Finland national rugby union team
The Finland national rugby union team represents Finland in men's international rugby union. The team is currently competing in the 2021/22 Rugby Europe Conference 2 North Division.[1]
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| Union | Suomen Rugbyliitto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Alastair Davies | ||
| Captain | Jussi Viljanen | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 71 (as of 24 April 2023) | ||
| Highest | 71 (24 April 2023) | ||
| Lowest | 82 (19 May 2022) | ||
| First international | |||
(1982-05-22) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
(2010-10-02) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
(1987-10-10) | |||
The national side are ranked 71st in the world, as of 24 April 2023.[2]
History
Finland played their first ever rugby international in 1982 against Switzerland, which they lost. Finland went on to win their first international in 1991, defeating Norway 18 points to 3
They played Monaco in 2002. Finland's attempt to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France began in Round 1 of the European tournaments. They faced Bulgaria in a two match series as part of the Round 1 group to determine which nation would advance. Bulgaria won the first game 42 points to 3 in Helsinki and won the second leg 50 to 3 in Sofia to knock Finland out of the tournament.
Record
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% | |
| 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% | |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 50% | |
| 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20% | |
| 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.66% | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 12.5% | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| Total | 45 | 9 | 35 | 1 | 20% |
Current squad
- This was the list of players called to represent Finland in the Rugby Europe Conference 2 North 2021/22 Division
| Player | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony Martinez | Hooker | |
| Ossi Aro | Hooker | |
| Akseli Sinitalo-Nunes | Prop | |
| Mauno Konttila | Prop | |
| Chris Denholm | Prop | |
| Tapio Lahtinen | Prop | |
| Jesper Honkanen | Prop | |
| Olli Räsänen | Prop | |
| Mikko Gröndahl | Prop | |
| Aaro Katainen | Lock | |
| Akseli Peltoniemi | Lock | |
| John Poole | Lock | |
| Ilja Prohorov | Lock | |
| Tommi Gali Valls | Lock | |
| Juho Kiljain | Lock | |
| Kosti Eskola | Loose forward | |
| Wertti Bask | Loose forward | |
| Matti Keränen | Loose forward | |
| Ben Anderson | Loose forward | |
| Peter Larsen | Loose forward | |
| Jedidiah Patton | Loose forward | |
| Saxby Young | Scrum-half | |
| Ville Lehtimaki | Scrum-half | |
| Ari Gali Valls | Scrum-half | |
| Thomas Finnell | Fly-half | |
| Matias Hyytiäinen | Fly-half | |
| Jussi Viljanen | Centre | |
| Curtis Pollard | Centre | |
| Joonas Koskelainen | Centre | |
| Kim Ali-Keskikyla | Centre | |
| Philip Sleath | Centre | |
| Joonas Bask | Wing | |
| Samu-Petteri Pääkkö | Wing | |
| Quentin Gauthier | Fullback | |
- Coach: Alastair Davies
- Physio: Riikka Nortia
- Team Manager: Luca Seale
2018-19 Squad
- This was the list of players called to represent Finland in the 2018–19 Rugby Europe Conference 2
| Player | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony Martinez | Hooker | |
| Ossi Aro | Hooker | |
| Juha Rainvuori | Prop | |
| Mauno Konttila | Prop | |
| Chris Denholm | Prop | |
| Tapio Lahtinen | Prop | |
| Niccolò Silini | Lock | |
| Aaro Katainen | Lock | |
| Shane Breen | Lock | |
| Aleksi Almenoksa | Lock | |
| Herkko Raivonen | Lock | |
| Kosti Eskola | Loose forward | |
| Iikka Ahlfors | Loose forward | |
| Wertti Bask | Loose forward | |
| Matti Keränen | Loose forward | |
| Crispin Mäenpää | Scrum-half | |
| Jarno Suoja | Scrum-half | |
| Thomas Finnell | Fly-half | |
| Liam Cleary | Fly-half | unattached |
| Panu Leinonen | Fly-half | |
| Dario Forneris | Fly-half | |
| Jussi Viljanen | Centre | |
| Curtis Pollard | Centre | |
| Joonas Koskelainen | Centre | |
| Joonas Bask | Wing | |
| Samu-Petteri Pääkkö | Wing | |
| Philip Sleath | Fullback | |
- Coach: Alastair Davies
- Assistant Coach: David O'Connor
- Physio: Riikka Nortia
- Team Manager: Samuel Kuutti
References
- "Conference 2 North". Rugby Europe. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- "World Rugby Men's Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
External links
- on RugbyEurope.eu
- Rugby Finland
- Finland Archived 15 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine on RugbyData.com
