11 April 2026 | Estonian Rugby Union
The Estonia Men’s rugby team has recorded an official win over Latvia after the opposition were forced to withdraw from their scheduled Rugby Europe Conference fixture. It is Estonia’s first win in the 15-a-side format since 21 May 2016, when the team won the European Nations Cup Division III title, defeating Slovakia 36–29 in a home final in Tallinn.
While the result is an important milestone, we would naturally have preferred to earn the victory on the pitch. A fully prepared squad of 23 players — travel-ready and match-ready — had done serious preparation work since the start of the season for this fixture.
Rugby growing at every level
Today’s result is just one part of a bigger picture. 2026 is shaping up to be a historic year for Estonian rugby on several fronts:
- The Estonia Women’s XV will play their first-ever Rugby 15s development match on 16 May against Latvia. This is a historic step — Estonia women take to the field in full-format international rugby for the first time.
- The Estonia U18 Boys will compete at the Rugby Europe U18 7s European Championship in Budapest in August — a first in the history of Estonian youth rugby.
Together with today’s win, this means Estonian rugby makes history in 2026 at three levels simultaneously — men’s, women’s and youth.
Solidarity with Latvian rugby
The Estonian Rugby Union wishes our Latvian colleagues strength during these difficult times. Developing rugby in small nations is extremely hard work. Finding players, training coaches, covering travel costs and filling the fixture calendar demands enormous commitment from people who do this work mostly as volunteers, out of love for the sport. These challenges are very familiar to us — we have experienced them ourselves almost every day for two decades. Latvian rugby has been both our opponent and our friend, and we hope to see them back on the pitch soon.
Looking ahead
Head Coach Graham Smith: “The players were ready and motivated — a 23-man squad was travel-ready, which shows how far this programme has come. It is unfortunate the match was cancelled, but our full focus is now on the home game against Norway. But this season is bigger than one match. Our women will play their first XV international and our U18 boys are heading to Budapest. This is an unprecedented year for Estonian rugby.”
Invitation — Norway home game, 2 May
You are invited to Saturday, 2 May at the Estonian National Cricket and Rugby Ground in Tiskre, where Estonia host Norway in a Rugby Europe Conference match. Kick-off and further details will be confirmed shortly via the Estonian Rugby Union’s social media channels.
Media contact: Paul Davidson | Estonian Rugby Union | teamestonia@ragbi.ee | +37254005260