OT - Rugby Europe Championship Matches (some worth watching)

[Neils]

https://www.rugbyeurope.eu/competitions/rugby-europe-championship-2022/

[DGP Wasp]

Combined league table based on this year's and last year's competition determines WC qualification, so plenty at stake.

Georgia, predictably way out in front.  2nd place also gets an automatic place, while 3rd goes into the repechage.  All to play for between Romania, Portugal, Spain and Russia.  Could be some really tasty games in there, especially later in the tournament when qualifying really starts to take shape.

Any idea where we can watch?  Are these streamed live on the Rugby Europe website?

[Rossm]

Combined league table based on this year's and last year's competition determines WC qualification, so plenty at stake.

Georgia, predictably way out in front.  2nd place also gets an automatic place, while 3rd goes into the repechage.  All to play for between Romania, Portugal, Spain and Russia.  Could be some really tasty games in there, especially later in the tournament when qualifying really starts to take shape.

Any idea where we can watch?  Are these streamed live on the Rugby Europe website?

Russia v Ukraine could be a bit tasty Assuming Ukraine play rugby.

[Neils]

Combined league table based on this year's and last year's competition determines WC qualification, so plenty at stake.

Georgia, predictably way out in front.  2nd place also gets an automatic place, while 3rd goes into the repechage.  All to play for between Romania, Portugal, Spain and Russia.  Could be some really tasty games in there, especially later in the tournament when qualifying really starts to take shape.

Any idea where we can watch?  Are these streamed live on the Rugby Europe website?

I watch on the RE website

[hookender]

Caught a few games in last couple of seasons. Some have been really enjoyable.

[MarleyWasp]

I just hope they sort out the sound quality on commentary this season.

Excited for Georgia v Portugal, or at least I was until I saw Romain Poite was named as the referee!

My gut feeling says Romania will take the second automatic qualifying place for France 2023 with Portugal making the Playoff, where it'll be between them and the loser of the USA v Chile home and away series in July. On current form, I wouldn't be shocked if Chile beat the USA.

[MarleyWasp]

Excited for Georgia v Portugal, or at least I was until I saw Romain Poite was named as the referee!

And what a match it was! Finished 25-25. With a couple of minutes to go Portugal were in the Georgian 22 when a Georgian flanker fell the wrong side of a ruck and impeded the Portugal 9. Penalty? Not according to Poite. This is the first match since March 2017 Georgia haven't won in the Championship.

Romania beat Russia 34-25 and Spain beat Netherlands 43-0

In terms of the Championship, Spain and Romania are on 5  points, Georgia and Portugal on 2 and Russia and the Netherlands on 0.

In terms of RWC qualifying it's Georgia on 26, Romania 18, Spain 17, Portugal 16 and Russia 9. Netherlands pretty much out of the running with no points..

Next weekend's fixtures are all on Saturday:
10am: Russia v Spain
12.15pm: Netherlands v Georgia
3.30pm: Romania v Portugal

[MarleyWasp]

My gut feeling says Romania will take the second automatic qualifying place for France 2023 with Portugal making the Playoff, where it'll be between them and the loser of the USA v Chile home and away series in July. On current form, I wouldn't be shocked if Chile beat the USA.

On the face of it I got this wrong, with Spain qualifying automatically and Romania making the playoff, however lightening may be striking twice as for the second RWC in a row Spain are facing a World Rugby judicial hearing for allegedly fielding an ineligible player (https://www.world.rugby/news/702052/world-rugby-statement)

The player in question hasn't been named, but the penalty would be the results of the matches he took part in being overturned and declared 28-0 wins for the opposition with a try bonus point awarded.

The table finished

Georgia - 44
Spain - 29
Romania - 28
Portugal - 26
Russia - 10
Netherlands - 4

Spain lost both matches to Georgia, however Georgia would gain a point if the player in question played in the 2021 match.

Romania would gain 1 point from 2021 and 5 from 2022

Portugal would gain 1 point from 2021 and 4 from 2022

Russia and Netherlands would gain points but not enough to get into the top 3 and Russia are currently excluded anyway.

There were measures meant to be put in place after the last time to prevent this from happening. Clearly they haven't worked, which may be mitigation in Spain's favour. Time will tell.

[Rossm]

Have you been OK, Marley? Have missed your posts recently.

[MarleyWasp]

Thanks for asking Ross. I was on holiday for a while at the beginning of the month and returned feeling ill. I presumed it was Covid but LFTs were all negative. Ended up being rushed into A&E with a suspected abscess in my inner ear/brain area. Fortunately it turned out to be just a nasty ear infection, but the antibiotics and painkillers knocked me out for over a week and made me endlessly text friends about monorails (an improvement on the last time I was given these painkillers!). Thankfully recovered now.

I've had a look through Spain's squads for each match and regardless of who it is, if they do end up forefiting every match that player is involved in it'll be Romania qualifying automatically and Portugal in the playoffs.

[Rossm]

Monorails are an improvement Glad to hear you're on the mend.

[Hymenoptera]

So other sports have removed Russia from competition but Rugby, the peoples sport, hasn't acted...interesting.

[MarleyWasp]

Thank you.

I'm reliably informed the player in question is Gavin van den Berg, a South African who has been contracted to Spanish clubs since the summer of 2018, but returned to South Africa for 4 months in 2019 and again for an extended period of time during the first lockdown. He played in two matches, both against the Netherlands.

World Rugby guidelines say that it is considered that baring exceptional circumstances a player qualifying for a new country on the grounds of residency should spend at least 10 months of the year in that country for it to count.

In short, unless he can prove exceptional circumstances for both visits, Spain will be dropping 10 points, and therefore below Romania and Portugal.

[MarleyWasp]

So other sports have removed Russia from competition but Rugby, the peoples sport, hasn't acted...interesting.

Well their final 3 matches were cancelled with wins awarded to the opposition. They're being relegated from the Rugby Europe Championship (if their ban isn't lifted by next season they'll drop another level), their Sevens team is banned from competing and their two sides have been excluded from the Rugby Europe Super Cup...

[DGP Wasp]

So potentially a large number of born and bred Spanish rugby players who have a long held ambition to represent their country at the World Cup are going to be denied that opportunity for a second time due to the incompetency of their administrators.

All the more frustrating for them as the 2 games affected (assuming Marley's intel is correct) were against the whipping boys of the group, so they would almost certainly have picked up maximum points from those with or without their rogue South African.

The return to SA during lockdown could certainly be argued as exceptional circumstances, but if he did disappear home for 4 months in 2019, then that will be a tough one to argue unless they can point to a particular personal issue as a reason.  Hope they manage to sort it out as it would be a real shame for those players to miss out again.