Spain know that a win over Netherlands on Saturday would see them win the women’s Rugby Europe Championship title, but they are expecting a tough encounter.
The sides will meet at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Torrevieja at 4pm local time (2pm UTC) with Spain leading the four-team tournament after two wins from two.
Netherlands have won the one game they have played to sit second so it really is a mouthwatering clash of the sides who are 13th and 15th in the world rankings.
If Spain make it three wins from three then they will be uncatchable at the top of the standings and will continue their domination of this event from recent times, but if Netherlands win, they could spoil the party by snatching the European title for the first time ever - this would be the scenario if Sweden lose to Portugal. If Sweden win, then it means the Netherlands would travel to Sweden on April 19 with both teams still able to lift.
For Spain a tournament clinching win would set them up nicely as they continue their Rugby World Cup preparations for later in the year in England while a victory for Netherlands would show their continuing progression.
Captain Laura Delgado said ahead of the game, “The team is in high spirits and focused on working to the tiniest detail. This is our fourth week in camp, and the team feels at ease and happy. We expect a very tight and intense game against the Netherlands, but those are the games we want to play in!
“I think we didn’t perform to our best level against Portugal, to be honest. However, our youngsters really rocked in last weekend’s match, which is a clear and positive sign of our growth.”
When the sides met last year in this event Spain came out on top 22-5 at the National Rugby Center in Amsterdam.
In that one last April, it was the Spanish who got off to a flyer, back-row Lia Pineiro going over for a try after three minutes converted by stand-off Amalia Argudo.
Home scrum-half Marit Lemmens then missed a penalty before things got better in the 17th minute for Spain when Clara Piquero, the winger, went over for a five-pointer.
And they went further up after 33 minutes when full-back Claudia Pena got in on the act, her try converted by Argudo to make it 19-0 at half-time despite a late missed penalty by the number 10.
In the early part of the second half Netherlands made quite a few replacements to try and get back into things and it was one of their subs who got them on the scoreboard.
Replacement Brechtje Karst’s unconverted try gave them something of a lifeline in the 57th minute, but a penalty made it 22-5 to Spain on the hour mark and they saw the game out.
Before the Spain-Netherlands game on Saturday, Sweden and Portugal meet in the same competition. As mentioned, Sweden need a win against Portugal to keep their chances alive.
Sweden have lost one from one so far and Portugal two from two so something will have to give at the Trelleborg Rugby Arena in Trelleborg at noon local time (10am UTC).
It’s a match that the Swedish captain, Maja Meuller, is looking forward to, “We’re all so excited to play our first home game of the season and will deliver lots of excitement shining through in our game.
“After last weekend’s defeat, we have a hunger to show the style of rugby that we know we can deliver and we’re ready to show our fans what we can achieve on the rugby pitch with the support from a home crowd. We’re really looking forward to the support on home soil, which will really help us keep pushing ourselves for the full 80.”
“Looking at our performance last week, we definitely need to fix up some details to improve our game. We are looking to front up physically more both sides of the ball, as well as have more variety in our attack so we can be a multi-sided threat and give ourselves some momentum.
By going into the game with a brave mindset and more clarity on details, we will hopefully build a better platform for us to play from, helping us to be better equipped for the pressure that will be thrown at us”
Last year Portugal won this contest 27-0 at the CAR Jamor in Lisbon.
Portugal’s Sara Moreira will not be shying away from the contest, “Over the first two games, we’ve taken a lot of positives. One of the biggest is our defensive resilience — we’ve shown that we can make teams really work for their points. Now, it’s about sustaining that intensity across the full 80 minutes.
“We believe we’re ready to put in a complete performance on both sides of the ball. We’ve worked hard on the finer details that cost us last time out, and we’re focused on executing them this weekend. If we can deliver that for the full 80 minutes, we’ll give ourselves a great chance.”
If the Spain-Netherlands women’s one is a big game on Saturday, so is the men’s Rugby Europe Trophy clash between Sweden and Poland.
It will follow the Sweden-Portugal women’s game in Trelleborg at 3pm local time (1pm UTC) and it is simple, whoever wins this one wins the season’s title (but will not be promoted to Championship division, as promotion/relegation is calculated on 25/26 cycle)
Going into the match Poland are top of the six-team standings, but both they and second placed Sweden have 18 points and four wins from four to date.
Sweden are sitting at 30 in the current world rankings and Poland 31st so it promises to be a tight, enthralling affair that could go right to the wire.
There are two matches in the men’s Rugby Europe Conference on Saturday.
Türkiye are hosting Serbia in Pool C first up in the Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadium in Başakşehirat 2pm local time (11am UTC).
And then, in Pool B, Hungary and Ukraine will meet at the Budapest Rugby Centre in Budapest at 3pm local time (1pm UTC).
By Gary Heatly
