# 2018 Rugby League European Championship

The 2018 European Championship is an international rugby league tournament that took place in October and November 2018. Four teams competed in the tournament, which forms the top tier of European international competition, and the first stage of qualification for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The winner and runner-up will automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the third and fourth placed teams will enter the European play-off qualifying competition.

## Teams

The championship will be contested by the national teams of France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wales are the defending champions having won the previous competition, the 2015 European Cup.

## Standings

The championship is a single round-robin tournament with two points awarded for a win and one point for a draw. The matches will take place over three consecutive weekends commencing 26 October 2018.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 38 | +68 | 6 | Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup |
| 2 | Wales | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 108 | 74 | +34 | 4 | Qualification for 2021 Rugby League World Cup |
| 3 | Ireland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 54 | 74 | −20 | 2 | Advance to Europe Repêchage for 2021 World Cup qualification |
| 4 | Scotland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 114 | −82 | 0 | Advance to Europe Repêchage for 2021 World Cup qualification |

## Fixtures

* 27 October 2018 14:00 IST (UTC+01:00)
| Ireland | 36−10 | Scotland |
| Tries: Higginson (2), Bentley, McCarthy, McMahon, O'Donnell, Ryan Goals: Finn (4/7) | Report | Tries: Glohe, Kavangh Goals: Brierley (1/2) |
* Morton Stadium, Santry Attendance: 200 Referee: Tom Grant (England)
Notes:
* James Bentley, Lewis Bienek, Liam Byrne, Jack Higginson, Ronan Michael, Declan O'Donnell, Ethan Ryan, Michael Ward (all Ireland), Davey Dixon, Nick Glohe, Finn Hutchison, Sam Luckley, Murray Mitchell, Kieran Moran, and Luke Westman (all Scotland) made their Test debuts.
* 27 October 2018 18:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
| France | 54–18 | Wales |
| Tries: Escaré (2), Marcon (2), Ader, Curran, Gigot, Miloudi, Navarette Goals: Gigot (7/8), Albert (1/1), Curran (1/1) | Report | Tries: Kear, Olds, Ralph Goals: Olds (3/3) |
* Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne Attendance: 4,055 Referee: James Child (England)
Notes:
* Rhys Curran (France), Connor Davies, Curtis Davies, Sion Jones, and James Olds (all Wales) made their Test debuts, while Chris Vitalini made his debut for Wales after previously representing Italy.
* 2 November 2018 19:30 GMT (UTC+00:00)
| Scotland | 12–50 | Wales |
| Tries: Bell, Dixon Goals: Brierley (2/2) | Report | Tries: Williams (3), Jenkins (2), Ralph (2), Butler, Evans Goals: Olds (7/9) |
* Netherdale, Galashiels Attendance: 250 Referee: Ben Casty (France)
Notes:
* Craig Borthwick, Craig Robertson (both Scotland), Mike Butt, and Elliott Jenkins (both Wales) made their Test debuts.
* 3 November 2018 14:00 GMT (UTC+00:00)
| Ireland | 10–24 | France |
| Tries: McNally, Ryan Goals: Finn (1/2) | Report | Tries: De Costa (2), Ader, Marcon Goals: Gigot (4/5) |
* Morton Stadium, Santry Attendance: 250 Referee: Scott Mikalauskas (England)
Notes:
* Ed O'Keefe (Ireland) made his Test debut.
* France became the 9th team to qualify for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
* 10 November 2018 18:00 CET (UTC+01:00)
| France | 28–10 | Scotland |
| Tries: Escaré (2), Fages, Marion Goals: Escaré (6/6) | Report | Tries: Dixon, Robertson Goals: Brierley (0/1), Thomas (1/1) |
* Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne Attendance: 2,854 Referee: Greg Dolan (England)
Notes:
* Gavin Marguerite (France), Hamish Bentley, Matt Hogg, Niall Sidney, and Dan Turland (all Scotland) made their Test debuts.
* 11 November 2018 15:00 GMT (UTC+00:00)
| Wales | 40–8 | Ireland |
| Tries: Bennion, Butler, Evans, Lloyd, Ralph, Williams Goals: Olds (8/10) | Report | Tries: Grix, King Goals: Finn (0/2) |
* Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Attendance: 1,257 Referee: Gareth Hewer (England)
Notes:
* Wales became the 10th team to qualify for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

## Media coverage

| Country or region | Broadcaster |
| Australia | Fox League |
| United Kingdom | BBC Worldwide |
| France | viàOccitanie |