Nickname, stats and more; our Rugby Europe Championship preview
After delving into the host cities of the Rugby Europe Championship (REC) 2024, it’s time to find who’s who and how each team operates ahead of the tournament’s kick off.
Before we proceed to unbox these sweeties, here’s some facts to enlighten your friends:
– Georgia has won 15 European Nations Cup/Rugby Europe Championships out of last 23 editions.
– Romania still holds the record of the team that scored the most points in one season, as they amassed 389 points in 2006.
– Morocco played in the European Nations Cup once, back in the 2000s.
– Georgia is on a 30-match undefeated streak in the REC, that started way back in 2018.
So, as Mario from the Super Mario Bros says, “Let´s go!”
Georgia
Nickname: Lelos
Their Six Nations clone: Ireland
Head coach: Richard Cockerill
Special fans chant: “Lelo, Lelo, Sakartvelo.” (it means “try, try, Georgia!”)
How to best mingle with the crowd: Glue a prosthetic black beard and talk with a strong and stern voice
The champions. The fiercest bullies you will ever meet. The worshipers of massive scrums and talented playmakers. This is Georgia, these are the mighty Lelos, the ones you should go for if you like a powerful set-piece, lethal try-finishers, and a diehard win-or-win mindset.
As stated above, Georgia has lifted the top prize many times and has ascertained dominance in the European Emerging scene for quite a while. They have evolved in the last couple of years, now possessing a backline that can do wonders, catching the opposition off-guard with a full bag of special skills.
A data or historical fact to tell to your friends and look insightful: Akaki Tabutsadze is already the player with the most tries scored for Georgia, but that record belonged to Mamuka Gorgadze for almost seven years. The number eight legend scored 27 tries in his 75 caps for the Lelos. He is the only forward to have made the Georgian top-10 try scorers list.
Portugal
Nickname: Lobos
Their Six Nations clone: France
Head coach: To be announced (Daniel Hourcade, Esteban Meneses and Ricardo Ambrósio are the caretakers for 2024)
Special fans chant: “Portugal, Portugal, Portugal” (while jumping like crazy)
How to best mingle with the crowd: Wear a Portuguese shirt, say that everything sucks while laughing and talk quickly
The new shiny thing for international fans, Portugal has lost a bit of momentum after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but they might be on the trail to get back in business. The Lobos have won one European Nations Cup/Rugby Europe Championship, all the way back to the 2000s, and last year they came close to doing it again.
Their rugby DNA is packed with the same flair and exquisite skills as the French, while upgrading their pack to become more resilient and trustworthy. Coincidentally, most of their rugby dictionary has a French basis, so, if you want to mingle with them, just say “Arrière” when the full-back has the ball (it just means full-back in French).
A data or historical fact to tell to your friends and look insightful: Portugal has two centurions and they are brothers! Vasco and Gonçalo Uva played 100 games for the “Lobos” between the 2000s and 2010s and were also part of the 2007 Rugby World Cup side. Ah! They also played in the Top 14!
Romania
Nickname: Stejarii (translates to “Oaks”)
Their Six Nations clone: England
Head coach: David Gérard (helped Portugal win their first Rugby World Cup game)
Special fans chant: Treceti, batalioane române, Carpatii! (very emotional chant)
How to best mingle with the crowd: Wear heels, place a blondish fake beard, and look all the times serious
Big and strong, that’s the first thing that pops into my mind when we speak about Romania. Yes, they might not look as menacing as in the past, but only a fool would not see them as an absolute threat.
The Oaks can mount an incredible challenge from the set-piece, building their momentum from the scrum or a rolling maul. With Gérard on board, they will be able to rebuild, not only their squad but also their pride, and recover from a dismal 2023.
Romania was the last team to have won the Rugby Europe Championship before Georgia, climbing to the top in 2017 thanks to Florin Vlaicu’s converted kick.
A data or historical fact to tell to your friends and look insightful: Romania defeated France back in 1980. The “Oaks” took down Les Bleus in the Giulesti Stadium, making the headlines back in the day. Mircea Paraschiv, still regarded as one of the best European scrum-halves ever, was one of the best players that day. Ah, he is also included in the Twickenham Stadium Hall of Fame!
Spain
Nickname: Leones (the Lions, as it is on their flag)
Their Six Nations clone: Wales
Head coach: Pablo Bouza
Special fans chant: “À lá Melé” (which means, “let’s go for the scrum!”)
How to best mingle with the crowd: Talk loudly, wear a red shirt, smile all the time and be intense all the time
I’m going to make a very risky prediction: Spain will fight to be the number-one team in the Rugby Europe Championship in two years. The Spanish are cunning with the oval-shaped ball, playing a thrilling combination of well-placed kicks, aggressive pin-point tackle, and a fine and fun attacking mindset.
Like Portugal, most of their future stars are playing abroad, honing their skills to become serious threats to everyone. Nonetheless, Spain also has enough units at “home” ready to be unleashed and entertain fans.
They won’t fancy the title in 2024, but keep an eye on them, as I believe Spain deserves all the love they can get.
A data or historical fact to tell to your friends and look insightful: do you know that Spain has a better playing record against Italy than against Romania? They’ve beaten the Azzurri three times, and the last one was in 1977. The Leones won by 10-3 in a game played in Madrid.
Netherlands
Nickname: Oranje
Their Six Nations clone: Italy
Head Coach: Lyn Jones (yes, that Welsh legend)
Special fans chant: “Holland, Holland, Holland!”
How to best mingle with the crowd: Try to look tall, wear a hat, buy a big pint and look lively!
Will the Dutch be the next big thing in the European Emerging scene? I really don’t know, but I hope they can get there and the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship will play a massive role.
In 2023 they arm-wrestled Spain and Georgia and were on top for some periods, thanks to an aggressive pack who kept raising the intensity and physicality.
It will be key to now build a stable bridge for their youth players to make into the international scene, and shine like they’ve done for the past two seasons.
A data or historical fact to tell to your friends and look insightful: Netherlands has defeated Georgia and Japan in the past, but they were never able to take down Spain. In 1995 they demolished the Lelos by 55-3 and nearly won against Japan in 1980. As for their rivalry with Spain, they played 14 matches against the Leones and their best result to get was a draw in 1975 (4-4).
Belgium
Nickname: Diables Noirs (the Black Devils…uuuhh)
Their Six Nations clone: Ireland
Head coach: Laurent Dossat
Special fans chant: Allez, allez, les Diables Noirs (Go, go, the Black Devils)
How to best mingle with the crowd: Look falsely detached from everything, but react passionately if someone says anything negative about Belgium
Belgium has been living on an up-and-down roller-coaster, but it seems the worst is over, and a new era awaits. The Diables Noirs are a fiery bunch that love to challenge anyone even if their opposition are (on paper) a better side.
The pack still concedes some mistakes in the lineout and scrum, but there’s enough potential to make fans dream with a new era.
Laurent Dossat took over the job after Mike Ford and Mouritz Botha resigned, and even if there’s little pressure on his shoulders, you can bet that the Belgians will try to bite Portugal’s and Romania’s ankles when the REC starts!
A data or historical fact to tell to your friends and look insightful: Belgium still is the king of the Low Countries Derby, having defeated the Netherlands 23 out of 47 matches (add four draws). It was their very first Test Match, played in 1932.
Germany
Nickname: Schwarze Adler (the Black Eagles)
Their Six Nations clone: Wales
Head coach: Mark Kuhlmann
Special fans chant: None that we are aware
How to best mingle with the crowd: Raise your chin up, strut convincingly, drink your beer like its whisky (slowly) and always have a black cap on your head
From a very promising and on the rise rugby country to fall into a pit of despair due to financial issues, Germany withstood it all and is looking now to the road ahead.
The 2024 Rugby Europe Championship will be a massive challenge for them, as the German Union needs to get back on the success trail and they have the players to do it.
Kuhlmann surprised some fans in 2023 when the Schwarze Adler played a very witty style of rugby, which reminded me of Warrenball from 2019: sharp in-game kicks, simple and quick set-pieces, and a fierce counter-attack.
A data or historical fact to tell to your friends and look insightful: Germany defeated France and Italy, and it wasn’t only once! The French fell in 1927 and 1938 to the Germans, and the Italians conceded defeats in the 1930s.
Poland
Nickname: Biało-czerwoni (The White and Red)
Their Six Nations clone: England
Head coach: Chris Hitt
Special fans chant: None that we are aware
How to best mingle with the crowd: go shirtless, get into tune and don’t stop jumping
What better way to describe the physical might of the Polish than describing them as wrecking balls on wheels? They are a “young” rugby nation and have a deep desire to prove themselves as worthy enough to be in the REC.
Are they a type of England? They love to be physical and pushing and shoving their opposition, sending good tactical kicks and will always be on the hunt for a good turnover… so yes, a kind of old-fashioned England.
Well, they have a deep love to be physical and control the set-piece, can throw some bombastic kicks, and pull some outstanding impossible jackals at the breakdown… so, yes!
Welshman Hitt is the man in charge and Poland needs a big result in 2024 to avoid relegation.
A data or historical fact to tell to your friends and look insightful: Former international Grzegorz Kacała is regarded as one of the living legends of Polish rugby, having played for Cardiff, Brive and Grenoble. He won one Heineken Cup back in 1997.
