Georgia beat Portugal 36-10 on Sunday to retain the Rugby Europe Championship trophy in the finals. The title win was Georgia’s 13th out of the last 14 in the competition. The only country to take away from Georgia’s streak was Romania in 2017.

Georgia and Portugal topped their respective pools which sparked a replay of their tense Rugby World Cup pool match. Back in September the two sides played one another at the tournament in France but the match ended 18-18.

Read more: Rugby Europe Championship Finals Day explained

Georgia avenged the result to take the Rugby Europe Championship title and it came from tries across the pitch. Akaki Tabutsadze scored two and Vano Karkadze dotted down off the back of a maul. Luka Matkava’s boot also kept the scoreboard ticking.

Georgia’s new head coach Richard Cockerill shared his verdict post-match. He told Rugby Pass: “Tonight there was a real edge because Portugal are a team who are definitely good enough to beat us. They probably should have beaten us in the World Cup. With respect to all the other teams we’re probably too good for this tournament.

“At the moment maybe we are not quite good enough to be dining at the same table as the Super Rugby teams or the Championship or the Six Nations. The politicians above me will decide where is best for us to play moving forward at some point. The thing we have to do is keep improving.”

There had been discussions amongst fans about the Six Nations introducing relegation to the side who finished bottom in order for teams like Georgia to compete in the tournament. However, that has not been green lit by bosses.

Elsewhere in the tournament; Spain beat Romania 40-33, the Netherlands thumped Germany 45-0 and Belgium beat Poland 34-8.

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.