The tournament is over, we came at the 7th place this time, just behind Sweden again. The last game was difficult for the players who had used a lot of energy in the games against Germany and Sweden, two games where we could not sub too much. Trude chose to start with a slightly different team, to bring fresher players. We struggled to play our rugby in the first half, especially with the two yellow cards, but gradually took control of the game and won. It was ‘just’ a game for the 7th place, a ranking game, but it felt good to win anyway.

It seems to me that our ranking in Budapest (6th) and here in Portugal (7th) is fair. Clearly above the bottom 4, but not quite there yet to compete against top teams. In Lisbon, we never lost a game by more than 22 points – we were competitive in all the games.

We had the banquet in the stadium, with all the teams. A barbeque! Last year, we had lost all our games in the last day. It didn’t feel so good at the party afterwards. Finishing on a win this time changed everything. It’s been a good second day, a good tournament and a great season.