GB7s Rugby Europe Review

The men’s side encountered defeats to Portugal and France before claiming a 24-7 win over Ukraine, before a loss against Germany in their quarter-final knockout.

That was followed up by a defeat to Portugal in the next knockout ranking game, with their tournament ending in a 17-12 win over Georgia, ensuring a seventh place finish.

The women’s side started with a 19-17 win over Denmark, which preceded losses to Ireland and Belgium.

In the first of their knockout matches, the women beat Turkey 19-5 before a rematch with Denmark for the ninth-place play-off, when they were beaten 26-7 and ultimately finishing tenth.

The event in Hamburg will be followed by a visit to Split in Croatia later this month.

GB7s Director of Rugby Ciaran Beattie said: “For the women’s side, it was tough. They felt disappointed and felt like the Ireland game got away from them and then missed out on the quarter-finals on points difference.

“But getting some wins on the board in other games is a positive thing because they have had a really tough season. It was nice to get that winning feeling again, and with an even less experienced group than we have had.

“It didn’t help that we lost Katie Shillaker pretty early on with a head knock, so we lost our captain, strike runner and most experienced player, but it just gave an opportunity for other players to get experience.

“Eva Woods showed she was more than capable and showed a lot of promise in that role, which was a positive sign.

“We know we needed to stay in the top ten in this tournament and they have done that and we need to make sure we do that into Croatia, then we’ve secured a position to potentially qualify for the Olympics. Teams will be gunning for it in Croatia, so we need to be on it and improve our performances so we maintain that top ten.

“From the men’s perspective, we made the quarter-finals and were disappointed with a couple of games, but there were some really big performances as well. It was nice to finish on a win in extra-time.

“It was an inexperienced squad, so good to see the younger ones get that exposure ahead of the coming season.

“We’ll go to Croatia in a couple of weeks for the second of the two legs in Rugby Europe and both teams need to remain in the top ten, with the men finishing seventh and the women in tenth in Hamburg, so we’ll be needing more of the same but looking for improved performances across both squads.”

Results:

Men’s: 

Friday 3 July:
Portugal 36-5 GB7s
France 29-14 GB7s

Saturday 4 July:
GB7s 24-7 Ukraine
Germany 26-12 GB7s

Sunday 5 July:
GB7s 0-31 Portugal
GB7s 17-12 Georgia

Women’s:

Friday 3 July:
GB7s 19-17 Denmark
GB7s 0-34 Ireland

Saturday 4 July:
GB7s 7-26 Belgium
GB7s 19-5 Turkey

Sunday 5 July:
GB7s 7-26 Denmark