Recap day 1

Next 5 days in the 2024 WWR European Championship B-division tournament, eight teams are competing for promotion to the A-division.

The tournament began with an opening ceremony, which included a flag march and official opening speeches. Finland’s player Anna Pasanen read the athletes’ oath, Finland’s coach Ross Morrison swore the coach’s oath, and the referee representative Caio Moraes took the oath on behalf of the referees, promising to uphold the values of fair play throughout the tournament. Afterward, local musicians Ilpo Kaikkonen and Pasi Jääskeläinen got the teams dancing with some good old rock ‘n’ roll.

The games kicked off with a match between Finland and Austria. The game was an end-to-end battle throughout, with both teams trading tries at an even pace. In the end, the game swung in Austria’s favor due to some late mistakes by Finland, resulting in a 51-52 victory for Austria.

In the second match of the day, Spain faced off against Sweden. Sweden pulled ahead by a few tries at the start of the game. However, Spain rallied impressively, and the latter part of the game was much more evenly matched. Sweden’s early lead, though, held up until the end, with the match finishing 50-53 in Sweden’s favor.

In the match between the Czech Republic and Italy, Italy’s number 6 dominated the field, scoring 31 tries. The Czech Republic put up a strong fight but ultimately lost by 17 tries, with a final score of 40-57 in favor of Italy.

The last match of the day saw Israel and Poland face off. The game was incredibly close for the first three quarters. However, a few mistakes and penalties from Israel gave Poland the edge, and they secured a 40-42 victory.

All in all, the matches on the first day were very close, fast-paced, and entertaining. The same can be expected in the upcoming matchdays.