Euro 7s Division A teams target Top 12

Picture: Switzerland v Czech Republic, Amsterdam 2013 (Swiss RFU)

Have no doubt about it, that prize will be a huge incentive for every player in Prague, and with two teams being promoted to the Top 12 for next season, its quite a realistic prospect for more than half of the teams in what should be a very exciting event.

Some teams have been there before, of course. Sweden have spent more years in the top division than out of it, and Switzerland, Moldova, Belgium and Romania have also experienced life at the top of the European Sevens game in recent years.

Taking these on, are a clutch of teams who have fought their way up from Division B in recent years, consolidating their position in the A league, and now aiming for greater things – teams such a Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

The format is the same as for all of this year’s European tournaments with two pools of six teams, with the top two from each pool contesting the semi-finals.

Number one seeds Sweden, head Pool A, where they take on Croatia, Romania, Georgia, Austria and Poland, and while they will start as favourites they cannot take anything for granted. To begin with, there has been a significant turnover of players in Sweden, as we saw with their fifteens team in the World Cup qualifier, and their tournament preparation for this championship has been limited.

There will be no easy games for them against any of their opponents. Indeed it is a mark of how close these teams are that Georgia,  who narrowly missed out on a semi-final place in the Women’s Shield at Amsterdam, having given the Ukraine a scare in their quarter-final pool – are only seeded eighth.

Austria (10thseeds) have a long history in European Sevens, and even 11thseeds Poland have had some impressive results in Emerging Nations tournaments in recent years; though in their case funding problems have heavily impacted on their preparations, forcing them to pull out of Amsterdam last month.

Number two seeds Switzerland, have a similar challenge in Pool B, where they take on Moldova, Belgium, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Denmark. Again, most of these teams will harbour genuine hopes for a place in the final four – possibly only the Danes will be primarily concerned with avoiding relegation.

Belgium, for example, finished ahead of the Swiss in Amsterdam where they reached the semi-finals – the only Division A side to do so. The Belgian women have had a good year at both sevens and fifteens, and will come to Prague full of confidence. On form alone they are probably the team to watch this weekend.

Hosts and ninth seeds are the Czech Republic and they found their weekend in the Dutch capital rather tougher, but this young side are learning and improving with each tournament. They have an ideal opportunity to show how much they did learn last month in their opening game, which is against the Swiss and is a repeat of their quarter-final pool match in Amsterdam where missed tackles in particular were their undoing. Now, on home ground, they will be determined to put that right, and continue to develop women’s rugby in central Europe.

The full draw is available on theFIRA website. Scores will be updated throughout the weekend.