RUGBY EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP: Division 2C

14.11.2015
Slovenia v Denmark in Ljubliana (REC 2C)
Luxembourg v Serbia in Luxembourg (REC 2C)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
LUXEMBOURG	5	5	0	0	115	35	80	2	22
SLOVENIA	5	4	0	1	127	70	65	3	19
AUSTRIA	6	2	0	4	98	143	-45	3	11
SERBIA	5	3	0	3	67	142	-75	0	8
DENMARK	5	0	0	5	89	114	-25	5	5

Preview
Slovenia shouldn’t have too many problems winning against Denmark at home. They won away the first leg match 16-10 and were very strong against Serbia last weekend. A win is essential if they are to close in on Luxembourg at the top of the table.

Serbia showed spirit against Slovenia last weekend and nearly scored a fourth try towards the end of the match. Their task against Luxembourg away will be very difficult as the North European team is riding a high and is at home.

Predictions
Slovenia by 22 v Denmark: Score 31-9
Luxembourg by 20 v Serbia. Score 32-12

TEAMS

Slovenia Squad

- Tit Hočevar (Germany - RGH Heidelberg)
- Sebastjan Rman (RAK Olimpija)
-Jernej Šercer (RK Ljubljana)
- Žiga Vrhunec (Scotland - GHA Rugby Club)
- Mirt Suljič (RK Ljubljana)
- Max Skofič (England - Waterloo)
- Lewis Popadec(England - Winscombe RFC)
- Peter Kavčič (RK Ljubljana)
- Jaka Sajevic (RK Ljubljana)
- Žiga Burnik (RK Ljubljana)
- Grega Miljuš (RK Ljubljana)
- Jack Skofič (England - Tarleton RUFC)
- Anže Troppan (RK Ljubljana)
- Rok Zaletel (RK Ljubljana)
- Andrej Šubic (RK Ljubljana)
- Blaž Pilko (RK Ljubljana)
- Domen Dobnikar (RK Ljubljana)
- Guillaume Trôu-poh Delmas (France - USO Massif Central Paris)
- Blaž Habjanič (RK Ljubljana)
- Gal Okič (RK Ljubljana)
- Matic Martinjak (RK Maribor)
- Marko Udovč (RK Ljubljana)
- Luka Medved (RK Maribor)
- Dali Suljič ( New Zealand - Marist Saints RLC )
- Frankie Skofic (England - Leeds met university)
- Goran Jelinčič (England - Beverley RUFC )

Thanks to ‘mili368’ at http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=740

Denmark Squad

Rasmus Dufke, Hamlet (Captain)
Jeppe Maagaard Holm, Speed
Emil Bentzen, Speed
Johannes Mackeprang, Speed
Richard Groom, FRK
Tomas Mayne, FRK
Gerard Hounou, Speed
Ruben Garcia Pedersen, Speed
Simon Magaard Holm, Speed
Malte Madsen, Speed
Sebastian Vernon, CSR/Nanok
Yuriy Byelskyy, CSR/Nanok
Jonathan Egholm Nexmand, Cowbridge/Hundested
Emil Enna, Speed
Birk Mygind Grønfeldt, FRK
Michael Friis Larsen, Aalborg
Chrsitian Ørskov Olsen, Aalborg
Niels Gotfredsen, ARK
Mikkel S. Jensen, ARK
Andreas Robertson, Esher RFC
Joshua Jensen, Swindon
Christian Melgaard, Oslo
Gaspard Nau Valbak, VGA Saint Maur

http://www.rugby.dk/nyheder/landshold/9 ... -slovenien

Serbia Squad

1. Vladimir Đukić, 1988, Rad, 24 caps
2. Istok Totić, 1995, Ardrossan Academicals - Scotland, 5
3. Vlastimir Sretenovic, 1991, Crvena zvezda, 14
4. Mirko Rankovic, 1994, Rad, 2
5. Vlado Radeka, 1995, Rad, 6
6. Aleksandar Mađanovic, 1993, Crvena zvezda, 7
7. Predrag Keglic, 1996, Crvena zvezda, 2
8. Boris Martic (c), 1987, Crvena zvezda, 28
9. Julien Matijasevic, 1994, Stade Langonnais - France, 1
10. Andrija Jankovic, 1985, Crvena zvezda, 10
11. Aleksandar Nedeljkovic, 1994, Crvena zvezda, 6
12. Luka Kecman, 1994, Partizan, 3
13. Miladin Živanov, 1988, Rad, 24
14. Vitor LJubičić, 1991, 9
15. Igor Dejanović, 1988, Partizan, 16
16. Predrag Vraneš, 1986, Rad, 14
17. Aleksandar LJubičić, 1995, Partizan, 1
18. Đorđe Preradojević, 1995, Partizan, 3
19. Aleksa Sosic, 1996, Krusevac, -
20. Novica Miovcic, 1988, Crvena zvezda, -
21. Miloš LJubičić, 1996, Partizan, 1
22. Uros Babic, 1990, Rad, 14
23. Marko Isailovic, 1996, Rad, 1
24. Petar Bucan, 1990, Crvena zvezda, -
25. Uros Martinovic, 1995, Rad, 1
Coach: Michel Milovic
Starting line up average age is 23 years 8 months! Probably the youngest team in history of Serbian rugby.
Twelve od 23 players are younger than 21 !!

Thanks to ‘Luka37’ at http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=739

Luxembourg Squad

Saman Rezapour (captain)
Benjamin Blanchet
Phillip Barnard
Yannick Boone
Adam Marcus
John Fitzpatrick
Flavien Grimmer
Christian Olsen
Sean Carroll
Jean-Baptiste Vert
Romain Kimmel
François Simon
Thomas Kremmer
Will Dennis
Scott Browne
Max Dozin
James Clarke
Yared Ketema
Tertius Barnard
Christopher Rossa
Philippe Vimond
Adrien Timmermans
Ciaran Keane

RUGBY EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP: 2C & 2D

24.10.2015
Luxembourg 34, Austria 6 in Vienna (REC 2C)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
LUXEMBOURG	5	5	0	0	115	35	80	2	22
SLOVENIA	4	3	0	1	92	53	49	2	14
AUSTRIA	6	2	0	4	98	143	-45	3	11
SERBIA	4	3	0	2	50	109	-59	0	8
DENMARK	5	0	0	5	89	114	-25	5	5

Review
Luxembourg were too strong for the home side. They led 13-6 at halftime.

"Bonus point secured with a try on the last play of the game. Very proud of all the players and staff. "Jonathan Flynn

‘Tries from Browne, Vert, Rossa and Olsen with 14 points from the boot of Browne’. http://www.rugby.lu/fr/actualites/luxembourg-wins-vs-austria

Bulgaria 34, Finland 15 in Sofia (REC 2D)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	TL
BOSNIA H.	6	6	0	0	174	81	93	2	26
NORWAY	5	3	0	2	99	75	24	2	14
BULGARIA	6	2	0	4	113	180	-67	4	12
FINLAND	6	2	0	4	92	117	-25	2	10
TURKEY	5	1	0	4	105	130	-25	3	7

Review
4 tries and a bonus point to Bulgaria. Finland and Turkey look like they will battle for relegation when they meet in April 2016.

AUSTRIA v LUXEMBOURG: REC 2C

24.10.2015

Venue: Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna

Referee: Alexei Bryzgalin (Russia)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
LUXEMBOURG	4	4	0	0	81	29	52	1	17
SLOVENIA	4	3	0	1	92	53	49	2	14
AUSTRIA	5	2	0	3	92	109	-17	3	11
SERBIA	4	3	0	2	50	109	-59	0	8
DENMARK	5	0	0	5	89	114	-25	5	5

Preview
Luxembourg is the undefeated side in this division. They defeated Austria 18-13 back in November 2014.

‘Perhaps the last match at this venue because the owner is a third division Football team with possibilities to climb next year to the second league and with that on mind the want to have a more cared pitch.
After a great result in Denmark 10 days ago, Austria is looking to keep that 3rd spot on the table and specially to win at home against the Nº1 Union in the pool.’

From ‘JTV84’ at http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=701

GWC Rugby Rankings
Europe Table: Luxembourg 28th, Austria 31st

World Rugby Ranking Points
Luxembourg 40.25, Austria 36.37

Prediction: Austria by 8 points. Score 28-20

TEAMS

Luxembourg

1 Benjamin Blanchett
2 Saman Rezapour
3 Yannick Boone
4 Adam Marcus
5 Phil Barnard
6 Christian Ohlsen
7 John Fitzpatrick
8 Jean-Baptiste Vert
9 Sean Carroll
10 Thomas Kremmer
11 Chris Lowe
12 François Simon
13 Vincent Giffard
14 Adrien Timmermans
15 Max Dozin
16 Yared Katema
17 Will Dennis
18 Philippe Vimond
19 James Clarke
20 Tertius Barnard
21 Christopher Rossa
22 Ciaran Keane
23 Scott Brown

Head Coach: Jon Flynn

http://www.wort.lu/en/sport/rugby-luxembourg-to-take-on-austria-in-vienna-562731740da165c55dc4ba47

Austria

1.    Mihajlovic    Bogdan
2.    Hruschka    Paul
3.    Müller    Maximilian (Capt.)
4.    Pauser    Stephan
5.    Ehrentraut    Stefan
6.    Dachler    Johannes
7.    Oberhauser    Michael
8.    Psota    Stefan
9.    Lewis    Jan
10.    Aslanyan    Musheg
11.    Hruschka    Popkin
12.    Chiu    Gordon
13.    Kerschbaumer    Michael
14.    Sabo    Milan
15.    Navas    Maximilian
16.    El Agrebi    Omar
17.    Westerlund    Philip
18.    Kinsky    Dominic
19.    Olivanti     Frederik
20.    Schneider    Robert
21.    Schritliser    Manuel
22.    Dejean De la Batie    Jeremie
23.    Treuer    Daniel

Head Coach: Peter Smutna

http://www.rugby-austria.at/nationalteam/news-nationalteam/detail/rugby-enc-keine-lux-leaks-mit-oesterreich/

DENMARK v LUXEMBOURG: Rugby Europe Champ. 2C

09.05.2015

Venue: Josy Barthel Stadium, Luxembourg

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
SLOVENIA	4	3	0	1	92	53	49	2	14
LUXEMBOURG	3	3	0	0	68	24	44	1	13
SERBIA	4	3	0	2	50	109	-59	0	8
AUSTRIA	4	1	0	3	61	84	-23	2	6
DENMARK	3	0	0	3	59	70	-11	3	3

Preview
Newly promoted from RED 2D at the end of the 2012-14 competition Luxembourg has hit the road running in their new level of test rugby. They remain undefeated after three games and have bottom dweller Denmark standing between them and a clean sweep.

Luxembourg’s long term head coach Marty Davis says farewell to the senior coaching roll at the end of this game.

Denmark on the other were relegated from ENC 2B following the 2012-14 competition. The irony is that they hold up the bottom of the table. Surely this must be one of Denmark’s low points in international test rugby.

Previous Encounter
13.11.2004 Denmark 6-5 in Cessange (WCQ Europe R2, Pool B)

Denmark Last Five P 5, W 1, L 4
25.04.2015 v Serbia L 22-25 in Odense (REC 2C)
25.10.2014 v Slovenia L 10-16 in Odense (REC 2C)
11.10.2014 v Austria L 27-29 in Vienna (REC 2C)
03.05.2014 v Latvia L 9-16 in Odense (ENC 2B)
12.04.2014 v Serbia W 33-19 in Belgrade (ENC 2B)

Luxembourg Last Five P 5, W 5
18.04.2015 v Slovenia W 14-11 in Ljubliana (REC 2C)
08.11.2014 v Austria W 18-13 in Luxembourg (REC 2C)
25.10.2014 v Serbia W 36-0 in Belgrade (REC 2C)
10.05.2014 v Finland W 27-7 in Luxembourg (ENC 2D)
26.04.2014 v Greece W 52-8 in Thessalonika (ENC 2D)

Luxembourg has now won five tests in a row. This is their record for the most consecutive wins.

GWC Rugby Rankings
Europe Table: Luxembourg 28th, Denmark 32nd

World Rugby Ranking Points
Luxembourg 39.94, Denmark 36.04

Prediction: Luxembourg by 12 points. Score 32-20

TEAMS

Luxembourg Squad

1.Benji Blanchet
2.Zelito Neves dos Santos
3.Saman Rezapour
4.Christian Olsen
5.Vinnie Giffard
6.Chris Lowe
7.Jean-Baptiste Vert
8.Francois Simon
9. Stuart Logier
10.Gareth Geoffreys
11.Kevin Kombia
12.Scott Browne
13.Yared Ketema
14. Philippe Vimond
15. Adrien Timmermans
16. Yannick Boone
17.Adam Marcus
18. Thomas Kremer
19. Julien da Col
20.Tim Seite
21.Will Dennis
22. Tertius Barnard
23. Christopher Rossa

http://www.wort.lu/en/sport/european-nations-rugby-championship-luxembourg-s-red-lions-take-on-denmark-554c64aa0c88b46a8ce58d8b

Denmark

1 Michael Friis Larsen (16 test caps)
2 Rasmus Dufke, kaptajn (16)
3 Niels Gotfredsen (26)
4 Jeppe M. Holm (3)
5 Michael Husum Mortensen (3)
6 Yuiry Byelskyy (2)
7 Nicklas V. Tell (9)
8 Johannes Mackeprang (13)
9 Victor Hounou (2)
10 Mark Franklin Nielsen (debut)
11 Christian Melgaard (12)
12 Simon M Holm (debut)
13 Tomas Mayne (5)
14 Gerard Hounou (6)
15 Josh Jensen (15)

Replacements
16 Lasse RH Larsen (-)debut?
17 Ruben Garcia Pedersen (4)
18 Malte Madsen (2)
19 Jonas Haaning (41)
20 Christian Ø Olsen (2)
21 James Rosenfeldt (6)
22 Mads Jensen (2)
23 Joakim Calmar Nielsen (1)

Head Coach: Mikael Lai Rasmussen
http://www.rugby.dk/nyheder/landshold/9 ... -v-danmark

RUGBY EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP: Division 2C

18.04.2015
Serbia 22, Austria 3 in Belgrade (REC 2C)
Luxembourg 14, Slovenia 11 in Ljubliana (REC 2C)

Briefly
Huge upset win by Serbia. They had lost their last 8 games or so and were thumped in their two games before Christmas. Austria had been playing well.

I expected Luxembourg to win a close encounter with Slovenia and that turned out to be the case.

REC DIVISION 2C: Luxembourg v Slovenia

18.04.2015

Image thanks to https://pbs.twimg.com

Venue: Šiška Stadion, Ljubliana

Referee: Hrvoje Bartolic (Czech Republic)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
SLOVENIA	2	2	0	0	64	13	51	1	9
LUXEMBOURG	2	2	0	0	54	13	41	1	9
AUSTRIA	2	1	0	1	42	45	-3	1	5
DENMARK	2	0	0	2	37	45	-8	2	2
SERBIA	2	0	0	2	3	84	-81	0	0

Preview
This is a top of the table clash between the two forms teams at this level.

Luxembourg has caused a ripple at this level of European test rugby competition by winning it’s first two games since winning promotion.

Slovenia has progressed well since the shaky days of 2010-12.

Luxembourg has home advantage but nothing in it! Should be a cracker.

Previous Encounters
04.05.2013 Luxembourg 22-10 in Luxembourg (WCQ Europe Playoff R1)
19.04.2008 Slovenia 10-3 in Cessange (ENC 3C)
05.05.2007 Slovenia 25-16 in Ljubliana (ENC 3C)
15.10.1994 Luxembourg 22-3 in Luxembourg (FIRA B3)

Luxembourg Last Five P 5, W 4, L 1
08.11.2014 v Austria W 18-13 in Luxembourg (REC 2C)
25.10.2014 v Serbia W 36-0 in Belgrade (REC 2C)
10.05.2014 v Finland W 27-7 in Luxembourg (ENC 2D)
26.04.2014 v Greece W 52-8 in Thessalonika (ENC 2D)
09.11.2013 v Bosnia Herzegovina L 12-24 (ENC 2D)

Slovenia Last Five
25.10.2014 v Denmark W 16-10 in Odense (ENC 2C)
18.10.2014 v Serbia W 48-3 in Ljubliana (ENC 2C)
03.05.2014 v Austria L 8-20 in Vienna (ENC 2C)
12.04.2014 v Bulgaria W 43-17 in Ljubliana (ENC 2C)
09.11.2013 v Cyprus L 3-34 in Ljubliana (ENC 2C)

GWC Rugby Rankings
Europe Table: Luxembourg 28th, Slovenia 30th

World Rugby Ranking Points
Luxembourg 37.82, Slovenia 38.99

Prediction: Luxembourg by 2 points. Score 12-10

TEAMS

Luxembourg

1. Saman Rezapour
2. Zelito Neves dos Santos
3. Yannick Boone
4. Benjamin Blanchet
5. Charel Poppelaars
6. Tim Seite
7. Julien da Col
8. Christian Olsen
9. Vincent Giffard
10. Jean-Baptiste Vert
11. Francois Simon
12. John Fitzpatrick
13. Chris Lowe
14. Stuart Logier
15. Will Dennis
16. Ciaran Keane
17. Gareth Geoffreys
18. Tertius Barnard
19. Kevin Kombia
20. Yared Ketema
21. Philippe Vimond
22. Christopher Rossa
23. Adrien Timmermans

http://www.wort.lu/en/sport/rugby-luxembourg-takes-on-slovenia-552e225a0c88b46a8ce5769a

Slovenia Squad

1. Tit Hočevar (c)
2. Samuel Vrhovec
3. Sebastjan Rman
4. Jernej Šercer
5. Žiga Vrhunec
6. Mirt Suljič
7. Max Skofič
8. Archie Skofič
9. Lewis Popadec
10. Peter Kavčič
11. George Skofič
12. Jaka Sajevic (v-c)
13. Frankie Skofič
14. Dragan Jovanovič
15. Žiga Burnik
16. Gregor Miljuš
17. Maks Zukič
18. Igor Okič
19. Jack Skofič
20. Damijan Jovič
21. Anže Troppan
22. Enej Radelj Šemrov
23. Rok Zaletel

Thanks to ‘Alex Jug’ at http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=209&start=225