POLAND v MOLDOVA: REC 1B

14.11.2015

Venue: National Stadium, Warsaw

Referee: Iñigo Atorrasagasti (Spain)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
BELGIUM	7	6	0	1	146	112	134	4	28
UKRAINE	7	5	0	2	155	111	44	2	22
MOLDOVA	6	4	0	2	180	90	90	4	20
POLAND	7	3	0	4	146	187	-41	2	15
NETHERLANDS	5	2	0	3	81	74	3	2	10
SWEDEN	8	0	0	8	87	319	-211	0	0

Preview
Not a lot at stake in this test rugby match. Poland could well be a weakened squad if the French clubs hold their players. Moldova underperform away but if they are at any strength they should defeat the hosts.

Prediction
Moldova by 9 points. Score 27-18

TEAMS

Poland Squad

Original selection 03.11.2015 but changes are expected as a number of France-based players may not be released.

01. Kamil Bobryk - CS Vienne (Francja)
02. Radosław Bysewski - Arka Gdynia
03. Marcin Wilczuk - Ogniwo Sopot
04. Sławomir Kaszuba - Lechia Gdańsk
05. Adrian Chróściel - Pogoń Siedlce
06. Grzegorz Janiec - CA Saint Etienne (Francja)
07. Paweł Dąbrowski - Arka Gdynia
08. Paweł Poniatowski - CO Creusot Bourgogne (Francja)
09. Stanisław Powała-Niedźwiecki - Ogniwo Sopot
10. Tomasz Hebda - RC Strasbourg (Francja)
11. Piotr Karpiński II - Budowlani Łódź SA
12. Mateusz Bartoszek - SMRC Saint Medard (Francja)
13. Michał Mirosz - Budowlani Łódź SA
14. Dawid Banaszek - Arka Gdynia
15. Patryk Reksulak - Budowlani Łódź SA
16. Łukasz  Szostek - Arka Gdynia
17. Dawid Plichta - Orkan Sochaczew
18. Tomasz Gasik - Orkan Sochaczew
19. Rafał Szrejber - Arka Gdynia
20. Tomasz Rokicki - Lechia Gdańsk
21. Radosław Rakowski - Arka Gdynia
22. Szymon Sirocki - Arka Gdynia
23. Victor Pradeau - RC Arras (Francja)

Head Coach: Marek Płonka

On standby

Rafał Kwiatkowski - Arka Gdynia
Grzegorz Buczek - Lechia Gdańsk
Robert Graban - Ogniwo Sopot
Robert Kwiatkowski - Lechia Gdańsk
Marek Grabowski - Budowlani Łódź SA
Piotr Psuj - Pogoń Siedlce

http://pzrugby.pl/news/aktualnosc/PNEKadranaPolskavMoldawia,1594

Moldova squad not available.

RUGBY EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP

17.10.2015
Ukraine 30, Poland 14 in Khmelnytskyi (REC 1B)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
BELGIUM	7	6	0	1	146	112	134	4	28
UKRAINE	7	5	0	2	155	111	44	2	22
MOLDOVA	5	3	0	2	155	83	72	4	16
POLAND	7	3	0	4	146	187	-41	2	15
NETHERLANDS	5	2	0	3	81	74	3	2	10
SWEDEN	7	0	0	7	80	296	-193	0	0

Bosnia Herzegovina 24, Turkey 21 in Zenica (REC 2D)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	TL
BOSNIA H.	6	6	0	0	174	81	93	2	25
NORWAY	5	3	0	2	99	75	24	2	14
FINLAND	5	2	0	3	77	83	-6	2	10
TURKEY	5	1	0	4	105	130	-25	3	7
BULGARIA	5	1	0	4	79	165	-86	3	7

Test match friendly
Gibraltar 29, Malta Barbarians 14 in Valette         

UKRAINE v POLAND: REC Division 1B

17.10.2015

REC 1B

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
BELGIUM	7	6	0	1	146	112	134	4	28
UKRAINE	6	4	0	2	125	97	28	1	17
MOLDOVA	5	3	0	2	155	83	72	4	16
POLAND	6	3	0	3	132	157	-25	2	15
NETHERLANDS	5	2	0	3	81	74	3	2	10
SWEDEN	7	0	0	7	80	296	-193	0	0

Ukraine defeated the previously undefeated Belgium at home last week. They should comfortably account for the Poles again at home. This is a very experienced Ukrainian side.

‘Interesting returns for Poland are Nowicki in the back row and Hebda in the second/back row, both now released by their clubs in France. Unluckily for Poland their Captain and heavyweight hooker Bobryk has not been released and the double try scorer against Sweden - Gruszczynski - is not available.

Games between these 2 countries have been very close in the past with only 3 points or less between them for the last 3 occasions, but Ukraine must be confident after their victory over Belgium. They should be strengthened by the return of prop Kramarenko and back row Grabowski both of whom were playing for Polish clubs over the weekend.

An interesting aside could be that brothers could be playing against each other, with Vladislav Grabowski (Arka Gdynia) playing for the Ukraine, while his brother Marek plays in the centre for Budolani Lodz and Poland. They come from the former Polish city of Lviv in western Ukraine. Both originally played for Lodz with Vladislav then moving to Gdyni. I believe Vladislav played for the Ukraine before coming to Poland, while Marek qualified on residency grounds and is being used to beef up the midfield.’

Thanks to ‘Polter’ at http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=688

GWC Rugby Rankings
Europe Table: Ukraine 12th, Poland 19th

World Rugby Rankings
Ukraine 55.03, Poland 51.22

Prediction: Ukraine by 16 points. Score 27-11

TEAMS

Ukraine Squad

Mykola Aleksandriuk (RC Bulava Taganrog)
Ievgen Chaika (RC Olympus, Kharkiv)
Vladislav Demetskyy (RC Bulava Khmelnytsky)
Sergey Garkavyi (RC Olympus, Kharkov)
Wladyslaw Grabowski (Arka Gdynia, Poland)
Konstantin Hurylov ( RC Olympus, Kharkiv)
Sergii Ianchyi (RC Bulava Taganrog)
Oleg Kosarev (RC Olympus, Kharkov)
Nikolai Kirsanov(RC Olympus, Kharkiv), Captain
Vitaliy Kramarenko (RC KREDO-1963, Odessa)
Maksym Kravchenko ( RC Olympus, Kharkiv)
Valentine Litvinenko ( RC Olympus, Kharkiv)
Alexander Lomakin (RC Olympus, Kharkiv)
Denys Masiukov (RC KREDO-1963, Odessa)
Oleksandr Mishynov (RC KREDO-1963, Odessa)
Vyacheslav Ponomarenko (RC Olympus, Kharkov)
Ruslan Radchuk (RC KREDO-1963, Odessa)
Igor Snisarenko (RC Bulava Taganrog)
Sergei Sukhikn (RC Olympus, Kharkiv)
Sergiy Tserkovniy (RC Olympus, Kharkiv)
Maksym Turikov (RC Bulava Taganrog)
Edward Vertyletskyy (RC KREDO-1963, Odessa)
Volodymyr Voitov (RC Olympus, Kharkov)
Ievgen Zalevskyi (RC KREDO-1963, Odessa)

Adapted from
https://www.facebook.com/czasnarugby/photos/a.413942488724673.1073741829.413921872060068/826425067476411/?type=3&theater

Poland

01. Grzegorz Janiec - CA Saint Etienne (Francja)
02. Radosław Bysewski - Arka Gdynia
03. Marcin Wilczuk - Ogniwo Sopot
04. Adrian Chróściel - Pogoń Siedlce
05. Rafał Kwiatkowski - Arka Gdynia
06. Grzegorz Buczek - Lechia Gdańsk
07. Paweł Dąbrowski - Arka Gdynia
08. Paweł Poniatowski - CO Creusot Bourgogne (Francja)
09. Aleksander Nowicki - AS Macon (Francja)
10. Tomasz Hebda - RC Strasbourg (Francja)
11. Marek Płonka Jr. - Lechia Gdańsk
12. Mateusz Bartoszek - SMRC Saint Medard (Francja)
13. Stanisław Powała-Niedźwiecki - Ogniwo Sopot
14. Dawid Banaszek - Arka Gdynia
15. Patryk Reksulak - Budowlani Łódź SA
16. Łukasz Szostek - Arka Gdynia
17. Dawid Plichta - Orkan Sochaczew
18. Tomasz Gasik - Orkan Sochaczew
19. Rafał Szrejber - Arka Gdynia
20. Tomasz Rokicki - Lechia Gdańsk
21. Radosław Rakowski - Arka Gdynia
22. Marek Grabowski - Budowlani Łódź SA
23. Robert Kwiatkowski - Lechia Gdańsk

Thanks to ‘Polter’ at http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=688

TEST RUGBY RESULT: Saturday 12 September

12.09.2015
Poland 29, Sweden 11 at Enkoping (REC 1B)

Review by ‘Polter’ at http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=637

This win in many ways was the best win for the Plonka, post Putra coaching regime. They've managed to beat under strength Swedish and woeful Czech Republic teams a few times, plus beaten the Netherlands at home, but this result vindicates their position in the division.

The loss of Daish was a blow to the Swedes, but Poland also missed several first choice players through injury or unavailability. All credit to Poland for getting 2 yellow cards and going down to 13 men and yet still coming away with a bonus point win. Sweden on the other hand only scored a try after a Poland mistake and 6 points during the yellow cards.

What next for Sweden? There is still a mathematical chance for them to stay up. The Netherlands are now the team to reel in but they have to rely on the Dutch not picking up any further points. 3 more home games will help the Swedes and as long as the best players they have can be picked it they will be far more competitive, but the disastrous first year of the campaign plus the need to win away in the Ukraine looks to be too much to make up. That said, they could still play a significant role in deciding who wins the division depending in how they do against the teams Belgium and Moldova send to Sweden.

And as for Poland? The countries rugby community really really needed this win. Hopefully the team will take a lot of confidence, get some more players back and put up a decent challenge to the Ukraine away in October and Moldova at home in November. Please don't sit back on your laurels and make this another false dawn....

Point scorers
Poland:
Tries-Gruszczyński (2), Bobryk, Rakowski.
Convs-Banaszek (3)
PGs-Banaszek

Sweden
Try-Gowland
Pgs-Tim Johansson (2)

Image thanks to http://pzrugby.pl

 

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
BELGIUM	5	5	0	0	189	75	114	2	22
MOLDOVA	5	3	0	2	155	83	72	4	16
POLAND	6	3	0	3	132	157	-25	2	15
UKRAINE	5	3	0	2	108	81	27	1	13
NETHERLANDS	5	2	0	3	81	74	3	2	10
SWEDEN	6	0	0	6	60	255	-193	0	0

Remaining Fixtures 1B Division
26/09: Sweden v Belgium at Enkoping
10/10: Ukraine v Belgium in Kiev
07/11: Sweden v Moldova in Malmo (TBC)
14/11: Poland v Moldova in Warsaw
21/11: Ukraine v Moldova in Odessa
20/02: Belgium v Netherlands in Brussels
12/03: Moldova v Belgium in Chisinau
19/03: Poland v Belgium in Poland
19/03: Moldova v Netherlands in Chisinau
30/04: Netherlands v Poland in Amsterdam
30/04: Ukraine v Sweden in Kiev
07/05: Netherlands v Ukraine in Amsterdam
14/05: Sweden v Netherlands in Enkoping

SWEDEN v POLAND: REC 1B

12.09.2015

Venue: Enkoping, Sweden

Referee:

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	B	PT
BELGIUM	5	5	0	0	189	75	114	2	22
MOLDOVA	5	3	0	2	155	83	72	4	16
UKRAINE	5	3	0	2	108	81	27	1	13
NETHERLANDS	5	2	0	3	81	74	3	2	10
POLAND	5	2	0	3	103	146	-43	2	10
SWEDEN	5	0	0	5	49	226	-177	0	0

Preview
This rugby tests kicks off the second part of the Rugby Europe Championship. This second part determines who is promoted and who is relegated. The championship is contested each season.

Both teams languish at the bottom of the points table in Division 1B. Poland’s position looks reasonably safe but with a full squad of players Sweden will be desperate to avoid relegation. A loss today for the Swedes would virtually seal their fate.

’This looks to be as strong a sides as the Swedes could put out. The disharmony between players and the union that led to players from lower level clubs having to be picked instead of Exile players seems to be over. The Swedes have also been able to bring in Andrew Daish who plays in England and stood up well in their match against the Netherlands in May. The only notable exceptions would be the Exiles pair of Daniel Chamberlain at lock (unavailable) and back row Chris Bradley (injured).’

‘The flanker Aleksander Nowicki and lock/back row Tomasz Hebda have not been released by their Federal 1 clubs. The union web site also mentioned that neither has Thomas Pretkowski which is interesting given that he is one of the grandfather rule French players brought in during the Putra regime. The current coach has turned his back on the French nurtured players in favour of those domestically raised, however the dearth of top quality props in Poland may have required a U-turn on this policy. I remember Pretkowski playing a few games for the national side, and although unspectacular he did a solid job and that fact that he seems to start at tight head for Federal 1 Lille most weeks seems to be enough to try and get him back in the set up.

Other omissions include the injured lock Kruzycki and the number 8 Zeszutek. An interesting inclusion is Grabowski, the Lodz centre, who's brother plays in the back row for the Ukraine. He has Polish roots and also qualifies on residency and looks to be called in as Poland try to beef themselves up in the midfield as well as prop.

I travelled to Enkoping 4 years ago to watch this fixture when Poland were still chasing promotion and a bonus point win. Instead of kicking easy points they fell prey to a disciplined Swedish performance and came away with nothing which effectively led to the end of the Putra regime and the selection of French bred players. Since then Poland has slipped down the rankings. They have improved enormously off the pitch promoting the game, the international matches are held in I would say the best stadiums for the division, trainers from South Africa have also been brought in but the wins are just not coming. Poland seem to be able to score tries and have a good kicker, but defence has been a big issue. Let's see what they can do on Saturday. One key match up will be Bartoszek against Daish in the battle of the back rows.’

Thanks to ‘Polter’ at http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=637

Last Five Encounters
06.09.2014 Poland 29-17 in Warsaw (REC 1B)
07.09.2013 Poland 30-9 in Warsaw (WCQ Europe R4; ENC 1B)
01.06.2013 Sweden 19-11 in Stockholm (WCQ Europe R4; ENC 1B)
11.10.2003 Poland 36-0 in Gdansk (ENC 2A)
05.10.2002 Poland 14-7 in Lund (ENC 2A)

Sweden Last Five P 5, L 5
30.05.2015 v Netherlands L 14-24 in Amsterdam (REC 1B)
28.03.2015 v Belgium L 10-71 in Brussels (REC 1B)
22.11.2014 v Moldova L 8-57 in Chisinau (REC 1B)
18.10.2014 v Ukraine L 0-45 in Enkoping (REC 1B)
26.09.2014 v Poland L 17-29 in Warsaw (REC 1B)

Poland Last Five P 5, W 2, L 3
09.05.2015 v Ukraine L 17-20 in Warsaw (REC 1B)
18.04.2015 v Belgium L 23-53 in Brussels (REC 1B)
15.11.2014 v Moldova L 25-48 in Chisinau (REC 1B)
18.10.2014 v Netherlands W 9-8 in Warsaw (REC 1B)
06.09.2014 v Sweden W 29-17 in Warsaw (REC 1B)

GWC Rugby Rankings
Europe Table: Poland 19th, Sweden 20th

IRB Ranking Points
Poland 49.84, Sweden 46.05

Prediction: Poland by 4 points. Score 21-17

TEAMS

Poland

15		Patryk Reksulak	Budowlani Łódź
14		Radoslaw Rakowski	Arka Gdynia
13		Tomasz Gasik	Orkan Sochaczew
12		Marek Grabowski	Budowlani Łódź
11		Tomasz Rokicki	Lechia Gdańsk
10		Dawid Banaszek	Arka Gdynia
9		Łukasz Szostek	Arka Gdynia
8		Paweł Dąbrowski	Arka Gdynia
7		Mateusz Bartoszek	SMRC Saint Médard, France
6		Marek Płonka jnr	Lechia Gdańsk
5		Paweł Poniatowski	Skra Warszawa
4		Stanisław Powala-Niedźwiecki	Ogniwo Sopot
3		Radosław Bysewski	Arka Gdynia
2		Kamil Bobryk (Capt.)	SC Vienne, France
1		Mariusz Wilczuk	Ogniwo Sopot
16		Adrian Chróściel	Pogoń Siedlce
17		Grzegorz Janiec	USRP Romans, France
18		Cyprian Majcher	Budowlani Łódź
19		Piotr Karpiński II	Budowlani Łódź
20		Dawid Plichta	Orkan Sochaczew
21		Rafał Szrejber	Arka Gdynia
22		Sebastian Gruszczyński	Posnania Posnania Poznań
23		Grzegorz Buczek	Lechia Gdańsk
		HEAD COACH: Marek Plonka

http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=637

Sweden Squad

Alexander Rappestad Norrköping RK Trojan
Alexander Johansson Vänersborg RK
André Eriksson Pingvin RC (Trelleborg)
Andrew Daish Old Albanian RFC (England)
Dustin Eaton Stockholm Exiles RFC
Erik Arvidsson Pingvin RC (Trelleborg)
Grant Duffy Stockholm Exiles RFC
Henrik Ek Norrköping RK Trojan
Ian Gowland (Capt.) Stockholm Exiles RFC
James Darbyshire Stockholm Exiles RFC
Jonas Zengler Norrköping RK Trojan
Karl Linderoth Stockholm Exiles RFC
Mark Beveridge Stockholm Exiles RFC
Matt Mitchell Stockholm Exiles RFC
Måns Derk Södertälje RK
Neil Erasmus Stockholm Exiles RFC
Oliver Callaghan Amstelveense RC (Holland)
Rikus van Niekerk Stockholm Exiles RFC
Robin Fransson Stockholm Exiles RFC
Sean Burke Stockholm Exiles RFC
Tim Karl Johansson Stockholm Exiles RFC
Tobias Röstam Pingvin RC (Trelleborg)
Mak Jelek Dozo Stockholm Exiles RFC

http://t2rugby.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=637