Great to see Swiss move up the ladder

THERE will be a new name mixing it with the bigger teams in the Rugby Europe Championship next season after Switzerland clinched their first promotion to the top tier last weekend with a crushing 68-0 win over Ukraine in Zurich.

Their win also means for the first time ever Switzerland now have a shot at qualifying for the World Cup when the results of the next two Rugby Europe Championships will be combined to determine the automatic European qualification spots for RWC2027.

Switzerland’s big win saw them close out both this season’s Trophy with a 100 per cent record and also top the combined two-season table which decided which team takes Poland’s place in the championship next time round.

Off the back of their considerable efforts over the last two years Switzerland have risen to 26 in the world rankings which, for the time being anyway, puts them above three of their main rivals next season with the Netherlands ranking 27th, Belgum 28th and Germany 32nd.

For Ukraine it was a match too far after the most difficult of campaigns against the odds and with no home ground. Switzerland, off the back of a big muscular pack, ran in 11 tries with hattricks for both wings Hugo Malyon, left, and Cyril Fluckiger.

Malyon is one of a handful of players currently based in France. He plays with National 1 team RC Suresnes, Fluckiger is with Chartres, while both half-backs are playing good rugby in France, scrum-half William Meyer with Rumilly via Sydney University and fly-half Jules Porcher with RC Aubenas Vals. Versatile back five forward Ahmed Khan was with Lyon and now plays for Chambery and flanker Nicolas Mousties plays for Provence. There are a couple of English based players as well, Cheltenham prop Cameron Holenstein and Hornets RFC prop Reuben Bachofner-Brown.