  • Level 1 - Championship. The top eight ranked European teams outside the Six Nations contest the annual title.
  • Level 2 - Trophy. The next six ranked European teams bid for the Trophy title.
  • Level 3 - Conference. Former Conference and Development combined to one level, in five groups.

Current divisions and standings (2025–26)

Key
* Champion of the 2024–25 season
Team promoted from the division below after the 2024–25 season
Division champion but team not promoted after the 2024–25 season
Last place of division but team not relegated after the 2024–25 season
Team relegated from the division above after the 2024–25 season


Championship & Trophy

Championship teams
Pool A
File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia
File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain
File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
Pool B
File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium
File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany
File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal
File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania
Trophy <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PlScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />WScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PtsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic 3 3 13
File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 3 2 11
File:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 3 2 10
File:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia 3 1 4
File:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark 3 1 4
File:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania 3 0 1

Conference

Pool A <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PlScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />WScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PtsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg 2 2 10
File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland 2 1 7
File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia 2 0 7
File:Flag of Norway.svg Norway 2 0 0
File:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia 2 0 0
Pool B <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PlScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />WScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PtsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria 2 2 10
File:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia 2 1 10
File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia 2 1 4
File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 2 0 1
File:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia 2 0 0
Pool C <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PlScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />WScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PtsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine 1 1 5
File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria 1 1 4
File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 2 0 1
File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova 0 0 0
Pool D <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PlScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />WScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PtsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta 1 1 5
File:Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra 1 1 4
File:Flag of Israel.svg Israel 1 0 0
File:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus 1 0 0
Pool E <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PlScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />WScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />PtsScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
File:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 5
Template:Country data KOS 0 0 0
File:Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro 1 0 0

Updated through 6 December 2025

Predecessor tournaments (1936–1999)

FIRA Tournaments (1936–1938)

Year Host city Winner Runner-up Third place
1936 Template:Flagicon Berlin File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg Germany File:Flag of Italy (1861–1946).svg Italy
1937 Template:Flagicon Paris File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Italy (1861–1946).svg Italy File:Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg Germany
1938 Template:Flagicon Bucharest File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France File:Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg Germany File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania

Rugby Union European Cup (1952–1954)

Year Winner Runner-up Third place
1952 File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Germany.svg West Germany
1954 File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Spain (1945–1977).svg Spain

FIRA Nations Cup (1965–1973)

Year First Division Second Division
Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Winner
1965–66 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal
1966–67 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia
1967–68 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland
1968–69 File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia File:Flag of Germany.svg West Germany
File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland
File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy
1969–70 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco
1970–71 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia
1971–72 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia File:Flag of Spain (1945–1977).svg Spain
1972–73 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Spain (1945–1977).svg Spain File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal

FIRA Trophy (1973–1997)

Year First Division Lower Division Champions
Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Second Division Third Division
1973–74 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Spain (1945–1977).svg Spain File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland
File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco
File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy Not held
1974–75 File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland
1975–76 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands File:Flag of Morocco.svg MoroccoTemplate:Efn
File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia
1976–77 File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium
1977–78 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Spain (1977–1981).svg Spain File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union Not held
1978–79 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union File:Flag of Spain (1977–1981).svg Spain File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco
1979–80 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco File:Flag of Spain (1977–1981).svg Spain File:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia
1980–81 File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland File:Flag of Germany.svg West Germany File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal
1981–82 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco File:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden
1982–83 File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union File:Flag of Germany.svg West Germany File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia
1983–84 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland
File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco
File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain
File:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia
Not held
1984–85 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
1985–87 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia
File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal
File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain Not held
1987–89 File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union File:Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Romania File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria
1989–90 File:Flag of France.svg Script error: No such module "CountryData". ATemplate:Efn File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet UnionTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Romania.svg RomaniaTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra
1990–92 File:Flag of France.svg Script error: No such module "CountryData". A File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany
File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco
File:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden
1992–94 File:Flag of France.svg Script error: No such module "CountryData". A File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland
File:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia
File:Flag of Georgia (1990–2004).svg Georgia
File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova
1995–97 File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy File:Flag of France.svg France File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
File:Flag of Yugoslavia (1992–2003); Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006).svg Serbia and Montenegro
File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine
File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary
File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria

Template:Notelist

FIRA Tournament (1996–1999)

Year First Division Lower Division Champions
Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Second Division Third Division Fourth Division
1996–97 File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland Not held
1997–98 Not held File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia Template:Country data Luxemburg File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria
1998–99 File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany
File:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia
File:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark
File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland

Statistics

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Current tournaments (2000–present)

European Nations Cup (2000–2016)

Year First Division Lower Division Champions
Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Second Division Third Division Fourth Division
2000 File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Georgia (1990–2004).svg Georgia File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia
2001 File:Flag of Georgia (1990–2004).svg Georgia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland Not held[4] Not held
2001–02 File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Georgia (1990–2004).svg Georgia File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands Not held[5] File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia
2003–04 File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova
2004–06 File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia
2006–08 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany File:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden
2008–10 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany [6] File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine File:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania
2010 File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia
2011 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine [6] File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium File:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden
2012 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania
2013 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium [6] File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
2014 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia
2015 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium File:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia
2016 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia

Rugby Europe International Championships (2016–)

First format

Year Championship Trophy Conference 1 Conference 2 Development
Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Winners Relegated Winners Relegated Winner
2016–17 File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech RepublicTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg File:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus File:Flag of Hungary.svg HungaryTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and HerzegovinaTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey File:Flag of Slovakia.svg SlovakiaTemplate:Efn
2017–18 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova Template:Country data LITTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia File:Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg LuxembourgTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Cyprus.svg CyprusTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg BulgariaTemplate:Efn
2018–19 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany File:Flag of Portugal.svg PortugalTemplate:Efn File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic File:Flag of Ukraine.svg UkraineTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova File:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina File:Flag of Latvia.svg LatviaTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Slovenia.svg SloveniaTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia File:Flag of Turkey.svg TurkeyTemplate:Efn
2019–20 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg NetherlandsTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine
2020–21 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal Not held
2021–22 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Russia.svg RussiaTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg BelgiumTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Poland.svg PolandTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Germany.svg GermanyTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Sweden.svg SwedenTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Croatia.svg CroatiaTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Moldova.svg MoldovaTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg BulgariaTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia

Template:Notelist

Second format

Year Championship Trophy Conference 1 Conference 2 Development
Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Winner Relegated Winners Relegated Winners Relegated Winner
2022–23 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech RepublicTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Israel.svg Israel File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland File:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia File:Flag of Montenegro.svg MontenegroTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Austria.svg AustriaTemplate:Efn

Template:Notelist

Third format

Year Championship Trophy Conference Development
Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Winner Relegated Winners Relegated Winner Runner-up
2023–24 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  SwitzerlandTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg LuxembourgTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta File:Flag of Montenegro.svg MontenegroTemplate:Efn Template:Country data KOSTemplate:Efn

Template:Notelist

Fourth format

Year Championship Trophy Conference
Winner Runner-up Third Relegated Winner Relegated Winners
2024–25 File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg File:Flag of Denmark.svg DenmarkTemplate:Efn File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine File:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia
2025–26

Template:Notelist

Statistics (2000–present)

All-time table

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File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia 130 112 5 13 4304 1467 +2837 33.1 479 86.15% 17
File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania 130 88 2 40 3336 1992 +1344 25.7 360 67.69% 5
File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain 120 49 4 66 2695 2780 −85 22.5 237 40.83% 0
File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal 115 51 4 60 2532 2490 +42 22.0 236 44.35% 1
File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia 108 54 3 51 2526 2233 +293 23.4 232 50% 0
File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 50 6 1 43 629 2153 −1524 12.6 37 12% 0
File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium 45 12 1 32 796 1308 −512 17.7 64 26.67% 0
File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 40 9 0 31 644 1311 −667 16.1 60 22.5% 0
File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic 29 6 0 23 362 1075 −713 12.48 40 20.69% 0
File:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine 20 1 0 19 201 997 −796 10.05 15 5% 0
File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland 10 1 0 9 126 381 -255 12.6 6 10% 0
File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco 5 3 0 2 94 69 +25 18.80 11 60% 0
File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 5 1 0 4 38 281 -243 7.6 4 20% 0

Performance by team

Nation Winner Runner-up Third Place
File:Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia 17 5 1
File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania 5 9 7
File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal 1 2 4
File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain 0 4 4
File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia 0 3 6
File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany 0 0 1
File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco 0 0 1

Records (since 2000)

Updated as of 16 March 2025
Division 1A

Titles
Top division appearances
Wins
Draws
Losses
Points
Games without a loss
Games without a win

Other trophies

Several other trophies are contested within the main competition, mostly as long-standing fixtures between pairs of teams.

  • Antim Cup: Romania versus Georgia. The most recent Antim Cup match was won by Georgia (2025)
  • Viriato Cup: Portugal versus Spain. The most recent Viriato Cup match was won by Spain (2025)
  • Trophy of the Two Iberias: Georgia versus Spain. The most recent Trophy of the Two Iberias match was won by Georgia (2025)
  • Coltan Cup: Portugal versus Belgium. The most recent Coltan Cup match was won by Portugal (2025)
  • Trajan's Column: Spain versus Romania. The most recent Trajan's Column match was won by Spain (2024)
  • Kiseleff Cup: Romania versus Russia. The most recent Kiseleff Cup match was won by Romania (2022)
  • Moscow Gold: Russia versus Spain. The most recent Moscow Gold match was won by Spain (2022)
  • Suebi Bowl: Germany versus Portugal. The most recent Suebi Bowl match was won by Portugal (2019)

See also

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References

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  1. Press Release - Rugby Europe AGM Twickenham, July 25, 2015 Template:Webarchive
  2. a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. RE:Championship z 8 drużynami! (Championship with 8 teams) (in Polish). (3 December 2021) Polski Zwiazek Rugby (Polish Rugby Union). Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  4. Was played the first round of 2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification
  5. Was played as the second round of 2003 Rugby World Cup – European qualification
  6. a b c relegation and promotion on two year based ranking

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External links

Template:Rugby Europe International Championships Template:European Nations Cup (rugby union) seasons Template:FIRA rugby union tournaments Template:Rugby union in Europe Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:European Championships Template:Authority control