With one game still to go, the 2025 Women’s Rugby Europe Championship winners have been found, with Spain retaining their crown.
The Leonas had to go the extra mile to defeat a resilient Dutch team, while Portugal bagged their first win of the campaign, and we explain how these stats were crucial for how each game played out.
CLEAN BREAKS: 10
Portugal saved their best performance for last, winning big in the Trelleborg Rugby Arena and clinching 3rd place in the Women’s Rugby Europe Championship. João Moura’s team were unforgiving while defending (89% tackle accuracy rate and no tries conceded), but they were equally unstoppable when they had the ball in their possession.
With Mariana Santos stealing the show, Portugal relentlessly pursued happiness, scoring six uncontested tries and slicing open the Swedish defense. The Portuguese outside back trio, led by Daniela Correia, was simply outstanding in converting every chance into a try opportunity, injecting speed, acceleration and a heavy dose of lethality to put down a worthy opponent.
In the end, even if the visitors had only carried the ball 20 more metres than Sweden, they wrapped up with 10 clean breaks, 9 more than the opposition, a key stat to understand Portugal’s 35-point margin lead.
It was by far the Lobas’ best overall performance since they joined the Women’s Rugby Europe Championship, a promising sign for future chapters.
SCRUM PENS WON: 5
The Netherlands pushed Spain until the very end, but the champions didn’t lose track of their goal and retained their status as the Women’s Rugby Europe Championship champions! However, their set-piece was crucial for the 27-17 win, providing the home side a way to unlock the Dutch in-goal area.
While the lineout produced two tries – a driving maul and a pick-and-go –, it was actually the scrum that set both teams apart, giving an essential boost to Spain when the opposition was trying to fight back. In the last quarter, the 8vs8 translated into four Spanish won penalties, silencing the Dutch riot and allowing Amalia Argudo to have two shots at the goalposts, with the kicker not missing the target.
Even if it wasn’t a vibrant and audacious performance from the title-holders, that scrum work was a love letter to the game we call rugby, especially when it wasn’t one of their strengths two years ago. Credit to the Netherlands for forcing Spain to go deep, and credit to the Spanish pack for the dominant performance.
DOMINANT TACKLES: 7
Netherlands might’ve fallen short of winning their first-ever Women’s Rugby Europe Championship, but their performance will not doubt be a benchmark for the future, especially in terms of their tackling performance.
Gareth Gilbert’s side only missed 8 tackles out of 112 attempts, making life hard for Spain, who weren’t able to enact that attacking excellence from past campaigns. Tucked inside the defense stats, there’s one that deserves a second look: 7 dominant tackles.
In a clash between title contenders, the Dutch were hellbent on knocking back their rivals with power, pressing Spain to redraw their attacking game plan. Mariet Luijken (17 tackles), Inger Jongerius (11) and Nicky Dix (11) finished as the top tacklers on their side, in what was a sensational team effort.
Kika Mulling’s sprints and solo runs deserve a hefty dose of compliments, but if the Oranje keep empowering their defensive structures, they can certainly dream of future silverware.
