The Lithuanian youth team has remained in the European elite for almost a decade.
The Lithuanian rugby players started the tournament in Prague in Group B, where they faced formidable opponents in the first matches. They were unable to put up serious resistance – losing to Portugal 0:48 and to France 7:73.
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The match for third place in the group against Turkey ended disappointingly. After a dramatic battle, the Turks won 26:24.
On the second day, the Lithuanian team fought for 9th-12th places. The semifinal against the Polish team determined who would keep their place in the top division, as every year the two weakest teams in the tournament say goodbye to it.
This crucial match started tensely – before the first half was over, the Poles led 14:0. But it was then that the Lithuanians showed their character and best play. Before halftime, the Lithuanians equalized at 14:14, and the second half was simply flawless.
Two tries in the first minutes of the second half, later another successful Lithuanian attack and excellent defense that did not allow the opponents to score a point in the second half. This led to the Lithuanians’ victory 33:14 (14:14) and retention of their place in the European elite.
In the match for 9th place, the Lithuanians lost 14:17 to the Ukrainian team after a dramatic fight. The Ukrainians secured the win during added time by the referee.
“We evaluate the championship in two ways. On the first day, we were overwhelmingly defeated by two elite teams. We started very poorly against the Turks. Although we tried to recover and had a chance to snatch a victory, unfortunately, we did not succeed. It is pleasing that we managed to win the most important match against Poland and remain in the Championship division,” said Lithuanian team coach Justinas Vasiliauskas.
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The coach admitted that he hoped to see the team among the top eight European teams, but these ambitions were limited by injuries to two key players before the championship.
“By age, half of our team will be able to participate in next year’s championship, so these players have gained important experience. Because of this, we hope to achieve even better results in the future,” emphasized J. Vasiliauskas.
The Lithuanian team was represented by Pijus Lukoševičius, Osvaldas Diedonis, Vykintas Stulpinas, Tomas Pavliukovič, Casper Schrijer, captain Kajus Žilinskas, Majus Šukys, Dovydas Jukna, Airidas Tverijonas, Oskaras Gedminas, Augustas Jucevičius, and Davidas Virbukas.
In 2025, the Lithuanian youth rugby-7 team took seventh place in the European championship. The best Lithuanian result in the elite division is sixth place, recorded in 2022 and 2024.
This year’s European youth championship was won by France, defending the trophy. In the final, the French defeated their Spanish peers 21:12.
In the bronze medal match, the Czech Republic defeated Germany 26:5. The Polish and Turkish teams were forced to say goodbye to the elite division.
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