2008 FIRA European Championship
Tournament details
Host Netherlands
Dates17 May 2008 (2008-05-17)
23 May 2008 (2008-05-23)
Teams16
Tournament statistics
Matches played30
2007
2009

The 2008 FIRA Women's European Championship was the 11th rugby union women's European championship organised by FIRA - AER.

It took place in the Netherlands from 17 to 24 May 2008; for the first time since 2004 both the A and B championships were held simultaneously in the same host country.

Eight national teams took part to the Pool A: the four Home Nations plus France, Spain and the Netherlands; as for Italy they withdrew and were replaced by Sweden. Amongst the contestants in the Pool B were also the "France Défense XV", the French Army women's rugby union squad.

Results

England won the Pool A title against Wales in the final. There were no tries in the match, which effectively amounted to a kicking duel, with each team dominating one half. Non Evans scored two penalties for the Welsh in the first half and Katy McLean scored four for England in the second half. The English took the title with a final score of 12 to 6. Both teams produced good play during the tournament; however, in this particular match the defence stole the lead over the attack and the precision and discipline of the English won the day. The new Champions of Europe succeeded France, who only managed to attain fourth place - despite the final score, 22-22, in the play-off against Ireland the last place on the podium went to their opponents as they scored more tries. A surprise placing for the Scottish who came in fifth, winning 27 -25 against Spain in an incredible match (8 tries), probably one of the best of the Championship with Spain just losing out in injury time. In the match for seventh place, the Netherlands beat Sweden 7 to 6.

It was an easy win for Russia in the Group B final against the French Military team. Faster and more organized, the Russian players took control of the match very early on when their full-back and team captain, Anastasiya Mukharyamova launched a counterattack from the 22 metre line and a few passes later, Anna Gottseva finished between the posts. Throughout the tournament Russia produced some splendid clean, creative and collective play. The speed and agility of their backs meant that they emerged as the team with the best attacking play. Their players took major risks and didn't hesitate in launching counterattacks from anywhere on the pitch. It was no surprise when they won this afternoon in Amsterdam. Congratulations also to the Russian full-back Natalia Selyvtina, a very impressive “sidestepper”, who succeeded in scoring eleven tries during her team's five games. An incredible turnabout took place in the match for third place. Ten minutes from the end of the match, the Belgians were leading 15 to 7 and were expecting victory. However, they hadn't counted on the courage of the Germans who scored two late tries, taking the lead in the last minute and eventually winning the match 19 to 15. In the match for fifth place, Romanian won 12 – 5 against Finland.

FIRA-AER officials also selected the best players of the Championship. The jury, made up of Technical Directors and Match Commissioners selected:

  • Group A, Barbara Pla, Spanish Back Row
  • Group B, Anastasiya Mukharyamova, Russian full-back and also team Captain.

The Fair-play prize was awarded to Russia

Pool A

Bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
17 May – Amsterdam
 
 
 England80
 
20 May – Drachten
 
 Sweden3
 
 England22
 
17 May – Amsterdam
 
 Ireland11
 
 Ireland41
 
13 May – Amsterdam
 
 Spain7
 
 England12
 
17 May – Amsterdam
 
 Wales6
 
 Netherlands3
 
20 May – Leiden
 
 France24
 
 France10
 
17 May – Amsterdam
 
 Wales18 Third place
 
 Scotland10
 
13 May – Amsterdam
 
 Wales27
 
 Ireland22 (4T)
 
 
 France22 (3T)
 
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
20 May – Leiden
 
 
 Netherlands0
 
24 May – Amsterdam
 
 Scotland26
 
 Scotland27
 
20 May – Drachten
 
 Spain25
 
 Sweden0
 
 
 Spain22
 
Third place
 
 
24 May – Amsterdam
 
 
 Netherlands7
 
 
 Sweden6

Quarter-finals

2008-05-17
England 80–3 Sweden
Amsterdam
2008-05-17
Netherlands 3–24 France
Amsterdam
2008-05-17
Scotland 10–27 Wales
Amsterdam
2008-05-17
Ireland 41–7 Spain
Amsterdam

Semi-finals

Cup

2008-05-20
England 22–11 Ireland
Drachten, Netherlands
2008-05-20
France 10–18 Wales
Leiden, Netherlands

Plate

2008-05-20
Sweden 0–20 Spain
Drachten, Netherlands

7th/8th place

2008-05-24
Netherlands 7–6 Sweden
Amsterdam

5th/6th place

2008-05-24
Scotland 27–25 Spain
Amsterdam

3rd/4th place

2008-05-24
France 22–22 [1] Ireland
Amsterdam

Final

2008-05-24
England 12–6 Wales
Amsterdam

Pool B

Round 1

Group A: Final table

Pos Nation Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 France France Defence 2 2 0 0 22 5 +17 4
2  Germany 2 1 0 1 10 17 7 2
3  Belgium 2 0 0 2 0 10 10 0
Source:

Group A: Results

2007-05-19
Germany 5-17France France Defence
Castricum, Netherlands
2007-05-19
Belgium 0-5France France Defence
Castricum, Netherlands

Group B: Final table

Pos Nation Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1  Russia 2 2 0 0 71 3 +68 4
2  Romania 2 1 0 1 16 37 21 2
3  Finland 2 0 0 2 5 52 47 0
Source:

Group B: Results

2008-05-19
Finland 5–13 Romania
Utrecht, Netherlands
2008-05-19
Finland 0–39 Russia
Utrecht, Netherlands
2008-05-19
Romania 3–32 Russia
Utrecht, Netherlands

Round 2

Group A: Final table

Pos Nation Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1  Russia 2 2 0 0 51 0 +51 4
2  Belgium 2 1 0 1 15 29 14 2
3  Romania 2 0 0 2 7 44 37 0
Source:

Group A: Results

2008-05-21
Belgium 0–22 Russia
Tilburg, Netherlands
2008-05-21
Belgium 15–7 Romania
Tilburg, Netherlands
2008-05-21
Romania 0–29 Russia
Tilburg, Netherlands

Group B: Final table

Pos Nation Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 France France Defence 2 2 0 0 39 7 +32 4
2  Germany 2 1 0 1 46 13 +33 2
3  Finland 2 0 0 2 3 68 65 0
Source:

Group B: Results

2008-05-21
Finland 0-29France France Defence
Driebergen, Netherlands
2008-05-21
Germany 7-10France France Defence
Driebergen, Netherlands

Finals

5th/6th

2008-05-23
Finland 5–12 Romania
Amsterdam

3rd/4th

2008-05-23
Belgium 15–19 Germany
Amsterdam

Final

2008-05-23
Russia 31-14France France Defence
Amsterdam

See also

References

  1. Ireland awarded third place on try count, 4-3
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