Tomorrow, 13 Estonian boys aged 15–17 board a flight to Budapest. On Thursday they will take the field as the first Estonian youth team ever to compete at a European Rugby Championship. The tournament is the Rugby Europe U18 Boys 7s Trophy 2, played on 17–18 July at the Dr. Koltai Jenő Sports Center in Budapest.
All matches are live on Rugby Europe’s website:
▶ Watch live at rugbyeurope.eu
Schedule (Estonian time, EET UTC+3)
| Date | Time | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 17 July | 11:44 | Hungary vs Estonia |
| Thursday 17 July | 14:52 | Austria vs Estonia |
| Thursday 17 July | 17:22 | Estonia vs Georgia |
| Friday 18 July | TBC | Semi-finals, Finals & Plate matches |
Group B opponents
Hungary — The hosts. Last year’s bronze medallists and a strong home crowd behind them. Estonia’s first match.
Austria — Last year’s finalists. Austria beat every team in the tournament except the winners, Monaco. One of the toughest tests in the group.
Georgia — Tournament favourites. Georgia are five-time consecutive U18 XVs European Champions (2019–2024) and previously competed at the highest level of U18 7s in 2018–2019, reaching the semi-finals. After several years away, they re-enter the 7s pathway at Trophy 2 level. Estonia plays them last in the group — by which point both sides will know exactly what’s at stake.
The squad
Head Coach: Tanner Saar (Tallinn Kalev)
Manager: Paul Davidson
Physiotherapist: Siret Täks
- Aleksander Nigul — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Garmin Kender — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Arti Neemelo — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Joosep Õim — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Karl Gustav Viisitamm — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Laur Kristjan Raik — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Nikolas Sebastian Pihelgas — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Richard Vlassov — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Risto Revon Viisitamm — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Ruben-Thor Talpas — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Uku-Martin Teder — Sohni Ragbiklubi
- Martin Lillemäe — Helsinki Warriors Rugby Club (Finland)
- Alexis Besnard — Marlow RUFC (England)
Already proven against adults
These players are not going to Budapest to make up the numbers. In May, competing under the Kirbla Rugby Union Football Club name, they entered the Estonian National 7s Championship — a senior competition — and played four matches against adult Estonian and Latvian club sides.
- Sohni/Kirbla 21–15 Old Boys/Tartu — a win against grown men
- Fēnikss (Latvia) 24–12 Sohni/Kirbla — two tries scored against a Latvian club side
- Losses only to Tallinn Kalev and Märjamaa Vikat — Estonia’s two strongest clubs, packed with senior internationals
Final result: 3rd place and a bronze medal at the Estonian national championships, at 15–17 years old.
“We’re not going there to make up the numbers”
“We’ve had a long and productive preparation period and our team is made up of talented players. If we can focus on the simple but important things and execute them well, I see us playing in the semi-finals. These boys have proven they can compete against adults and now we want to show we can do that at international level against our own age group. The opponents are strong — Austria were finalists last year, Hungary play at home and Georgia are U18 European champions in XVs — but the team is ready and confident. We are ready for the challenge.”
Tanner Saar, Head Coach
Support the team — they leave tomorrow
The squad is still fundraising for travel and accommodation costs. The target is €6,000 and €1,930 has been raised so far. The team departs tomorrow, Wednesday 16 July.
Photos from the Estonian national championships (Sohni/Kirbla in black/purple): Flickr album. Training photos: Google Photos. For media enquiries: teamestonia@ragbi.ee