We are at the doorstep of another Men’s Rugby Europe Championship, one empowered with the Men’s Rugby World Cup gloss, and it will be up to the players to decide their nation’s future. But who are the stars to watch out for this year?
Before the start of the competition we asked renowned commentators Dave Rogers and Jamie Lyall to choose their favourites ahead of the start of the tournament.
Dave Rogers
Dave Rogers first game in the Rugby Europe commentary box was in 2018, when he flew to Plan-les-Ouates to narrate the happenings of an intense Switzerland vs Poland clash in the Trophy. Since then, he has seen it all and has worked in several Men’s Rugby Europe Championships.
So, Dave, let’s start with your choices. Who is your first pick?
The first one is an obvious one, as every time he is on the pitch I can’t keep my eyes off him, and he is… Davit Niniashvili. The Georgian fullback is such an impressive athlete and unique player. It feels we have watched and enjoyed him for so long that’s hard to believe he is only 22-years-old. He has been in an unreal form, and he just scored two spectacular tries for Lyon OU, one in the Top 14 and the other against the Cheetahs for the EPCR Challenge Cup. In a tournament like the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship and for a team like Georgia, Niniashvili is surely going to find himself with the ball to do amazing things with it.
And let’s go for the second player, as it seems you have an unexpected choice in your mind.
The Dutch outside half… Vikas Meijer! He has been in the peripheries of the national team for the last couple of years, but it is going to be his third Men’s REC. I have been enjoying his performances in the BUCS Super Rugby for Cardiff Met! Cardiff Met has brought us so many international players, most recently like Aaron Wainwright, Alex Dombrandt and Ellis Bevan, who’s going to be Wales scrumhalf in this year’s 6 Nations. The list is endless, and Vikas gone there to a rugby hotbed, and has been rocking as a fly-half.
He is just different and brilliant, his kicking is outstanding, he is big and physical. Do you know he is 1,90 metres tall and weighs more than 100 kgs? That doesn’t mean he is slow, on the contrary. He is light on his feet, loves to try new things, and he loves to play. He is just an exciting 10, and I think the way Dutch rugby is going, I feel he can have a massive impact on the team. Vikas is somebody who I am very excited to watch play in this Men’s REC!
So, two backs! Are we going to have a third one or are we going for the heavy hitters?
Let’s go for a big piano man… Spain’s captain, Jon Zabala! It’s going to be a massive, massive tournament for Spain, they feel as though they have reached their potential, and having a prodigious scrummager as Jon Zabala will help them get closer to the World Cup goal. He has had a great couple of years in the Pro D2 for AS Béziers-Hérault, and because of those performances he got to make the jump to the Top 14 as one Pau’s newest recruits. If Spain wants to get to the Men’s World Cup they will need experienced Top 14 personnel, and Jon Zabala is one of those players. If he performs well, which I believe he will do so, then Spain will have the platform to finally reach their dream.
Jamie Lyall
One of the biggest voices in Test Match rugby, Jamie Lyall debuted in the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship in 2024, calling the superb clash between Germany and Georgia.
Jamie, you have commentated in the URC, EPCR Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, following more than a few of the Men’s REC stars. So, can you tell us who’s your first pick?
Joel Merkler. For a REC nation to have a player flourishing at the greatest club in the world is a monumental boon. Merkler has shown the courage and capability to move away from home at a tender age and chase his dreams in France, the mettle to develop in the most unforgiving nursery for a prop, and the staying power to make it at the rouge et noir juggernaut. Immersed in a team of Galacticos, he has returned to the Test scene with Top 14 and Champions Cup titles on his CV – vital experience of pressure moments, grave jeopardy and, most importantly, winning. With Merkler at the tip of the scrummaging wedge, Spain have cultivated a host of heavyweight forwards to buttress their exciting backline. His international comeback is massive in every sense.
After picking one of the giants of the Men’s REC, who will follow?
Samuel Marques. Hardly a revelatory selection, but probably still Portugal’s most important player. His November performance at Murrayfield showed there is plenty life in the old dog. And Os Lobos will miss him dearly when he eventually decides enough is enough at Test level.
The 36-year-old is as sharp as a saw; his capacity to read the game and bend it to his will; his steepling box kicks and tone-setting decision-making are all hugely compelling.
And your third choice, who’s going to get the shout?
Luka Ivanishvili. Georgia can no longer be typecast as a one-dimensional rugby nation, home to barrel-chested lumberers with little firepower out wide. They have wonderful half-backs, rapier outside backs and of course, in Davit Niniashvili, the best player in the tournament. It is those forward brutes who continue to set Georgia apart at this level, however, and a fresh generation is coming of age under Richard Cockerill – probably the perfect man to unleash their inner dog.
At its vanguard, Luka Ivanishvili, co-captain of Black Lion and a ferocious competitor. A try scorer against the Wallabies at the last World Cup, his ballast on the carry and sledgehammer tackles left Edinburgh’s pack resembling a bunch of old bananas a couple of weeks ago. Still just 23, his ceiling is sky-high.
