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European Nations Cup (rugby union)
Encyclopedia
The European Nations Cup (also known as ENC or sometimes as Six Nations B) is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union
nations. The Championship is split into 7 divisions with 5 or 6 teams in each. The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away. From 2009 onward, the title is assigned according to an one-year ranking. So Georgia won the 2009 title and Romania the title for 2010. The same for the 2011-2012 period.
At present, there is no promotion or relegation between the European Nations Cup and the Six Nations
. The current champions are Georgia, who won the 2011 First Division.
, Romania won the first competition with maximum of points, with the initial season also including Morocco.
Russia then replaced Morocco in 2001 when Georgia secured the title after a consistent performance, crowned after a decisive 31-20 win over Romania in Bucharest. As the competition format changed from a one-year tournament to two-years, the Netherlands were not relegated after this season.
Romania started 2002 trailing Georgia after the 2001 results, but managed to win all of the remaining five games, including a hard-fought 31-23 victory in Tbilisi.
Portugal were surprise 16-15 winners over Romania in Lisbon and installed themselves at the top of the 2003-04 table. In the second half of the competition, Romania seemed back on track (36-6 against Portugal in Constanţa
), but went down 24-33 to Russia in Krasnodar. Then Portugal clinched their first title with a last-minute 19-18 home win over Russia. The Russia - Czech Republic game was rescheduled due to bad weather and was eventually cancelled.
The 2005-06 championships also served as a qualifying pool
for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
. Romania triumphed even though they finished level on points with Georgia, while Ukraine was relegated after losing all matches.
The 2007-08 edition saw the return of the Spanish to the top Division. The winners were Georgia, building on their impressive display at the 2007 Rugby World Cup
. The Russians showed their continuing emergence with their highest ever finish in second, pushing Georgia all the way. The Czech Republic were the team to finish on the bottom of the pile with a whitewash of defeats, relegating them back to Division 2A.
A new format change was decided at the beginning of 2009. Each calendar year has its own champion, but the cumulated ranking over two years decides the team to relegate. The 2009-10 edition was also basis for European Qualification to the 2011 Rugby World Cup
. The 2009 season saw the début of Germany in the top division, Georgia defending their title, as well as some surprising results, like the wins of Portugal and Russia in Bucharest.
Faced with the possibility to miss for the first time ever a Rugby World Cup
, Romania worked hard and were rewarded with the 2010 title. This feat was however not enough to overtake Georgia and Russia, who, helped by their good results from the previous year, gained the automatic qualification, leaving Romania to go through the Play-Off Qualification Rounds. Germany was relegated after failing to win any games.
Georgia won comfortably the 2011 edition, after beating Romania 18-11 in Tbilisi. The promoted team, Ukraine, failed to impress, losing again all matches.
In Division 1, groups have 6 teams (meaning more matches and thus more travel), a significant fraction of the players are assumed to be professional or semi-professional (meaning that fixtures are, as often as possible, scheduled within the IRB's international fixtures time windows when clubs must release players for national duty), and only one team is promoted and one relegated every two years (meaning that the competitions are more stable).
In Division 2, groups have only 5 teams each (usually meaning one home match and one away match in the fall, and the same in the spring, for each team), it is assumed that the majority of players are amateurs (meaning scheduling is not as limited), and in addition to the traditional automatic first-promoted-last-relegated system, fourth place from the higher pool will play second place from the lower pool after every two-year competition, with the winner taking the position in the higher pool. From a five-team group, one team is promoted, one team is relegated and two teams play in playoffs. Thus, a maximum of four of a pool's five teams could change from one two-year competition to the next.
In division 3, a single-location, short-time-period (one week or 10 days) tournament is organised once per year. This minimises travel costs for teams and time-off-work requirements for players, and allows the flexibility of having a different membership every year, rather than requiring the membership to be constant over two years. The best performing team over two years of tournaments is promoted to Division 2.
In the year of transition to the new system (2010), there were no relegations from any division below the highest, because the second-highest (old 2A, new 1B) was expanded by one team.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
nations. The Championship is split into 7 divisions with 5 or 6 teams in each. The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away. From 2009 onward, the title is assigned according to an one-year ranking. So Georgia won the 2009 title and Romania the title for 2010. The same for the 2011-2012 period.
At present, there is no promotion or relegation between the European Nations Cup and the Six Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
. The current champions are Georgia, who won the 2011 First Division.
History
After the setup of the divisional system in 2000European Nations Cup First Division 2000
The 2000 European Nations Cup was the newly formed European Championship for second tier nations. The main reformation of the competition was down to the induction of professionalism & Italy being granted a place in the Six Nations....
, Romania won the first competition with maximum of points, with the initial season also including Morocco.
Russia then replaced Morocco in 2001 when Georgia secured the title after a consistent performance, crowned after a decisive 31-20 win over Romania in Bucharest. As the competition format changed from a one-year tournament to two-years, the Netherlands were not relegated after this season.
Romania started 2002 trailing Georgia after the 2001 results, but managed to win all of the remaining five games, including a hard-fought 31-23 victory in Tbilisi.
Portugal were surprise 16-15 winners over Romania in Lisbon and installed themselves at the top of the 2003-04 table. In the second half of the competition, Romania seemed back on track (36-6 against Portugal in Constanţa
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
), but went down 24-33 to Russia in Krasnodar. Then Portugal clinched their first title with a last-minute 19-18 home win over Russia. The Russia - Czech Republic game was rescheduled due to bad weather and was eventually cancelled.
The 2005-06 championships also served as a qualifying pool
2007 Rugby World Cup - European qualification
2007 Rugby World Cup - European qualification was based around the European Nations Cup, and decided which European teams participated in the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. The group stages counted towards both qualification and the European Nations Cup...
for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
. Romania triumphed even though they finished level on points with Georgia, while Ukraine was relegated after losing all matches.
The 2007-08 edition saw the return of the Spanish to the top Division. The winners were Georgia, building on their impressive display at the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
. The Russians showed their continuing emergence with their highest ever finish in second, pushing Georgia all the way. The Czech Republic were the team to finish on the bottom of the pile with a whitewash of defeats, relegating them back to Division 2A.
A new format change was decided at the beginning of 2009. Each calendar year has its own champion, but the cumulated ranking over two years decides the team to relegate. The 2009-10 edition was also basis for European Qualification to the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
. The 2009 season saw the début of Germany in the top division, Georgia defending their title, as well as some surprising results, like the wins of Portugal and Russia in Bucharest.
Faced with the possibility to miss for the first time ever a Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
, Romania worked hard and were rewarded with the 2010 title. This feat was however not enough to overtake Georgia and Russia, who, helped by their good results from the previous year, gained the automatic qualification, leaving Romania to go through the Play-Off Qualification Rounds. Germany was relegated after failing to win any games.
Georgia won comfortably the 2011 edition, after beating Romania 18-11 in Tbilisi. The promoted team, Ukraine, failed to impress, losing again all matches.
2010 - New Format
For the 2010-2012 competition (and promotion/relegation between groups going forward to successive competitions), the top two divisions (previously 1 and 2A) were redefined as 1A and 1B, both having 6 teams (previously 6 and 5). The next four levels (previously 2B, 3A, 3B and 3C) become 2A-2D, under the new system, with the remnants of Division 3D making up the initial group of teams labelled as Division 3. In principle, each division is to encompass a different type of competition.In Division 1, groups have 6 teams (meaning more matches and thus more travel), a significant fraction of the players are assumed to be professional or semi-professional (meaning that fixtures are, as often as possible, scheduled within the IRB's international fixtures time windows when clubs must release players for national duty), and only one team is promoted and one relegated every two years (meaning that the competitions are more stable).
In Division 2, groups have only 5 teams each (usually meaning one home match and one away match in the fall, and the same in the spring, for each team), it is assumed that the majority of players are amateurs (meaning scheduling is not as limited), and in addition to the traditional automatic first-promoted-last-relegated system, fourth place from the higher pool will play second place from the lower pool after every two-year competition, with the winner taking the position in the higher pool. From a five-team group, one team is promoted, one team is relegated and two teams play in playoffs. Thus, a maximum of four of a pool's five teams could change from one two-year competition to the next.
In division 3, a single-location, short-time-period (one week or 10 days) tournament is organised once per year. This minimises travel costs for teams and time-off-work requirements for players, and allows the flexibility of having a different membership every year, rather than requiring the membership to be constant over two years. The best performing team over two years of tournaments is promoted to Division 2.
In the year of transition to the new system (2010), there were no relegations from any division below the highest, because the second-highest (old 2A, new 1B) was expanded by one team.
Current divisions (2010-2012)
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The thirties: the first four tournaments
| Year | Host city | Winner | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 1935 FIRA Tournament The 1935 FIRA Tournament is organized by the international Federation of amateur rugby. He takes place in Rome on April 22nd, 1935. The only meeting to the program is not registered in the annals of the French rugby and no cape is counted for the players... |
Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... |
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| 1936 | Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... |
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| 1937 1937 FIRA Tournament The 1937 FIRA Tournament was the third Rugby Union European championship, organized by the recently formed FIRA . It was played in Paris during the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne.- Preliminary Round :... |
Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
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| 1938 1938 FIRA Tournament - Table :- Bibliography : Francesco Volpe, Valerio Vecchiarelli , 2000 Italia in Meta, Storia della nazionale italiana di rugby dagli albori al Sei Nazioni, GS Editore ISBN 88-87374-40-6 Francesco Volpe, Paolo Pacitti , Rugby 2000, GTE Gruppo Editorale .-External links:*... |
Bucharest Bucharest Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River.... |
The fifties: the European Cup
| Year | Winner | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 1952 Rugby Union European Cup The Europe Cup 1952 was the fourth Rugby Union European championship, organized by FIRA.After the Second World War rugby acticity restarted in Europe with the Five Nations restarting in 1947. The FIRA approved to reorganized the European Championship, after three tournaments in 1936-38... |
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| 1954 1954 Rugby Union European Cup The Europe Cup 1954 was the fifth Rugby Union European championship, organised by FIRA and the second with this name.With the excpetion of a preliminary, all the matches were played in Italy. As in the 1952 edition, France won the title after a victory over Italy in the final.This was the last... |
The Nations Cup 1966-1973
| Year | Winner | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965/1966 1965–1966 FIRA Nations Cup - Semifinals :--------- Final :- Bibliography : Francesco Volpe, Valerio Vecchiarelli , 2000 Italia in Meta, Storia della nazionale italiana di rugby dagli albori al Sei Nazioni, GS Editore ISBN 88-87374-40-6 Francesco Volpe, Paolo Pacitti , Rugby 2000, GTE Gruppo Editorale .-External links:*... |
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| 1966/1967 1966–1967 FIRA Nations Cup The Nations Cup 1966-67 was the seventh edition of an european rugby union championship for national teams, and second with the formula and the name of "Nations Cup".The Tournament, was won by France- First division :*Table... |
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| 1967/1968 1967–1968 FIRA Nations Cup The Nations Cup 1967-68 was the eight edition of an european rugby union championship for national teams, and third with the formula and the name of "nations Cup".The tournament, was won by France- First division :*Table... |
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| 1968/1969 1968–1969 FIRA Nations Cup The Nations Cup 1968-69 was the ninth edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams, and fourth with the formula and the name of "Nations Cup".The tournament, was won for the first time by Romania- First division :*Table... |
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| 1969/1970 1969–1970 FIRA Nations Cup The Nations Cup 1969-70 was the tenth edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams, and fifth with the formula and the name of "Nations Cup".The tournament was won by France.- First division :*Tbale... |
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| 1970/1971 1970–1971 FIRA Nations Cup The Nations Cup 1970-71 was the 11th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams, and sixth with the formula and the name of "Nations Cup".The tournament was won by France- First division :* Table... |
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| 1971/1972 1971–1972 FIRA Nations Cup The Nations Cup 1971-72 was the 12th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams, and seventh with the formula and the name of "Nations Cup".The tournament was won by France- First division :* Table... |
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| 1972/1973 1972–1973 FIRA Nations Cup The Nations Cup 1972-73 was the 13th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams, and eight with the formula and the name of "Nations Cup".The tournament was won by France- First division :*Table*Results... |
The FIRA Trophy 1974-1997
| Year | Winner | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973/1974 1973–1974 FIRA Trophy The 1973-1974 FIRA Trophy was the 14th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams, and first with the formula and the name of "FIRA Trophy".The tournament was won by France.- First division :*Table... |
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| 1974/1975 1974–1975 FIRA Trophy The 1974-1975 FIRA Trophy was the 15th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams, and second the formula and the name of "FIRA Trophy".The tournament was won by Romania, that defeated France in the opening match.- First division :... |
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| 1975/1976 1975–1976 FIRA Trophy The 1975–1976 FIRA Trophy was the 16th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by France- First division :*Table* Netherlands relegated to division 2 *Results... |
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| 1976/1977 | |||
| 1977/1978 1977–1978 FIRA Trophy The 1977-1978 FIRA Trophy was the 18th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by France- First Division :*Table relegated to division... |
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| 1978/1979 1978–1979 FIRA Trophy The 1977-1978 FIRA Trophy was the 19th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by France- First division :*TableSpain relegated to division 2*Results------------------------... |
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| 1979/1980 1979–1980 FIRA Trophy The 1979–1980 FIRA Trophy was the 20th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by France- First division :*TableMorocco relegated to division 2*Results------------------------... |
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| 1980/1981 1980–1981 FIRA Trophy The 1980-81 FIRA Trophy was the 21st edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by Romania- First division :*TableSpain and Poland relegated to division 2*Results----------------... |
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| 1981/1982 1981–1982 FIRA Trophy The 1981-82 FIRA Trophy was the 22nd edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by France- First division :The first division was reducetd teams instead of six.*Table... |
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| 1982/1983 1982–1983 FIRA Trophy The 1982-83 FIRA Trophy was the 23rd edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by Romania- First division :The first division return to six teams participating*TableGermany relegated to second... |
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| 1983/1984 1983–1984 FIRA Trophy The 1983-84 FIRA Trophy was the 24th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by France- First division :*Marocco and Polonia relegated to division 2------------------------------------... |
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| 1984/1985 1984–1985 FIRA Trophy The 1984-85 FIRA Trophy was the 25th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams.The tournament was won by France- First division :Barrage per relegation :----------------------------* Spain relegated to division... |
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| 1985/1987 1985–1987 FIRA Trophy The 1985-87 FIRA Trophy was the 26th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams. It was played along two seasons The tournament was won by France- First division :... |
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| 1987/1989 1987–1989 FIRA Trophy The 1987-89 FIRA Trophy was the 27th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams. It was played along two seasons The tournament was won by France- First division :* Spain relegated to second division----... |
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| 1989/1990 1989–1990 FIRA Trophy The 1989-90 FIRA Trophy was the 28th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams. The format return to a "one-year tornament".The tournament was won by France, Romania and Soviet Union with the same points.- First division :... |
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| 1990/1992 1990–1992 FIRA Trophy The 1990-92 FIRA Trophy was the 229th edition of a European rugby union championship for national teams. The format return to a "two-year tornament".The tournament was won by France. Italy, growing their competitivity, was second.- First division :... |
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| 1992/1994 1992–1994 FIRA Trophy The 1992-94 "FIRA Trophy" was arranged with a new format.Ten teams were admitted to first division and divided in 2 pool to play a "Preliminary Tournament", that qualified five team to play for Title in 1992-1993 season- Preliminary Tournament :... |
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| 1995/1997 1995–1997 FIRA Trophy The 1994-97 "FIRA Trophy" was arranged again with a new format.Due the work to prepare the 1995 Rugby World Cup, France, Italy an Romania weren't able to participate in 1994-95 season to any competition, so for that season was organized a "Preliminary Tournament", with other ten team.The better... |
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European Nations Cup (2000 - Present)
| Year | First Division | Lower Division Champions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Second | Third | Relegated | Division 2 | Division 3 | |||
| 2000 | ||||||||
| 2001 2001 European Nations Cup First Division The 2001 European Nations Cup was the second annual competition for tier 2 & 3 European Rugby Union nations. The competition was originally planned to continue on an annual basis like the Six Nations but at the end of the season it was decided to change to a two year cycle allowing home & away... |
Not played | |||||||
| 2001–2002 | ||||||||
| 2003–2004 | ||||||||
| 2004–2006 | ||||||||
| 2006–2008 | ||||||||
| 2008–2009 | ||||||||
| 2009-2010 | ||||||||
| 2010–2011 2010-2012 European Nations Cup First Division The 2010–2012 European Nations Cup First Division is the premier rugby union competition below the Six Nations Championship in Europe.The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away. From 2009 onward, the title is assigned according to an one-year ranking... |
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| 2011–2012 2010-2012 European Nations Cup First Division The 2010–2012 European Nations Cup First Division is the premier rugby union competition below the Six Nations Championship in Europe.The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away. From 2009 onward, the title is assigned according to an one-year ranking... |
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Results by nation (after 2000)
| Team | First place | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 1 | |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | |
See also
- Antim CupAntim CupThe Antim Cup is contested between the rugby union teams of Romania and Georgia . It is named after the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Anthim the Iberian, who came from Georgia....
- FIRA - Association of European RugbyFIRA - Association of European RugbyThe FIRA - Association Européenne de Rugby is the administrative body for rugby union in Europe. It was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organise and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of the International Rugby Board .The predecessor to FIRA–AER was the Fédération...
- Six Nations ChampionshipSix Nations ChampionshipThe Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....