1996–97 FIRA Tournament
The 1996–97 FIRA Tournament was the 32nd edition of the European rugby union championship for national teams organized by the Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur (FIRA).
| 1996–97 FIRA Tournament | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 22 November 1996 – 17 May 1997 | ||
| Countries | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium  Czech Republic  Denmark .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Georgia  Germany  Morocco  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Russia Spain Tunisia | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Champions | Spain | ||
| Matches played | 24 | ||
| |||
France, Italy and Romania did not participate, in order to privilege other appointments. France and Italy had to play the final of the previous trophy, due to the large number of international matches, only on 23 March 1997, after this tournament was started. Both countries were not interested to continue to participate in the FIRA senior competitions and this would be their last presence at the competition.
The tournament had a new formula. Twelve teams were divided into four pools of 3 teams. After a round robin, they were ranked in 3 groups to define the ranking, also valid to divide the Teams for the second round qualification to 1999 Rugby World Cup.
There was no second division, the other 18 European teams played the first round of qualification to the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
Spain and Portugal qualified for the First Place final, which was won by the Spaniards by 25-18.
First round
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 17 | +85 | 6 | Qualified for 1–4th-place semifinals |
| 2 | Belgium |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 80 | −56 | 4 | Qualified for 5–8th-place semifinals |
| 3 | Germany |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 49 | −29 | 2 | Qualified for 9–12th-place semifinals |
Pool B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 6 | Qualified for 1–4th-place semifinals |
| 2 | Russia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 43 | +14 | 4 | Qualified for 5–8th-place semifinals |
| 3 | Czech Republic |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 55 | −27 | 2 | Qualified for 9–12th-place semifinals |
| 20 October 1996 |
| Georgia | 29–20 | Russia |
| Try: Kavtararhvili, Modebadze, Nadiradze Con: Machitidze Pen: Machitidze (2) Drop: Iurini, Machitidze | Try: Boldakov Pen: Boldakov (5) |
| National Stadium, Tbilisi Referee:  G. Barrabes |
Pool C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 17 | +49 | 6 | Qualified for 1–4th-place semifinals |
| 2 | Tunisia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 4 | Qualified for 5–8th-place semifinals |
| 3 | Netherlands |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 75 | −49 | 2 | Qualified for 9–12th-place semifinals |
Second round
- First to Fourth places Semifinals
| 19 April 1997 |
| Portugal | 21–17 | Georgia |
| Try: Pires (2) Con: Amaral Pen: Mourão (3) | Try: Nadiradze Pen: Modebadze (3) Drop: Machididze |
| Lisbon University Stadium, Lisbon Referee: A. Fernandez |
- 5th to 8th places Semifinals
- 9th to 12th places Semifinals
Finals
- First Place Final
| 11 May 1997 | Spain |
25–18 | Portugal |
Campo Universitário, Madrid | |
| Try: Gutíerrez Merelles, Puertas Soto, C. Souto Con: Aurrekeotxea Arregui (2) Pen: Aurrekeotxea Arregui (2) |
Try: Bento, Portela Con: Mourão Pen: Mourão (2) |
||||
| Spain: Francisco Puertas Soto, 14. Daniel Saenz Lobsack, 13. Álvar Enciso, 12. Pablo Calderón Sole, 11. Francisco Fernández Jiménez, 10. Unai Aurrekoetxea Arregui, 9. Aratz Gallastegui, 8. Carlos Souto, 7. Jaime Gutiérrez Merelles, 6. Diego Fuks Mitelmann, 5. Steve Tuineau Iloa, 4. José Miguel Villaú, 3. Víctor Torres, 2. Javier Aguiar Cayetano, 1. José Ignacio Zapatero - replacements: 16. Fernando de la Calle, 17. Oscar Solano Sevilla | |||||
| Portugal: 15. Salvador Amaral, 14. António Rebelo Andrade, 13. João Bento, 12. Pedro Castro, 11. Marcello d'Orey, 10. Joaquim Ferreira, 9. Rohan Hoffmann, 8. Ricardo Vieira, 7. João Varela, 6. Paulo Silva, 5. Alcino Silva, 4. Miguel Portela, 3. Luís Pissarra, 2. José Pires, 1. Nuno Mourão - replacements: 16. António Cláudio, 17. Gonçalo Neto, 18. Luís Sequeira, 19. Sérgio Azevedo, 20. Sérgio Ferreira | |||||
- 3rd-place final
| 10 May 1997 |
| Poland | 29–23 | Georgia |
| Try: Fedorowicz, Wróbel Con: Szwichtenberg, Wróbel Pen: Szymański (2), Urbanowicz (2) | Try: Katsadze, Andghuladze Con: Iruni (2) Pen: Iurini (3) |
| Ogniwo, Sopot Referee: K. Blank |
- 5th-place final
- 7th-place final
- 9th-place final
- 11th-place final
Final ranking
Bibliography
- (in Italian) Francesco Volpe, Valerio Vecchiarelli (2000), 2000 Italia in Meta, Storia della nazionale italiana di rugby dagli albori al Sei Nazioni, GS Editore (2000) ISBN 88-87374-40-6.
- (in Italian) Francesco Volpe, Paolo Pacitti (Author), Rugby 2000, GTE Gruppo Editorale (1999).