Scotland and Ukraine back in Top 12

This has been an exciting weekend for the sport in Norway with the country's small rugby community celebrating 50 years of rugby with their biggest ever international tournament.A superbly organised event generated a real festival atmosphere, all of the teams attracted their own supporters including, in the case of Scotland, anentire pipe band.

The competition on the field was fierce and entertaining, with - as is often the case at this level - a whole raft of "surprise" results.

Finlandin particular grew game by game. They began with a 36-0 defeat to Scotland, but after that the 11th seeds improved dramatically, met Scotland again on day two and gave them a huge scare in the quarter-finals before losing 20-10, before going on to reach the Plate final with an impressive 17-0 win over the Czech Republic, who had been third in 2013.

TheCzechswere bitterly disappointed by their weekend. In two successive games - against Poland and then Romania - they went into the final minute well ahead, but seemed to relax and so lose both games. As a result they could only finish 7th. It may be significant that another team disappointed by their weekend wasSwitzerland,who missed out on the quarter-finals after an early defeat to Romania. Both teams meet in the fifteen-a-side European Championship in only three weeks time, with the same players involved, and even the best teams find switching between formats difficult.

Poland- fourth seeds - also had a tougher than expected weekend, just making the quarters with that dramatic win over the Czech Republic, but losing all three games on day two to drop to eighth in the rankings.

The Czech pool was headed by another surprise team - 9th seedGeorgia- who looked superb with ball in hand, going on to reach the semi-finals before losing  out to a well disciplined Ukraine team who denied them any real possession. By the third place game they had tired, but fourth place overall will be a result they are very happy with.

NeighboursMoldovaandRomania,with their near identical flags and team strips, had near identical tournaments, both finishing second in their pools - and looking impressive. Moldova lost narrowly to Georgia in the quarter-finals but went on to win the plate, and gain revenge for their earlier defeat with a last minute score against Finland. Romania, on the other hand, took third place overall after sneaking a dramatic win over the Czech Republic before pushing Scotland all the way in their semi-final.

Norwayonly gave the home crowd one win in their five games - but it was a vital bowl semi-final, which ensured that they would remain in Division A next season. InsteadCroatiaandDenmarkare the teams who will almost certainly be relegated for next year (assuming there is a full entry next year). The Danes, however, could be a team to watch in the future as most of the team was aged 20 or under.

However, the teams to beat were always going to beScotlandandUkraine. The Scots scored over 100 points in their pool, conceding just one try. However, day two was tougher with both Finland and Romania pushing them all the way - but that was enough to achieve their aim and get promotion back to the Top 12. Ukraine were similarly impressive, looking exactly like a team of mainly former handball and basketball players (which they are). Fast runners, with great hands, they gained the second promotion spot, and reached the final, conceding only two tries.

The final itself saw the first half played entirely at Scotland's end of the field, but despite this Ukraine only managed one try in the 10 minutes. The second half opened with an equalising try for Scotland, but this was quickly cancelled out with a well taken try by Ukrainian captain Olga Blanutsa. A third try in the final minute complete Ukraine's victory 17-5

Overall, though the standard of play has improved, there remains a big difference between Division A and the Top 12. To succeed in Division A the main requirements are speed and handling, but that is not enough at the next level. To paraphrase Chris Lane, Division A is a contact sport, but the Top 12 is a collision sport. It was significant that Finland's adoption of a more aggressive and physical style of play resulted in a significant improvement in results. The teams promoted have a huge challenge ahead if they are to remain in the top division after next year.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Bowl Semi Finals (9th-12th)

11th/12th Match

Bowl final:9th/10th Match

Quarter-finals (1st-8th)

Plate Semi Finals (5th-8th)

7th/8th Match

Plate final: 5th/6th Match

Cup Semi Finals (1st-4th)

3rd/4th place

Cup Final: 1st/2nd place