For the next couple of weeks, Rugby Europe will be interviewing some of the rising stars of the teams competing in the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship U18 and U2, to understand their goals, playing style and much more.
Our second guest is Czechia’s Miloš Vrána, a relentless flanker that is ready to shine!
What are your team’s 2024 Men’s Rugby Europe Championship U20 goals?
We would definitely like to qualify for the Championship semi-finals. We all have significantly improved, a big part of the team is playing in the top senior division in Czechia. Additionally, some of us have experience from the Rugby Europe Super Cup and have been abroad for a few months since the last Rugby Europe Championship.
So, if not the semifinals, 5th place is a must!
What can you tell us about you?
I am 18, I live in Brno and study IT at Technical School in Brno. I have played rugby since I was six in Rugby Club Brno-Bystrc. My debut in the national team was on the 2022 U18 REC.
I did judo for 11 years and even got to the highest level. However, at the beginning of this year, I had to leave it, to fully focus on rugby, especially because I changed teams, as I am playing now for Prague’s RC Tatra Smichov. In 2023, after the previous REC U18 in Prague, I debuted for Bohemia Rugby Warriors in the Super Cup at the age of 17 as the youngest player in the team.
In spring I earned 3rd place in “Extraliga” (Czech Top Division) with Tatra. After my graduation and, hopefully, winning the Czech Championship with RC Tatra, I would like to try rugby abroad.
Do you have any individual goals that you would like to achieve in the competition?
First, I want to help my team. I want to be a good leader to my teammates and perfect my whole game, especially my main strengths. I hope for loads of big hits and if everything for our team goes well, I would like to beat my last year’s REC U18 number of tries - three.
How important is it to play in the U20 Rugby Europe Championship?
For Czechia, it is very important to take part in competitions like these, as it is a good way to be seen in the European rugby community. Luckily, Czech rugby is growing, with more kids enrolling in the sport, and the player quality has also increased. We want to perform well to show that we are developing and growing, and taking back Czechia to a level last seen 25 years ago.
What message would you like to share with your team’s fans?
I want to invite them to come and watch our team play high-level rugby against the top European opposition and see us doing well against these teams. We want to show everyone how fast and how much is our rugby improving!
Miloš isn’t the only youngster doing well in Czech Rugby, as there are a handful of U18s and U20s to keep a close eye on.
Lukáš Brada (U20 / Fly-half) – already Super Cup capped, the fly-half likes to solve problems with his on-point kicks and refined passing, creating a continuous flow of try-opportunities for his team. If we had to define him in a word that would be “special”.
Patrik Pavlík (U20 / Centre) – Czechia will also feature a Czech international in the centre-pairing, as Patrik Pavlík will be in the squad. His mastery of the tackling arts combined with a top-notch conditioning can provide a free flow of opportunities for the Czechs to add some points to their scoreboard;
