2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference Explained

2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference
Date:	14 October 2017 – 26 May 2017
Countries:	20
Count:	1
Matches:	40
Attendance:	29325
Tries:	284
Top Point Scorer:	Conference 1 James O'Brien (49) Conference 2 Cassius Deschamps (59)
Top Try Scorer:	Conference 1 James Kirk (5) Luke Watts (5) Conference 2 Gauthier Bares (5) Igor Dejanović (5) Christian Melgaard (5)
Previous Year:	2016–17
Previous Tournament:	2016–17 Rugby Europe Conference
Next Year:	2018–2019
Next Tournament:	2018–19 Rugby Europe Conference

The 2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference is the third-level rugby union competition below the premier Championship and Trophy competitions. It is the second Conference under its new format. After Czech Republic was promoted to the Trophy and Ukraine relegated at the end of the 2016–17 season, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Sweden and Ukraine compete for the Conference 1 title. While after the relegation of Turkey and the promotion of Slovakia, Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia will compete for the Conference 2 title.

The winners of Conference 1 North and South will play an additional match, a Conference 1-Trophy Promotion play-off for the right to play the 2018–19 Rugby Europe Trophy. While the bottom placed teams of Conference 1 North and South will be relegated to Conference 2 for the following season, replacing the North and South winners of Conference 2. The bottom placed team with the worse overall record will be relegated and participate in the 2019 Rugby Europe Development season.

The competition saw Alhambra Nievas and Joy Neville become the first and second women referees to take charge of men's fifteen–a–side internationals. On 14 October 2017 Nievas refereed the match between Finland and Norway. On 28 October 2017 Neville refereed the match between Norway and Denmark.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Conference 1

North

Table

Champions and advances to Promotion play-off

Relegated

Place	Nation	Games	Points	Try BP	Losing BP	Grand Slam BP	Table points
played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1	align=left		4	4	0	0	127	78	+49	2	0	1	19
2	align=left		4	2	1	1	92	63	+29	2	0	0	12
3	align=left		4	2	0	2	92	109	−17	1	0	0	9
4	align=left		4	0	1	3	60	72	−12	0	3	0	5
5	align=left		4	1	0	3	72	121	−49	0	0	0	4
Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win – 4 points Draw – 2 points At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Loss within 7 points – 1 point Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points Completing a Grand Slam – 1 points

Fixtures

South

Table

Champions and advances to Promotion play-off

Relegated

Place	Nation	Games	Points	Try BP	Losing BP	Grand Slam BP	Table points
played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1		4	4	0	0	221	48	+173	3	0	1	20
2		4	2	1	1	85	97	−12	1	0	0	11
2		4	2	0	2	105	86	+19	1	1	0	10
4		4	1	0	3	5	140	−86	0	0	0	4
5		4	0	1	3	60	154	−94	0	2	0	4
Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win – 4 points Draw – 2 points At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Loss within 7 points – 1 point Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points Completing a Grand Slam – 1 points

Fixtures

Conference 2

North

Table

Champions and Promoted

Relegated

Place	Nation	Games	Points	Try BP	Losing BP	Grand Slam BP	Table points
played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1		4	4	0	0	162	24	+138	2	0	1	19
2		4	3	0	1	211	45	+166	2	0	0	14
3		4	2	0	2	107	120	−13	1	0	0	9
4		4	1	0	3	83	90	−7	1	1	0	6
5	align=left		4	0	0	4	31	315	−284	0	0	0	0
Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win – 4 points Draw – 2 points At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Loss within 7 points – 1 point Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points Completing a Grand Slam – 1 points

Fixtures

Notes:

• The Finland v Norway match was notable for being the first time an all female list of referees were chosen to officiate a men's fifteen a side game.^[6]
• Originally a home game for Norway, but moved to Luxembourg due to recent cold weather conditions meaning the pitch could not recover in time.^[7]

South

Table

Champions and Promoted

Possible Relegation

Place	Nation	Games	Points	Try BP	Losing BP	Grand Slam BP	Table points
played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
1		4	3	0	1	114	51	+63	2	0	0	14
2		4	3	0	1	110	88	+22	1	0	0	13
3		4	2	0	2	131	98	+33	1	1	0	10
4		4	2	0	2	82	75	+7	0	1	0	9
5		4	0	0	4	45	173	−128	0	0	0	0
Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win – 4 points Draw – 2 points At least 3 more tries than opponent- 1 point Loss within 7 points – 1 point Loss greater than 7 points – 0 points Completing a Grand Slam – 1 points

Fixtures

See also

• Rugby Europe International Championships
• 2017–18 Rugby Europe International Championships
• Six Nations Championship

Notes and References

1. Web site: Female referees Alhambra Nievas and Joy Neville to make history by taking charge of Men's Internationals. www.telegraph.co.uk. 23 December 2017. 26 September 2017.
2. Web site: Alhambra Nievas: Female referee hopes to 'create a pathway' for other women. www.bbc.co.uk. 29 December 2017. 20 October 2017.
3. Web site: Meet Alhambra Nievas – the trailblazing female referee about to make history. www.telegraph.co.uk. 29 December 2017. 12 October 2017.
4. Web site: Spanish referee Alhambra Nievas makes rugby history in Helsinki. www.telegraph.co.uk. 29 December 2017. 15 October 2017.
5. Web site: 'Role model' Joy takes top refereeing honour. www.independent.ie. 20 December 2017. 1 December 2017.
6. News: Sports first for Finland international as female referees take charge . 14 October 2017.
7. Web site: Norway Facebook post. Rugby Norge . 20 March 2018 . 1 April 2018.