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.

2018 European Championship
Number of teams	4
Host countries	Wales France Scotland Ireland
Winner	France (8th title)
Matches played	6
Attendance	8,866 (1,478 per match)
Points scored	300 (50 per match)
Tries scored	52 (8.67 per match)
Top scorer	James Olds (40)
Top try scorer	Morgan Escaré Rhys Williams Josh Ralph (4 tries each)
Tournaments  < 2015 2020 >

Teams

The championship will be contested by the national teams of France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.^[1] Wales are the defending champions having won the previous competition, the 2015 European Cup.^[2]

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.^[1]

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
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

Source: ERL

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[3] Attendance: 200[4] Referee: Tom Grant (England)[5]

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[3] Attendance: 4,055[6] Referee: James Child (England)[5]

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.

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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[7] Attendance: 250[8] Referee: Ben Casty (France)[5]

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[3] Attendance: 250[9] Referee: Scott Mikalauskas (England)[5]

Notes:

• Ed O'Keefe (Ireland) made his Test debut.
• France became the 9th team to qualify for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

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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[3] Attendance: 2,854[10] Referee: Greg Dolan (England)[5]

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[11] Attendance: 1,257[12] Referee: Gareth Hewer (England)[5]

Notes:

• Wales became the 10th team to qualify for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

Media coverage

Country or region	Broadcaster	Ref.
Australia	Fox League	[13]
United Kingdom	BBC Worldwide	[13]
France	viàOccitanie	[13]