U18 and U20 Teams Lose Qualifiers

Kaiserslautern, 19/09/2021 - The Swiss U18s lost to the Czech Republic by 14 points to 57, while the Swiss U20s lost to hosts Germany by 10 points to 43. In both categories, Switzerland played in the Rugby Europe Championship qualfiiers in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in a triangular qualifier organized by the German Rugby Union. For both Swiss Teams, it was their first ever chance to qualify for the top level European competitions in their age categories, with an opportunity to join the likes of Georgia, Russia, Portugal, and Spain, in the European Tournaments.

First up, the Swiss U18s had a hard time finding their way into the match, while their opponents from the Czech Republic came out firing. The slow start gave the opponents a huge advantage, and they did not hesistate to capitalize on it, taking a decisive 24-0 lead by haltime. For the second half, Switzerland came out of the sheds stronger, and managed to go over for two converted tries during the second period. Nevertheless, the Czechs proved too strong, and won the match with a clear final score of 57-14.

Next it was the turn of the U20s, who faced hosts Germany in their own qualification match. The Swiss team's good open-field play kept them in the match throughout the 1st half, going into the break trailing Germany 10-15. thanks to a Swiss converted try and a penalty kick in the first half. Unfortunately, the German team's utter domination in the scrum and the lineout, meant that Switzerland had very little ball to play with. The German U20s finally imposed themselves by a score of 43 to 10 to win the game.

Congratulations to all teams involved in today's qualification matches, and congratulations to the Czech Republic and Germany for their respective qualifications to the European Championships.

Photos: Jürgen Kessler Sportfotografie