What can we all expect from the competition in rugby 7
Before we start writing, we must point out that the Serbian Cup for U18 juniors is played in the rugby 7 format, so technically the rugby 7 season started with the U18s. However, juniors play rugby sevens because there are not enough players to compete in any other format. If, say, they were playing rugby 15s, their rugby 7s season would also start at the end of the competition.
Three tournaments of the Serbian Rugby Championship are planned for this year. If you want to know more about the tournament schedule, you can find out more on our page. Applications for the competition itself should be completed before the first tournament, when it should be known who will be the host.
In contrast to previous years, there are even two representative duties waiting for us in connection with the national selections in rugby 7. The first to take the stage are the seniors, who will compete in the Conference 1 tournament, which will be held in Belgrade from 09th to 11th of june, at King Peter I venue at Banjica, Belgrade. The tournament is held in both men’s and women’s competition, as we only have a men’s team, we will not follow the women’s part of the competition.
Another activity awaits us at the U18 Trophy tournament that will take place 21st 22. to 23. јула у Пољском граду Запки. After several seasons, we finally have a team in the junior competition, which is a fantastic thing for the youth team, because it will be fierce competition to get into that team, considering that many teams have U18 juniors.
Conference 1 in Belgrade
And this season we will have the opportunity to watch international rugby 7 in Belgrade. An ideal opportunity to follow all the matches live and to spend three days with good rugby. Conference 1 in Belgrade is played in men’s and women’s competition. The women’s tournament will be played on 9th and on June 10th, while men’s will be on the program 10. on 10th and 11th of june. Saturday will be quite busy with appointments, as both men and women will be playing.
A total of 18 teams from 16 countries will participate. That is, a total of about 220 competitors will take part. A very impressive number, but it will not be too much of a problem for the organizer, namely the Rugby Union of Serbia, which last year organized a much bigger tournament with several national teams.
In the men’s competition, in addition to the hosts Serbia, Turkey, Finland, Andorra, Malta, Monaco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria and Norway took part. We will broadcast the men’s part of the competition through our page that follows Conference 1.
Teams from Luxembourg, Andorra, Malta, Switzerland, Lithuania, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovakia and Estonia took part in the women’s competition.
Last year, the two first-placed teams secured placement in a higher rank, for this year we have no information, but we assume that the winners of the Conference will win placement in a higher rank of the competition, and we will wait to see what happens with the second-placed ones.
System of competition in Conference 1
There is still no official confirmation, but it is quite certain that the tried-and-tested recipe will be used in the competition where we have 9 teams. If there is any change or update to the competition system, we will definitely make the necessary corrections. Our main goal is that everyone who comes to the tournament to watch it, knows what they are watching and is informed about it. We will have the same system in both men’s and women’s competition.
Nine teams are divided into three groups. After the first round, three new groups will be formed. After four matches have been played, the three teams with the best score should play in a group where they will fight from first to third place. The next three teams by score should form a group where they will fight from fourth to sixth place. And in the end, those teams with the lowest score will fight from seventh to ninth place. There won’t be a final game, which is a bit of a bummer in tournaments, but there will be three very strong games that will determine the winner.
In the first part, Serbia meets the teams of Turkey and Finland. We’ll see who we cross paths with.
Can Serbia get a good result?
We are of the opinion that we really can. We have had several generations of youngsters who have come of age in the junior drive through rugby 7s competitions. We have players who are playing at a high level for the week. We have players abroad who play at the highest level. It all depends on opportunities and good planning. If we put together a complete selection and with a quality training camp, we can easily achieve an excellent result and place ourselves in the higher ranks of the competition.
In the past tournaments, we didn’t make too much of a name for ourselves. What’s more, we’ve been waiting for a good weekly result since 2015 when we reached the finals of the qualification tournament in Zagreb to go to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, when the Irish stopped us. We have been waiting for 8 years.
What does the rugby 7 competition look like by level, and where is Serbia?
We’re not sure if anyone has clarified this recently, so we’ll give it a shot. There is a very interesting way to get to the very top. And if you have a good team, you can reach the highest level of competition in just a few years.
First of all, we must specifically mention that Rugby 7s is a different game from traditional Rugby 15s. The game is played according to other principles. And at the top level, you won’t be able to see rugby 15 stars performing in rugby 7 competitions, that is, you will very rarely see those examples. The reason is obvious, in rugby 7 you have much more space, the game is predestined for speed, the rhythm is more intense. The athletic abilities of the players come to the fore much more. After all, the game lasts much shorter, i.e. 14 minutes.
We must also mention that there is a problem in the qualification year for the Olympic Games, because Wales, England and Scotland form the Great Britain team. And that is this year. When we mention the whole system, we will start from the lowest and we will go to the highest. Also, there are selections that take a break from rugby sevens competitions over the years. We will only post for the men’s competition as we do not have a team competing in the women’s competition.
The lowest level of competition in Europe is Conference 2, where six teams compete. This year the tournament will be held in Montenegro, namely in Bar. The participating teams are, in addition to the hosts Montenegro, San Marino, the so-called republic of kosovo, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia.
The rank above is Conference 1 where we compete. As we have already said, the tournament will be played in Belgrade from 9th to 11th of june. In addition to the hosts Serbia, Turkey, Finland, Andorra, Malta, Monaco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria and Norway are also competing.
The rank above Conference 1 is the Trophy Group. There are 12 teams in the Trophy group and a series of 2 tournaments is played. The trophy group includes: Poland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ukraine, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Moldova, Sweden, Croatia, Bulgaria and Switzerland.
The rank above the Trophy Group is the Championship Group. A two-tournament series is also being played. Participating teams are: Spain, Portugal, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Georgia, Romania, France, Belgium, Ireland and Great Britain.
This is how the Rugby 7s competition in Europe looks like for the 2023 season by competition level.
U18 Trophy 2023
As far as memory serves, juniors last participated in European competitions with the 2000/2001 generation. Since then, we have not participated in any competition format in the U18 junior competition. So, until the 2005/2006 generation, they did not have the opportunity to gain international experience in the official competitions of the European Rugby Federation. There were unofficial matches that brought a lot, but still an official performance is an official performance.
In the last few years we have had quite a boom in terms of working with youth, and it is definitely giving good results both in juniors and in players who are slowly maturing in senior rugby. Now the situation is that there will be a big fight for the 12 places leading to the European Championship, which was not the case in previous years when it was always a tight situation. The one who follows the competition of younger categories knows exactly what the state of the game is and what can be expected.
How far can Serbia be in the death group?
You can see the composition of the groups on our page that follows the Trophy 2023. We will note that Serbia is in a group with Romania, Latvia, Austria and Moldova. The group is extremely strong, especially since there is the European rugby powerhouse Romania, about whom no words need to be wasted. And which is the absolute favorite, without further ado. The other four selections will fight hard for the best placement. Latvia invests a lot in youth development and has always had a strong team. Moldova is always strong in the younger categories, while Austria is in a big surge.
Serbia must first of all prepare well. The best possible playing and coaching staff must be selected, in order to make the most of the opportunity for a good result. We have enough time to get ready and prepare properly. We are of the opinion that we have the quality to make a good result in the tournament and to be definitely in the upper part of the ranking.
In the 2005 and 2006 generation, several clubs will have the opportunity to propose candidates for the national team. Here we mean RK Borac Starčevo, RK Kruševac, BRK Crvena Zvezda, RK Dorćol 1998, RK Dinamo 1954 and RK Rad. It will be extremely interesting to see how the Serbian team will look at the competition and what result we will achieve.
Competition by levels for U18 juniors
Unlike senior rugby, many teams do not have an U18 junior selection. Some countries almost do not work with young people at all, or work at a very low level, so they do not force participation in European competitions. This is definitely one of the problems of European rugby because countries where rugby is not popular are left to their own devices. Little attention is paid to development, especially when we consider the more than modest budgets of many countries. Also England, Wales and Scotland do not take part in the U18 Men’s competition.
We will start from the lowest group, that is, from the Trophy group where we are. A total of 14 national teams are participating: Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Latvia, Moldova, Austria, Serbia, Luxembourg, Andorra, Sweden, Monaco. Given that there is only one group above us, the two first-placed teams will take part in the next season’s strongest group.
The group above us, which is the highest ranking of the competition, has 12 teams: France, Lithuania, Belgium, Turkey, Ireland, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and Israel. The tournament is played in Prague 15th and 16th 16. of july.
A total of 26 junior selections in rugby 7 compete in Europe in two qualitative groups.
