Old dogs, new tricks?

The good news came through this week that Finland will NOT be relegated in the European Nations Cup (ENC) Division 2D. 

Why not? The first cause was Armenia, who were due to be relegated from Division 2B, but have now withdrawn from the competition entirely.  Secondly Bulgaria, who finished second in our Division, played and beat Hungary from the Division above in a promotion/relegation play-off, earning the Bulgarians promotion.  However, Armenia’s departure would have left Division 2C one team short, so both play-off teams will remain in the group. If all this seems complicated, you’re probably a forward.  Use this chart to help follow: http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/competition-1.htm

Which leaves us with Division 2D, our own division. Cyprus, deserving group winners, will be promoted automatically along with Bulgaria who we already mentioned.  Norway, who finished last in Division 2C, will join us due to automatic relegation and Bosnia & Herzegovina will gain promotion from Divison 3 as group winners.  Finland were originally due to switch places with Bosnia, but with both Cyprus and Bulgaria going up a division, that would have left Division 2D one nation short, so there we stay. Therefore in the next season we will compete against Norway, Bosnia and old enemies Greece and Luxembourg.  So what can we expect?

(photo by Rod McCracken - A second bite at the cherry? Finland will want to follow Divison 2D winners, Cyprus)
 

Norway finished bottom of their division but they went down fighting.  Like Finland they only took one win from eight games, beating Austria at home.  They also managed a home draw against Nordic rivals Denmark. Their biggest loss came from an away game against the Danes, losing 28-5, but in general their matches were close-run affairs with no signs of any embarassing scorelines.  We have not met our Nordic neighbours on the field since 2005, but the win record has not been good, having won just one game in eight, with an average points difference of 33 favouring the Norwegians. Finland will need to be on their guard, especially when we travel for the away game.

See the full results from Division 2C here: http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/group-5.htm

The Bosnians finished as convincing winners of Division 3, the lowest division in the ENC.  Known ironically as the ’Group of Doom’, it contained just 3 nations: Bosnia, Slovakia and Azerbijan.  Tragically Azerbijan forfeited both their games in 2011, leaving the remaining two countries with only one game to play. Bosnia cruised to three easy wins, averaging 44 points per game.  With some cruel irony, their closest match was a home win against Azerbijan.  Finland have played the Bosnians twice, winning once away in 2006 and scraping a 3-3 draw in Helsinki in 2008. What is clear is that Bosnia have discovered a try-scoring habit so they cannot be treated lightly. 

See the full results from Division 3 here: http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/group-37.htm

The Greeks are a bit like the French.  Surrender and economic jokes aside, it is because you cannot predict how they will play.  On the one hand they held Cyprus to their smallest win (a 13-33 home loss) and also smashed Bulgaria 47-7; but away from home they have lost to Luxembourg, Bulgaria and of course Finland (the memorable 11-7 win in Helsinki).  Finland must be aware of Greece’s ability to call on players from abroad and must be especially prepared for a tough battle in the away game, where the Greeks will almost certainly have a Trojan horse or two waiting.

Finally comes Luxembourg.  In recent years we have competed with them for the division’s ’wooden spoon’ but this time the men from the Grand Duchy (who play as a club in the Belgian and German leagues between internationals) ended well ahead.  If Finland is to make promotion a serious goal, our sights must be firmly set on winning both Luxembourg games.

See the full results from Division 2D here: http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/group-6.htm

This weekend sees plenty of domestic rugby, so let the competition for the National Team jerseys begin!  Ruck on!