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The European Nations Cup, or ENC – sometimes referred to as the Six Nations B – is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations. The tournament is split into 7 divisions, each with 4–6 teams. The divisions play on a two-year cycle with the teams playing each other both home and away. Since 2009, the title is assigned according to a one-year ranking. The current champions are Georgia, who won the 2014 Title. Since Italy's joining the Five Nations Championship in 2000, making it the Six Nations, there has been no promotion, or relegation, between the European Nations Cup and the Six Nations. After the Pool rounds of the 2015 World Cup where Georgia, Italy & Romania took part: Georgia were ranked 14th with 71.45 ranking points; Italy - 12th 72.74; Romania - 17th 66.59. Spain were ranked 21st 61.54; Russia - 22nd 61.10; Belgium - 26th 56.47; Portugal - 29th 55.72 & Germany - 30th 54.78. ==History== After the setup of the divisional system in 2000, Romania won the first competition with maximum of points, with the initial season also including Morocco. Russia then replaced Morocco in 2001 when Georgia secured the title and were crowned after a 31–20 win over Romania in Bucharest. As the competition format changed from a one-year tournament to two-years, the Netherlands were not relegated after this season. Romania started 2002 trailing Georgia after the 2001 results, but managed to win all of the remaining five games, including a 31–23 victory in Tbilisi. Portugal were 16–15 winners over Romania in Lisbon and installed themselves at the top of the 2003–04 table. In the second half of the competition, Romania beat 36–6 against Portugal in Constanţa, but went down 24–33 to Russia in Krasnodar. Then Portugal clinched their first title with a last-minute 19–18 home win over Russia. The Russia – Czech Republic game was rescheduled due to bad weather and was eventually cancelled. The 2005–06 championships also served as a qualifying pool for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Romania triumphed even though they finished level on points with Georgia, while Ukraine was relegated after losing all matches. The 2007–08 edition saw the return of the Spanish to the top Division. The winners were Georgia, after their display at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The Russians recorded their highest ever finish in second. The Czech Republic were the team to finish on the bottom of the table, losing all of their matches, relegating them back to Division 2A. A new format change was decided at the beginning of 2009. Each calendar year has its own champion, but the cumulated ranking over two years decides the team to relegate. The 2009–10 edition was also basis for European Qualification to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The 2009 season saw the début of Germany in the top division, Georgia defending their title, and there were wins for Portugal and Russia in Bucharest. Faced with the possibility to miss for the first time ever a Rugby World Cup, Romania were rewarded with the 2010 title. This feat was however not enough to overtake Georgia and Russia, who, helped by their good results from the previous year, gained the automatic qualification, leaving Romania to go through the Play-Off Qualification Rounds. Germany was relegated after failing to win any games. Georgia won the 2011 edition, after beating Romania 18–11 in Tbilisi. The promoted team, Ukraine, lost all of their matches, except a single win over Portugal. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「European Nations Cup (rugby union)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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