# 2019 Rugby World Cup – Europe qualification

Qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for European Rugby began in September 2016, where 5 teams are competing for one direct qualification spot into the final tournament, and a further 26 teams competing, alongside the initial 5 teams, for a place in the Europe/Oceania play-off and or repechage.
The qualification process came to a chaotic conclusion when 3 of the 5 teams in the 2017 and 2018 editions of the Rugby Europe Championship were effectively disqualified for fielding ineligible players. As a result, Russia qualified for the World Cup and Germany advanced to a playoff against Portugal for a place in the repechage process.

## Format

The Rugby Europe Championship, controlled by Rugby Europe, is the regional qualification tournament for Rugby World Cup 2019, with the Championship, Trophy and Conference 1 and 2 being involved in the process.
The 2016–17 Rugby Europe International Championships form the majority of qualification matches for the European region. The respective winners of Round 1A and 1B, Rugby Europe Conference 2 North and South, will progress to the Round 1 Final. The overall winner of Round 1, will advance to the Round 3, where they will play against the winner of Round 2, Conference 1. The winner of Round 3 will play against the winner of the 2016–17 Rugby Europe Trophy tournament in the Round 4 Final, where the winner of that final will parachute down to Round 6 - the European Final play-off.
The winner of Round 5, which is an aggregate table of the 2017 and 2018 Rugby Europe Championship's, will qualify for the World Cup as Europe 1, the runner-up will advance to Round 6.
Round 6 will see the winner of Round 4 and the runner-up of Round 5 face against each other in a one-off play-off match, the higher ranked team hosting at the time of teams decided, to earn the right to progress to a home and away Cross-Regional play-off series against the third placed team from Oceania, Oceania 3.

## Entrants

Thirty one teams competed during for the 2019 Rugby World Cup – European qualification; teams world rankings are prior to the first European qualification match on 3 September 2016.
| Nation | Rank | Began play | Qualifying status |
| Andorra | 62 | 22 October 2016 | Eliminated by Malta on 11 February 2017 |
| Austria | 87 | 8 October 2016 | Eliminated by Serbia on 29 April 2017 |
| Belgium | 24 | 18 February 2017 | Eliminated via points deduction on 15 May 2018 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 74 | 8 October 2016 | Eliminated by Hungary on 20 May 2017 |
| Croatia | 54 | 29 October 2016 | Eliminated by Malta on 29 April 2017 |
| Cyprus | NR | 29 October 2016 | Eliminated by Andorra on 11 February 2017 |
| Czech Republic | 33 | 3 September 2016 | Eliminated by Portugal on 18 November 2017 |
| Denmark | 88 | 8 October 2016 | Eliminated by Hungary's victory on 6 May 2017 |
| England | 2 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup |
| Estonia | NR | 1 October 2016 | Eliminated by Hungary's victory on 22 April 2017 |
| Finland | 97 | 8 October 2016 | Eliminated by Denmark on 22 April 2017 |
| France | 8 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup |
| Georgia | 11 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup |
| Germany | 26 | 11 February 2017 | Advances to Europe/Oceania play-off on 16 June 2018 |
| Hungary | 82 | 1 October 2016 | Eliminated by Czech Republic on 27 April 2017 |
| Ireland | 6 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup |
| Israel | 63 | 5 November 2016 | Eliminated by Malta on 22 April 2017 |
| Italy | 13 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup |
| Latvia | 51 | 22 October 2016 | Eliminated by Czech Republic on 15 April 2017 |
| Lithuania | 46 | 5 November 2016 | Eliminated by Czech Republic's victory on 6 May 2017 |
| Luxembourg | 59 | 22 October 2016 | Eliminated by Czech Republic's victory on 15 April 2017 |
| Malta | 49 | 22 October 2016 | Eliminated by Czech Republic on 20 May 2017 |
| Moldova | 32 | 12 November 2016 | Eliminated by Portugal on 11 March 2017 |
| Netherlands | 34 | 5 November 2016 | Eliminated by Portugal's victory on 1 April 2017 |
| Norway | 90 | 8 October 2016 | Eliminated by Hungary on 22 April 2017 |
| Poland | 37 | 24 September 2016 | Eliminated by Portugal on 18 March 2017 |
| Portugal | 30 | 19 November 2016 | Eliminated by Germany on 16 June 2018 |
| Romania | 16 | 11 February 2017 | Eliminated via points deduction on 15 May 2018 |
| Russia | 21 | 12 February 2017 | Qualified as Europe 1 via mass points deduction on 15 May 2018 |
| Scotland | 9 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup |
| Serbia | 79 | 29 October 2016 | Eliminated by Bosnia and Herzegovina on 22 April 2017 |
| Slovenia | 67 | 29 October 2016 | Eliminated by Austria on 22 April 2017 |
| Spain | 23 | 12 February 2017 | Eliminated via points deduction on 15 May 2018 |
| Sweden | 58 | 3 September 2016 | Eliminated by Latvia on 29 April 2017 |
| Switzerland | 31 | 19 November 2016 | Eliminated by Netherlands on 18 March 2017 |
| Turkey | NR | 5 November 2016 | Withdrew from competition on 5 November 2016 |
| Ukraine | 27 | 24 September 2016 | Eliminated by Portugal's victory on 4 March 2017 |
| Wales | 5 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2015 World Cup |

## Round 1: Rugby Europe Conference 2
### Round 1A: North

* Advances to Round 1 Final
| Place | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Table points |
| Place | Nation | played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | Bonus points | Table points |
| 1 | Hungary | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 157 | 30 | +127 | 3 | 19 |
| 2 | Denmark | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 161 | 42 | +119 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Norway | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 98 | 109 | –11 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Finland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 92 | 144 | –52 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Estonia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 222 | –183 | 0 | 0 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points Offensive Bonus Point is given for 3 more tries than the other team - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
1 October 2016 14:00 EEST (UTC+03)Estonia 5–53 Hungary (1 BP)Kalevi Keskstaadion, Tallinn Referee: Georgii Kopp (Russia)
8 October 2016 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)Norway 48–31 FinlandBislett Stadium, Oslo Referee: Afonso Nogueira (Portugal)
8 October 2016 15:00 CEST (UTC+02)Hungary 25–13 DenmarkRCH Stadion, Esztergom Referee: Hrvoje Bartolic (Czech Republic)
22 October 2016 13:00 EEST (UTC+03)(1 BP) Finland 51–6 EstoniaMyllypuro sports park, Helsinki Referee: Ramunas Grumbinas (Lithuania)
22 October 2016 16:00 CEST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Denmark 20–0 NorwayOdense Atletikstadion, Odense Referee: Daniel Maughan (Germany)
22 April 2017 16:00 CEST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Denmark 53–5 FinlandReportOdense Atletikstadion, Odense Attendance: 450 Referee: Dariusz Reks (Poland)
22 April 2017 15:50 EEST (UTC+03)(1 BP) Hungary 42–7 NorwayReportRCH Stadion, Esztergom Attendance: 500 Referee: Lukasz Jasinski (Poland)
29 April 2017 14:00 EEST (UTC+03)Estonia 12–75 Denmark (1 BP)ReportKalevi Keskstaadion, Tallinn Attendance: 50 Referee: George Mossford (Finland)
6 May 2017 13:00 EEST (UTC+03)Finland 5–37 Hungary (1 BP)ReportMyllypuro sports park, Helsinki Attendance: 400 Referee: Kevin Sulejmani (Belgium
6 May 2017 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Norway 43–16 EstoniaReportInternational School of Stavanger, Stavanger Attendance: 500 Referee: Rami Aro (Sweden) :

### Round 1B: South

* Advances to Round 1 Final
| Place | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Table points |
| Place | Nation | played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | Bonus points | Table points |
| 1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 54 | +11 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Austria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 54 | 51 | +3 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Slovenia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 48 | +41 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Serbia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 107 | –55 | 0 | 4 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points Offensive Bonus Point is given for 3 more tries than the other team - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
8 October 2016 15:00 CEST (UTC+02)Austria 29–22 Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 BP)Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna Referee: Štepán Cekal (Czech Republic)
29 October 2016 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Slovenia 74–13 SerbiaŽŠD Ljubljana Stadium, Ljubljana Referee: Matteo Liperini (Italy)
8 April 2017 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Slovenia 15–22 Bosnia and HerzegovinaReportŽŠD Ljubljana Stadium, Ljubljana Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Norbert Mátrai (Hungary)
22 April 2017 17:00 CEST (UTC+02)Austria 13–0 SloveniaReportHohe Warte Stadium, Vienna Attendance: 800 Referee: Pedro Mendes Silva (Portugal)
22 April 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02)Bosnia and Herzegovina 21–10 SerbiaReportStadion Kamberovice Polje, Zenica Attendance: 300 Referee: Csaba Priskin (Hungary)
29 April 2017 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)Serbia 29–12 AustriaReportRad Stadium, Belgrade Attendance: 200 Referee: Shota Tevzadze (Georgia) :

### Round 1 Final

Hungary, as winners, qualify for round 3.
* 20 May 2017 16:00 EEST (UTC+03)
| Hungary | 19–17 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| | Report | |
* Franka Pálya, Esztergom Attendance: 800 Referee: Andrea Spadoni (Italy)

## Round 2: Rugby Europe Conference 1
### Round 2A: North

* Advances to Conference Final
| Place | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Table points |
| Place | Nation | played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | Bonus points | Table points |
| 1 | Czech Republic | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 158 | 26 | +132 | 3 | 19 |
| 2 | Lithuania | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 93 | 47 | +46 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Latvia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 98 | –42 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Sweden | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 56 | 124 | –68 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 107 | –68 | 1 | 1 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points Offensive Bonus Point is given for 3 more tries than the other team - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
3 September 2016 15:00 CEST (UTC+02)Sweden 14–56 Czech Republic (1 BP)ReportEnköpings Rugbyklubb, Enkoping Attendance: 400 Referee: Maxime Burlet (Belgium)
22 October 2016 15:00 EEST (UTC+03)Latvia 31–24 Luxembourg (1 BP)ReportDaugava Stadium, Riga Attendance: 450 Referee: Tomáš Tuma (Czech Republic)
5 November 2016 15:00 EET (UTC+02)Lithuania 11–6 Latvia (1 BP)ReportDarius and Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas Attendance: 500 Referee: Arthur Kaptyukh (Russia)
5 November 2016 16:00 CET (UTC+01)Luxembourg 0–19 Sweden (1 BP)ReportStade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Luca Trentin (Italy)
12 November 2016 14:00 CET (UTC+01)Czech Republic 15–6 LithuaniaReportStadion ragby Císařka, Prague Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Shota Tevzadze (Georgia)
15 April 2017 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Czech Republic 54–3 LatviaReportStadion ragby Císařka, Prague Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Gabriel Chirnoaga (Italy)
22 April 2017 15:00 EEST (UTC+03)(1 BP) Lithuania 24–12 LuxembourgReportVingis Park Rugby Stadium, Vilnius Attendance: 450 Referee: Mike Hawkins (Denmark)
29 April 2017 15:00 EEST (UTC+03)Latvia 16–9 Sweden (1 BP)ReportDaugava Stadium, Riga Attendance: 500 Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
6 May 2017 15:00 CEST (UTC+02)Sweden 14–52 Lithuania (1 BP)ReportEnköpings Rugbyklubb, Enkoping Attendance: 320 Referee: Killian O'Brien (Germany)
6 May 2017 16:00 CEST (UTC+02)Luxembourg 3–33 Czech Republic (1 BP)ReportStade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England) :

### Round 2B: South

* Advances to Conference Final
| Place | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Table points |
| Place | Nation | played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | Bonus points | Table points |
| 1 | Malta | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 147 | 49 | +98 | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | Israel | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 135 | 100 | +35 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Croatia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 106 | 79 | +27 | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | Andorra | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 181 | –119 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Cyprus | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 72 | 113 | –41 | 2 | 2 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points Offensive Bonus Point is given for 3 more tries than the other team - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
22 October 2016 18:00 CEST (UTC+02)Andorra 15–63 Malta (1 BP)Match centreEstadi Nacional, Andorra La Vella Referee: Riccardo Angelucci (Italy)
29 October 2016 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Malta 31–3 CyprusMatch centreHibernians Stadium, Paola Referee: Ariel Cabral (Israel)
29 October 2016 15:15 CEST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Croatia 47–15 AndorraReportStadion Stari plac, Split Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Ionut Bodea (Romania)
5 November 2016 14:00 IST (UTC+02)Israel 23–16 Croatia (1 BP)ReportWingate Institute, Netanya Attendance: 1,700 Referee: John Catteau (Belgium)
12 November 2016 14:30 EET (UTC+02)Cyprus 28–38 Israel (1 BP)ReportPafiako Stadium, Paphos Attendance: 500 Referee: Matéj Rázga (Czech Republic)
11 February 2017 18:00 CET (UTC+01)Andorra 15–14 Cyprus (1 BP)ReportEstadi Nacional, Andorra La Vella Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Philippe Lenne (Belgium)
8 April 2017 14:00 IST (UTC+02)(1 BP) Israel 57–17 AndorraReportWingate Institute, Netanya Attendance: 700 Referee: Yann Benoît (Switzerland)
22 April 2017 14:00 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Malta 39–17 IsraelMatch centre ReportHibernians Stadium, Paola Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
29 April 2017 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)Croatia 14–14 MaltaReportStadion NŠC Stjepan Spajić, Zagreb Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Jorge Molpeceres (Spain)
6 May 2017 15:00 EEST (UTC+03)(1 BP) Cyprus 27–29 CroatiaReportPafiako Stadium, Paphos Attendance: 500 Referee: Nigel Correll (Ireland) :

### Round 2 Final

The Czech Republic, as winners, qualify for round 3.
* 20 May 2017 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)
| Czech Republic | 48–14 | Malta |
| | Report | |
* Stadion Markéta, Prague Attendance: 500 Referee: Thomas Charabas (France)

## Round 3

The Czech Republic, as winners, qualify for the final of round 4.
* 27 May 2017 14:00 CEST (UTC+02)
| Czech Republic | 47–19 | Hungary |
| | Report | |
* Stadion ragby Císařka, Prague Attendance: 500 Referee: François Bouzac (France)

## Round 4
### Round 4A: Rugby Europe Trophy

* Advances to Round 4 Final
| Place | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Table points |
| Place | Nation | played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | Bonus points | Table points |
| 1 | Portugal | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 179 | 37 | +142 | 4 | 24 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 159 | 94 | +65 | 3 | 15 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 140 | 122 | +18 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | Poland | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 5 | Moldova | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 100 | 162 | -62 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | Ukraine | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 52 | 215 | –163 | 0 | 0 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points Offensive Bonus Point is given for 3 more tries than the other team - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
Matches :
24 September 2016 19:30 CEST (UTC+02)Poland 22–0 UkraineReportArena Lublin, Lublin Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
5 November 2016 14:00 EET (UTC+02)Ukraine 12–54 Netherlands (1 BP)ReportArena Lviv, Lviv Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)
12 November 2016 13:10 EET (UTC+02)(1 BP) Moldova 54–15 UkraineReportStadionul Central, Bălți Attendance: 500 Referee: Laurent Cardona (France)
19 November 2016 15:00 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Netherlands 44–17 MoldovaReportNRCA Stadium, Amsterdam Attendance: 3,215 Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
19 November 2016 15:00 CET (UTC+01)Switzerland 10–28 PortugalMatch centreStade Municipal, Yverdon-les-Bains Attendance: 2,057 Referee: Emanuele Tomo (Italy)
26 November 2016 15:00 CET (UTC+01)Switzerland 29–26 Moldova (1 BP)ReportStade Municipal, Yverdon-les-Bains Attendance: 1,030 Referee: Frank Himmer (Germany)
18 February 2017 15:00 WET (UTC+00)(1 BP) Portugal 35–10 PolandMatch centreCAR Rugby do Jamor, Lisbon Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
4 March 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01)Netherlands 10–26 Portugal (1 BP)Match centreNRCA Stadium, Amsterdam Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Giuseppe Vivarini (Italy)
11 March 2017 15:00 WET (UTC+00)(1 BP) Portugal 59–0 MoldovaMatch centreCAR Rugby do Jamor, Lisbon Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland)
12 March 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Switzerland 54–18 UkraineReportCentre Sportif des Cherpines, Geneva Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)
18 March 2017 13:00 EET (UTC+02)Moldova 3–15 PolandReportBalti Stadium, Bălți Attendance: 350 Referee: Alexei Bryzgalin (Russia)
18 March 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01)Netherlands 38–25  SwitzerlandReportNRCA Stadium, Amsterdam Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Iñigo Atorrasagasti (Spain)
1 April 2017 15:00 EEST (UTC+03)Ukraine 7–31 PortugalReport Match centreSpartak Stadium, Odesa Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu (Romania)
8 April 2017 18:00 CEST (UTC+02)Poland 14–13 Netherlands (1 BP)ReportStadion Widzewa, Łódź Attendance: 400 Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
22 April 2017 17:00 CEST (UTC+02)Poland 12–22  SwitzerlandReportStadion Polonii, Warsaw Referee: Matthew Carley (England) :

### Round 4 Final

This fixture, unlike previous knock out fixtures, doubles as part of the Rugby Europe Trophy competition. Portugal, as winners, advance to round 6.
* 18 November 2017 15:00 WET (UTC+0)
| Portugal | 45–12 | Czech Republic |
| | Report | |
* Estádio Nacional, Oeiras Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)

## Round 5
### Table

For the Rugby Europe Championship teams, results are considered on a 2-year aggregate from the 2017 and 2018 seasons (excluding matches involving Georgia, who had already qualified). The winner advanced to the Rugby World Cup and the runner-up advanced to the Round 6 play-off.
* Qualified as Europe 1
* Advances to Round 6
| Place | Nation | Games | Games | Games | Games | Points | Points | Points | Bonus points | Deductions | Total points |
| Place | Nation | played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | diff | Bonus points | Deductions | Total points |
| 1 | Russia | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 226 | 144 | +82 | 4 | | 20 |
| 2 | Germany | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 149 | 446 | –287 | 2 | | 10 |
| 3 | Romania | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 296 | 126 | +170 | 6 | -30 | 0 |
| 4 | Spain | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 217 | 85 | +132 | 2 | -40 | –14 |
| 5 | Belgium | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 170 | 257 | –87 | 3 | -30 | –19 |
| Points were awarded to the teams as follows: Win - 4 points Draw - 2 points Offensive Bonus Point is given for 3 more tries than the other team - 1 point Loss within 7 points - 1 point Loss greater than 7 points - 0 points |
World Rugby received complaints against all five teams of fielding ineligible players, in breach of Regulation 8, during the qualification process. The neutral panel cleared Germany and Russia of the alleged ineligible players, but found Belgium, Romania and Spain guilty of breaching Regulation 8. The panel determined that each nation would be deducted 5 points for each game they had fielded an ineligible player, regardless of if more than one ineligible player had been fielded. The investigation found that Belgium and Romania had fielded ineligible players 6 times (a deduction of 30 points) and Spain 8 times (a deduction of 40 points) during the qualification process. This meant, with the deducted points for the respective nations, Russia would qualify ahead of Romania and Germany would advance to the play-offs ahead of Spain. On 29 May 2018, it was confirmed that both Romania and Spain had appealed the decision. On 6 June, the appeal failed and the decision was upheld meaning Russia was confirmed as Europe 1 and qualified for the World Cup, whilst Germany advanced to round 6.

### Matches

2017 Matches :
11 February 2017 13:15 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Germany 41–38 Romania (1 BP)Match centreSparda Bank Hessen Stadium, Offenbach Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Maxime Chalon (France)
11 February 2017 15:45 CET (UTC+01)Spain 16–6 RussiaMatch centreEstadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
18 February 2017 14:00 EET (UTC+02)Romania 13–3 SpainReportStadionul Emil Alexandrescu, Iași Referee: Elia Rizzo (Italy)
18 February 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Belgium 18–25 RussiaMatch centreKing Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Salem Attalah (France)
4 March 2017 13:00 MSK (UTC+03)Russia 10–30 Romania (1 BP)Match centreSochi Central Stadium, Sochi Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
4 March 2017 16:15 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Germany 34–29 Belgium (1 BP)Match centreSparda Bank Hessen Stadium, Offenbach Attendance: 4,126 Referee: Iñigo Atorrasagasti (Spain)
11 March 2017 13:00 CET (UTC+01)Germany 15–32 SpainMatch centreSportpark Höhenberg, Cologne Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
11 March 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01)Belgium 17–33 Romania (1 BP)Match centreKing Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Claudio Blessano (Italy)
18 March 2017 15:00 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Spain 30–0 BelgiumMatch centreEstadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu (Romania)
19 March 2017 14:00 MSK (UTC+03)(1 BP) Russia 52–25 GermanyMatch centreSochi Central Stadium, Sochi Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Cédric Marchat (France)
As the bottom-placed team in the 2017 Championship, Belgium faced the 2016/17 Trophy champions Portugal in a promotion/relegation play-off. While the game did not effect Portugal's World Cup qualification chances, as they were still to compete in the round 4 final at the time, Belgium were competing to stay in the European Championship and therefore the qualifying tournament. On 20 May 2017, Belgium defeated Portugal to remain in contention.
20 May 2017 16:00 CEST (UTC+02)Belgium 29–18 PortugalMatch centreKing Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 1,820 Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland) :
2018 Matches :
10 February 2018 15:00 MSK (UTC+03)(1 BP) Russia 13–20 SpainReportKuban Stadium, Krasnodar Attendance: 11,500 Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
10 February 2018 16:00 EET (UTC+02)(1 BP) Romania 85–6 GermanyReportCluj Arena, Cluj Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Maxime Burlet (Belgium)
17 February 2018 15:00 MSK (UTC+03)(1 BP) Russia 48–7 BelgiumReportKuban Stadium, Krasnodar Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Iñigo Atorrasagasti (Spain)
18 February 2018 12:45 CET (UTC+01)Spain 22–10 RomaniaReportEstadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Thomas Charabas (France)
3 March 2018 16:00 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Belgium 69–15 GermanyReportKing Baudouin Stadium – Annex 2, Brussels Attendance: 1,600 Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
3 March 2018 16:00 EET (UTC+02)(1 BP) Romania 25–15 RussiaReportCluj Arena, Cluj Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
10 March 2018 13:00 EET (UTC+02)(1 BP) Romania 62–12 BelgiumReportStadionul Municipal, Buzau Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
11 March 2018 12:30 CET (UTC+01)(1 BP) Spain 84–10 GermanyReportEstadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid Attendance: 15,753 Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
18 March 2018 13:00 CET (UTC+01)Germany 3–57 Russia (1 BP)ReportSportpark Höhenberg, Köln Attendance: 2,600 Referee: Ian Tempest (England)
18 March 2018 13:00 CEST (UTC+02)Belgium 18–10 SpainReportKing Baudouin Stadium – Annex 2, Brussels Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Vlad Iordăchescu (Romania) :

## Round 6: Final play-off

Germany, as winners, advance to the Europe/Oceania play-off.
* 16 June 2018 15:00 CEST (UTC+02)
| Germany | 16–13 | Portugal |
| Try: Els 51' c Con: Parkinson (1/1) 53' Pen: Parkinson (3/3) 6', 64', 72' | Report | Try: Villax 48' c Con: Rodrigues (1/1) 49' Pen: Rodrigues (2/2) 24', 29' |
* Fritz-Grunebaum-Sportpark, Heidelberg Attendance: 2,700 Referee: Tom Foley (England)
Team details :
| FB | 15 | Pierre Mathurin | 40' |
| RW | 14 | Marcel Coetzee |
| OC | 13 | Mathieu Ducau |
| IC | 12 | Raynor Parkinson | 75' |
| LW | 11 | Maxime Oltmann |
| FH | 10 | Hagen Schulte | 50' |
| SH | 9 | Sean Armstrong |
| N8 | 8 | Jarrid Els | 70' |
| OF | 7 | Jaco Otto |
| BF | 6 | Ayron Schramm |
| RL | 5 | Sebastian Ferreira |
| LL | 4 | Eric Marks |
| TP | 3 | Samy Füchsel | 52' |
| HK | 2 | Mika Tyumenev | 47' |
| LP | 1 | Julius Nostadt (c) | 68' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Mark Fairhurst | 47' |
| PR | 17 | Anthony Dickinson | 68' |
| PR | 18 | Jörn Schröder | 52' |
| LK | 19 | Marcel Henn | 70' |
| LK | 20 | Timo Vollenkemper | 19' |
| SH | 21 | Tim Menzel | 74' |
| FB | 22 | Nikolai Klewinghaus | 40' |
| FH | 23 | Chris Hilsenback | 50' |
| Coach: ||
| Pablo Lemoine ||
| FB | 15 | Nuno Sousa Guedes |
| RW | 14 | Tomás Appleton |
| OC | 13 | Rodrigo Fruedenthal |
| IC | 12 | Vasco Ribeiro |
| LW | 11 | Adérito Esteves |
| FH | 10 | José Rodrigues |
| SH | 9 | Manuel Queirós |
| N8 | 8 | Jacques le Roux | 75' |
| OF | 7 | Sebastião Villax |
| BF | 6 | Salvador Vassalo Santos (c) |
| RL | 5 | Gonçalo Uva | 59' |
| LL | 4 | Jean Sousa |
| TP | 3 | Bruno Rocha | 53' |
| HK | 2 | Duarte Diniz |
| LP | 1 | Francisco Fernandes | 53' |
| Replacements: ||
| PR | 16 | Bruno Medeiros | 53' |
| HK | 17 | Nuno Mascarenhas |
| LK | 18 | Geordie McSullea | 59' |
| N8 | 19 | Francisco Sousa | 75' |
| SH | 20 | Francisco Vieira |
| CE | 21 | Manuel Vilela Pereira |
| FB | 22 | Andreu Cyrille |
| PR | 23 | João Taveira | 53' |
| Coach: ||
| Martim Aguiar ||
* Touch judges:
* Ian Tempest (England)
* Christophe Ridley (England)