European Nations Cup
The European Nations Cup 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.
This weekend sees the resumption of the 2009-2010 European Nations Cup. As well as the glory of winning the cup, the winning team and second place team in this year’s ENC will qualify automatically for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
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 2006/2008 First Division title.
History
After the setup of the divisional system in 2000, Romania won the first competition 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 the 2001 season. Romania started 2002 trailing Georgia after the 2001 results.
Portugal were surprise 16-15 winners over Romania in Lisbon and installed themselves at the top of the 2003 table. In the second half of the competition, Romania seemed back on track (36-6 against Portugal in Constant), but went down 24-33 to Russia in Krasnodar. Then Portugal clinched their first title with a last-minute 19-18 win over Russia in Lisbon. The Russia - Czech Republic game was rescheduled due to bad weather and was eventually canceled. The 2004-06 championships was also serving as a qualifying pool for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Romania triumphed despite finishing level on points with Georgia, while Ukraine were relegated after losing all matches.
Current divisions (2008-2010)
Division 1
Georgia, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain.
Division 2A
Belgium, Czech Republic, Moldova, Poland, Ukraine.
Division 2B
Croatia, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Sweden.
Division 3A
Andorra, Armenia, Lithuania, Serbia, Switzerland.
Division 3B
Austria, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Slovenia.
Division 3C
Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Israel, Luxembourg.
Division 3D
Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Monaco, Slovakia.
Results by nation (after 2000)
Team First place Second place Third place
Georgia 3 3 1
Romania 3 2 2
Portugal 1 0 1
Russia 0 2 2
Spain 0 0 4
Morocco 0 0 1
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