Rugby Europe Trophy 2025/26 preview: Sweden and Poland lead race for Championship promotion
Rugby NewsWednesday, 22 October 2025 at 10:20
Sweden begin the second half of the Rugby Europe Trophy cycle this weekend with belief, momentum and a growing sense of purpose.
and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.
The 2025/26 competition marks the closing year of a two-season format that will determine promotion to the Rugby Europe Championship — the tier that features Georgia, Portugal, Spain and the continent’s elite outside the Six Nations.
Alex Laybourne’s side finished second in last season’s standings, just three points behind leaders Poland, who edged a dramatic 29-25 victory in Trelleborg to close out the first year of the cycle.
That was Sweden's only defeat of the first cycle and they enter this campaign ranked 30th in the world — the nation’s highest-ever position. For a programme long considered one of European rugby’s over-achievers, belief is no longer enough: they want silverware, and a shot at the Championship.
The Trophy operates on an unusual rhythm: relegation happens every year, but promotion is decided only after the two-season window closes. Each side plays every opponent home and away across those two campaigns. That means Sweden’s final fixture of the upcoming cycle — away to Poland in spring 2026 — could decide everything.
Laybourne admits that structure changes how teams plan.
“We knew going into it that it’s a two-year cycle,” he says. “Every game counts across both years. When we lost that home game against Poland, we knew that was effectively half-time. As long as we can back it up this season, we’ve still got another opportunity.”
Those “bonus-point details”, he adds, could be decisive: “Czechia got a late bonus point against us at home, and we missed one against Croatia away. Those little things matter.”
Their campaign opens in Trelleborg on Saturday, where Sweden host Croatia, while Lithuania and Poland meet in a Baltic derby. Denmark, newly promoted after Luxembourg’s relegation, complete a competitive six-team field alongside Czechia.
Sweden’s head coach expects no easy start.
“Croatia are incredibly hard to beat — physical, resilient, they never quit,” Laybourne notes. “They’ll fight for every last thing. You have to be smart and composed for 80 minutes.”
The familiarity among these nations is striking. For four straight years, Sweden, Czechia, Lithuania and Croatia have been grouped together. “It probably makes it fairer,” Laybourne says. “You learn how teams play and how their coaches think, but you also see changes — injuries, work, family commitments. Squads evolve. You can’t assume anything.”
If the opener is about focus, a later fixture will be about pride. Denmark’s promotion means Scandinavia will host a full Test between the neighbours for the first time in years.
“It’s definitely one that stands out on the calendar,” Laybourne admits. “We had a warm-up with them last year, but as a full Test match it’s incredibly exciting. Derby games always are.”
That Scandinavian showdown will offer more than bragging rights; it will also showcase the region’s quiet rugby resurgence. Sweden’s high-performance programme has become a model for tier two and three nations, while Denmark's recent rise under head coach Andreas Robertson saw them comfortably beat a far more established rugby nation, Moldova, in the Rugby Europe Conference promotion play-off.
Nothing symbolises Sweden's progress better than Ale Loman. The 25-year-old prop made his Prem debut for Leicester Tigers this month — a milestone that has reverberated through Swedish rugby.
“We’re super proud of Ale,” Laybourne says. “He only started rugby at 17 or 18, we gave him his debut at 19, and now he’s running out in the Premiership. That’s down to his character — intelligent, hardworking, diligent. His ceiling’s really high.”
Loman’s story resonates well beyond Sweden’s borders. He developed entirely through the domestic pathway before studying and playing at Nottingham University, then joining Nottingham RFC in the English Championship. Now on loan at Tigers, he balances three systems — Nottingham, Premiership, and national team — and still finds time to mentor Sweden’s young front-rowers.
“He’s been on every team call,” says Laybourne. “He’s leading sub-groups, feeding back to the younger props. He’s shown that if you work hard and pay attention to detail, you can make it. For a 14-year-old in Sweden switching from ice hockey or football, seeing a guy who started at 17 playing Premiership rugby — that’s huge.”
Loman’s rise, his coach believes, has significance far beyond one player. “It’s not just good for Sweden; it’s good for tier-two and tier-three rugby. There are incredible athletes in this competition. Coaches at Championship or even Premiership level would be surprised at the quality here.”
The Trophy’s competitiveness is one of its charms — and its challenges. Sweden’s near-miss last year was mirrored elsewhere: Luxembourg were “incredibly unlucky” to drop out, as Laybourne notes, while every match produced tight scorelines. “Every team can beat anyone,” he says simply. “You can’t take your eye off the ball for a second.”
That unpredictability ensures this season will again hinge on small details. Sweden’s players, spread across domestic clubs and Europe’s lower divisions, will need to reproduce the structure and intensity that defined their best performances in 2024/25.
EDITORS PICKS:
- All Blacks star could swap nations and play for England very soon
- Five Most Controversial Omissions from the Springboks Autumn Squad
- Steve Borthwick explains Owen Farrell England recall situation
- What if? Seven Former Rugby Wonderkids Who Flopped
- Ireland confirm late call-ups to Autumn squad – Farrell included after Bundee Aki injury concerns
- Tom Willis prepares to end England career as back row agrees move to Bordeaux-Begles
- BREAKING: Red Roses legend Emily Scarratt confirms retirement from rugby
TRENDING
LATEST NEWS
LATEST COMMENTS
Loading
