Israel’s rise up the rugby ranks continued on Saturday when the national team advanced to Division 2B of the European Nations Cup.
By ALLON SINAIIsrael’s national rugby team(photo credit: Roey Kamiel)
Israel’s rise up the rugby ranks continued on Saturday when the national team advanced to Division 2B of the European Nations Cup with a 15-0 victory over Denmark at the Wingate Stadium.The blue-and-white consolidated its place atop of Division 2C with a 44-5 victory over Hungary in April and proved it deserved to gain promotion by shutting out the Danes on Saturday.Matan Brosh made the most of a Danish mistake to score the first try of the match in front of 1,500 fans and Adrian Reinstein ensured the blue-and-white had a comfortable cushion at the break with another try.Reinstein scored his second try of the game to secure the victory in the second half and Israeli rugby celebrated yet another landmark win.“When you take every player as an individual, Denmark is better than Israel,” Brosh said. “But as a team we are a force and we gave them no chance.”Following the victory, Israel is expected to climb from its current world ranking of No. 57 to around No. 50.It was just two years ago that Israel was ranked at No. 79 when it advanced to Division 3B for the first time in its history.Now, however, it has already got its sights set on Division 2A, which is still two divisions below the top grouping, which was won last year by Georgia.Israel won all four of its games in its group in the 2011/12 season, doing so by almost 17 points per game.However, it is sure to find life a lot more difficult next season as it looks to continue its progress.
