Hosts Romania will be taking on Germany at 6pm local time (5pm CET) and it should be a cracking contest to get things going. 21-year-old and number-eight Adrian Mitu explained how crucial today’s game will be.
"The game against Germany is an important one, the entire season is essential, because of our goal to qualify for the 2027 edition of the Rugby World Cup. We are aware that we have to put our best work, we take it match by match, step by step, our objective is to win them all, to have a good ranking at the end, but for that we have to stay united and focus. The strength of the Oaks, is our unity, being a solid group is our main weapon."
Romania are currently 20th in the world rankings with Germany 31st.
The game will be live on TVR1 in Romania, Pro Sieben Maxx in Germany, FloRugby in North America and the rest of the world can watch it on Rugby Europe TV.
That is a Pool A game and there is a game in the same section on Saturday too.
New boys Switzerland face the exciting, but daunting task, of travelling to Tbilisi to take on holders and tournament favourites Georgia. Tim Vögtli, one of Switzerland’s team leaders spoke about the desire to take heads on this new challenge,
“If we didn’t really want that feeling and the challenge of going against such great opposition, then we don’t deserve to be part of this competition. I am proud that we will play against this stalwart Georgia, but at the same time I want to be sure that they will also remember the day they faced Switzerland.”
The game is at the Avchala Rugby Stadium at 4pm local time (12pm UTC) and Georgia are currently 12th in the word with the Swiss visitors 29th.
On Saturday there is then the first of the Pool B games. Montpellier’s loose forward Nicolás Martins shed some light about Portugal’s goals for Saturday,
“It will be our first match since November, so we must do everything well. We have to stick to the plan, so we can do some crazy stuff afterwards. Step by step. We have to play our best, stick to the plan, smash when we have to smash, run the ball when we have to run the ball. To win the trophy we must be the best team.”
Portugal, the runners-up last year, will be hosting Belgium under the floodlights at the Estádio do Restelo in Lisbon at 7.30pm local time (7.30pm UTC).
The home side may be 16th in the world and Belgium 28th, but the former will certainly not be taking this one lightly.
Almost a year to the day they were shocked in their 2024 opener 10-6 by the same opponents at the Stade Charles Tondreau in Mons.
That was one of Belgium’s greatest ever results and they will be out to try and cause another shock here. Charles-Henry Berguet retold what was the feeling after the victory in Mons,
“It was incredible. We are always the underdog, the easy-to-beat team, that one small country that won’t battle those at the top. So, to win against a team like Portugal was amazing. (…) We came in fully focused and ready to honour the fans and our families who came to Mons to watch and support us. That game was a stepping stone for us.”
The second Pool B match of round one, and the final game of the weekend’s action in this eight-team event, comes on Sunday. Jon Zabala launched Sunday’s game stating that the,
“Our First goal for this year’s Men’s Rugby Europe Championship: World Cup. Defeat Netherlands and Switzerland and qualify for Australia 2027. Then we need those next two years to forge the best possible squad and work tirelessly to be ready for any challenge that comes our way in the World Cup. If we want to be prepared to face nations like Scotland, France, Australia, etc., then we are going to need to rise to the occasion.”
Estadio Central UCM in Madrid is the venue for Spain taking on the Netherlands at 12.45pm local (11.45am UTC time).
At the National Rugby Center in Amsterdam they played out a cracker 12 months ago with Spain just edging home 20-18.
Heading into this one, the Netherlands are 24th in the world with Spain 18th.
You can catch all the action live on rugbyeurope.tv or listings for your territory can be found HERE
