Day 1 at the U18 Championship was full of thrills and spills from the first game to until the last. Francisco Isaac analyses the first four games in Prague.
Nothing better than a proverbial shock and awe moment, with the home team, Czechia, taking down the three-time runners up Portugal in a brilliant first day.
Spain moves into fifth gear to defeat Belgium
Spain and Belgium opened the 2024 U18s Men’s Rugby Europe Championship, with the Iberian nation providing their fans an 34-00 win. In the first half, the U18 Diable Noirs were able to keep afloat even if they conceded three tries, showing some resilience in the pack with number-eight Kais Meksoud and hooker Henri Atkinson working well.
Although the Belgians had a good effort, the Leoncitos were quite dominant from the get-go in the set-piece also moving swiftly the ball around. Scrum-half Lucas Matsubara was the player who galvanized Spain the most, playing a very cool game of human chess, scoring himself the opening try of the match.
Playing with a 17-point advantage, Spain stepped into the second half with even more confidence and would add an extra three unanswered tries. Inside centre Oriol Marsinyac was a spectacular standout for the Spanish, opening more than a handful of gaps to push his team through.
Where the game was won: Set-piece. Spain’s well-oiled forward pack machine was just perfect for the type of challenge presented by Belgium, and combined with a fired-up scrum-half it just went to the next level.
Top moment of the game: Spain’s first try was a sight to behold, carving up the Belgian defence with a series of offloads and line breaks until the ball found its way to Lucas Matsubara’s hands.
Young Lelos start with a big win
The title holders, Georgia, reigned supreme in their first game of the 2024 U18s campaign, pulling a 67-0 win against Germany.
The young Lelos broke the German dam just before the clock hitting the fifth minute of the game, with Saba Sharvashidze sprinting to the in-goal area. In the following quarter, the champions were voracious and collected a myriad of five-pointers to build a comfortable lead.
With hooker Anri Shevlidze and number-eight Mikheil Shioshvili bagging a couple of tries each, Georgia was simply unstoppable, with Germany facing some issues to match the champion's pace and physicality.
Where the game was won: Physicality. As has been the case in previous years, the Georgian top conditioning and physicality were just pitch perfect, making it a huge difference in the make-or-break moments.
Top moment of the game: minute 08:41. Yes, Georgia was already on the lead and doing well, but Nikolozi Khalvashi’s insane 50/22 just sent Germany back to set up the young Lelos third try of the game.
The great Oranje escape
Romania and Netherlands produced one of the most competitive games of the first round, with the victor only being found in the last ten minutes of the match.
In the opening 35 minutes, the young Stejarii and Oranje traded blows, with Antonio Mitrea and Hein Thielen slotting in two penalty conversions. Mitrea would add a third one to award Romania the lead when the team went to half-time.
The Eastern European nation came from the rest in better shape, pushing back the Dutch opposition. Their swift control of the ball possession would lead Romania to score an extra three points with another pin-point kick from Mitrea.
However, in the 42nd minute of the game, the Romanians' form started to dip, and a handful of ruck infringements would open the door for the Netherlands to score their first try. Blindside flanker Slep Walta caught everyone by surprise and marched through the lineout to dive into the try-area, with Thielen adding the extras to pull them ahead.
From this point on, the Dutch never lost control of the game, boxing in the Romanian in their half while creating more opportunities to reach the try-area. Ben Temperley would dot down the ball in the corner after a beautiful open play to raise the Dutch lead, and Moos Kok would also score a try of his own to complete a sensational 35-minute recovery.
Where the game was won: Resiliency. When everything seemed to go wrong, the Dutch players kept their focus and didn’t take their eyes off the prize. Scrum-half Adar Falan and fly-half and captain Hein Thielen were the bright lights that guided the team towards victory.
Top moment of the game: minute 45:25. It was when the Dutch started to believe it was possible to defeat Romania. After enduring 45 minutes of Romanian dominance, the Oranje found their strength and went out searching for a way to get back into the game.
Czechia provide the shock of the day
What a day it was for the home crowd as they saw Czechia defeating the three-time vice-champions of the U18s, Portugal, in a game that will be remembered through the ages.
The Czechs shutdown Portugal’s set-piece and backline eccentricity thanks to a rigorous and resilient defence, forcing Portugal to make eighteen handling errors.
We would have to wait until the 15th minute for a change in the scoreboard, with Ondrej Cerny converting a penalty to give his side the lead, a lead they never lost until the final whistle.
The Czechs scored an additional eight points to their scoresheet with David Surga scoring his first international try and Cerny collecting another penalty.
Portugal’s first try came in the last 20 minutes of the match, as powerful hooker António Carmona busted his way in to put down the oval ball to cut the home side's leading margin. Unfortunately for Portugal, Ondrej Cerny was having a superb day off the tee and successfully converted a 40-meter penalty.
With a nine-point deficit, the Portuguese were desperate to find any means to get back into the game but were unable to do so even with Czechia playing with just 13 players for the last ten minutes.
Tomé Lobo would score the visitors’ second try, but it wasn’t enough, allowing Czechia to celebrate and enjoy a victory that will be remembered in years to come.
Where the game was won: In the heart. It was just unbelievable how Czechia pulled off one of the greatest shocks of youth European rugby. They never allowed Portugal to feel comfortable and fought for every tackle, carry, lineout throw or scrum feed, remaining confident they would be able to achieve something special.
Top moment of the game: The 53rd minute. Portugal had just scored a try, and it seemed there was a shift in the game’s flow. However, the Czechs had other plans and forced a penalty just a few metres away from the halfway line mark. Ondrej Cerny took the responsibility to kick the ball to the poles, converting it and putting down the Portuguese short-lived momentum.
The next round takes place on Tuesday 19 November, click here for the fixtures
By Francisco Isaac
Photos by Martin Flousek
