Portugal climbs to the top of the U20s Men’s Rugby Europe Championship 2024, having defeated the 2023 champions, Netherlands, in the final game. Belgium finished in 3rd whilst Romania narrowly missed out on the podium.
The Lobos are your new champions
And here are your 2024 champions, Portugal! The U20s Lobos claimed a 46-15 victory against last year’s champions, winning the European silverware for a fourth time.
The Portuguese got their noses ahead early on in the contest, thanks to an on-point penalty kick from Manuel Vareiro (awarded as player of the tournament), who also converted Portugal’s two first tries, both scored by members of the forward pack.
Portugal had complete control of the set-piece, making the Netherlands concede ten scrum penalties in the opening half. Despite the deep scrummaging issues, the 2023 champions came back firing six minutes before the break, following Joris Smits and Warrick Jones's incredible solo tries.
The half-time rest worked wonders on the Portuguese, who came out more composed and ready to take the main prize home.
With Manuel Vareiro dictating his team’s every move and decision, Portugal would successfully widen the score and reach the final quarter ahead by 18 points. Feeling comfortable, the Portuguese bagged two more tries, pushing for an astonishing display of character and power.
Vareiro’s impact in the game was crucial for his country’s victory, converting 26 points from his boot, a max in this year’s tournament.
Where the game was won: Unpredictability. Portugal’s ability to create something special is a stunning sight to behold, and those two last tries are a perfect example of the threatening unpredictability power bestowed to the Portuguese.
Top moment of the game: that try. Portugal’s 3rd try was a stunning piece of skill, starting from José Monteiro’s genius pass with his foot to Domingos Gonçalves hands to the lock's ability to elude two tacklers before offloading into António Stilwell’s hands. Audacious and insane.
Marenne try earns Belgium a place in the podium
Belgium and Romania were locked in a colossal clash, and only a Martin Marenne try made the difference, helping the U20 Diable Noirs finish in 3rd place.
Overall, it was a close contest, with both teams fighting tooth-and-nail and presenting strong defences who rarely made a mistake.
The only five-pointer happened twelve minutes in. Fly-half Lucas Michiels found Antoine Vegis on the wing, passing the ball to the fullback who sprinted and landed a short kick for Martin Marenne to catch the ball and score the only try of the whole game.
Romania had a couple of chances to get even, but David Balan’s penalty kick attempt missed its target.
Where the game was won: Skill. It was a close encounter, and it was decided by one single detail, that being Michiels and Vegis' passing and kicking skills. The Belgian playmakers showed up when it mattered, and it made an everlasting difference in the outcome of the match.
Top moment of the game: Minute 65. With fifteen minutes to the end, Romania’s best chance came at the 65th minute, with the junior Stejarii camping inside Belgium’s 22. The Belgian U20s patiently tackled and quickly got up, while the Romanians frenetically built phase after phase looking for a way in. Unfortunately for the latter, a knock-on was on the cards, being the last time the Romanians had the ball in their possession inside the opposition’s 22.
Swiss-Polish drama until the last play
Switzerland finished the U20s Men’s Rugby Europe Championship on a high, defeating Poland 27-23 and claiming 7th place in the competition, all coming down to the last play.
Switzerland didn’t need too many chances to strike in the early stages of the game, finding a way into the Polish in-goal area 11 minutes in, making the best out of a turnover for lock Alexian Fessler to ground the ball.
Polalnd’s Santiago Brzezinski was called to take the tee, kicking the ball over the crossbar to narrow Switzerland’s lead down to four points.
However, the Swiss seemed more comfortable playing with the ball, bagging an additional ten points before half-time.
What followed the break was a formidable Polish comeback, scoring two tries in just under five minutes, leading the game by 20-17. Hooker Mateuz Dogiel and replacement scrum-half Mateusz Stanczykowski served as catalysts for Poland’s spectacular reaction.
The white-and-red team added another 3 points to extend their lead, but it wouldn’t be enough to prevent Switzerland from overtaking, as lock Alexian Fessler got over the line for the score overturn.
The U20 Swiss added another penalty to their tally, which meant Poland needed to score a try in the remaining sixty seconds to avoid a loss.
The Polish were advancing, and getting closer to the try area, carrying the ball well until a hero came along: Mattéo Gazzini. The centre completed a perfect jackal and match-official Alberto Favaro granted a penalty for Switzerland, putting an end to an electrifying match.
Where the game was won: Patience. When Poland pulled a massive shift and got ahead of the score, it seemed that Switzerland’s path to victory was almost over. However, they waited for the right moments to slowly creep back in and complete a glorious win to finish in 7th.
Top moment of the game: That turnover. With no time left to play, a difference of four points and Poland with the ball. You could feel the intensity, drama and frenzy all around the park, with fans of both sides desperately waiting for the finale. And then came Mattéo Gazzini with a perfect jackal. At the right moment, the centre came in to help his country retain their place in the U20s Rugby Europe Championship in dramatic fashion.
10 minutes of rugby madness
Czechia and Germany were next up to produce a spectacular clash, and not without a heavy dose of drama on the way, as the winner was only discovered the dying seconds.
The junior Schwarze Adler dominated the opening twenty minutes, scoring a couple of tries from Quentin Moughty and Louis Ronald Callow's hands. Alexander Lott landed both conversions.
The home team suddenly started to turn things around, making good ground and forcing the Germans to be boxed inside their last 22. Eventually, they would break into the German’s in-goal area thanks to a maul drive, with Ondrej Vilimovsky placing the ball inside.
Both teams scored an extra try each before going to half-time.
The German U20s seven-point lead was nullified 25 minutes into the second half, as powerful prop Antonin Supa was successful in his short carry near the try-line.
The locals upped the pressure and successfully broke Germany’s defence, piercing in for a fourth try, scored by openside flanker Alex Sípek.
Feeling the game slipping away, the Germans, relentlessly pursued a try-equalizer, with just four minutes left on the clock. Lock Richardt Huber picked the ball from the ground and only stopped when he heard the match-official signalling for a five-pointer.
Lott’s kick went through, and we had a tie with a few seconds left to play. And then finally came Maxim Aschenbrenner's moment of glory, with the centre dragging tacklers behind him, winning 10 metres in contact until he finally placed the ball inside the in-goal area.
Germany would knock on the ball in the restart, concluding another dramatic game of the final round of the U20s Men’s Rugby Europe Championship 2024.
Where the game was won: Mindset. Czechia had to overcome a fourteen-point deficit and were able to conquer a historic win in the match’s last embers, and it was all due to their never-give-up mindset. They never despaired and/or gave up and kept believing in their gameplan success.
Top moment of the game: Czechia’s second try. We were already on the opening half’s last fumes, and Germany was leading by 14 points, and just needed to kick the ball out. But there was a lineout first… a lineout that Czechia overturned and quickly became their second try in just three phases. Patience is a virtue.
By Francisco Isaac
Photos by Martin Flousek
