Hosts Belgium, Russia, Georgia and Romania moved a step closer to securing Europe's qualification place at the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy 2011 with victories on day one of the FIRA Under 19 Championship in Brussels on Sunday.
Sander van Wassenhove and Tom Coupe both scored two tries as Belgium ran out 45-10 winners over Poland to set up a semi final with Russia, who overcame the challenge of Spain with two Evgeny Kornev tries in a 27-15 victory.
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The other semi final pits Georgia against Romania - two sides who have previously played on the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy stage - after they emerged victorious against Portugal 27-13 and Ukraine 36-0 respectively.
The race to qualify for next year's IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy continues on Wednesday with the two semi finals and play-offs involving the four sides who tasted defeats on day one in Brussels. The final and other play-offs will take place on Saturday.
Four nations have already confirmed their places at JWRT 2011 through their respective regional tournaments. The European qualifier will join Zimbabwe (Africa), Japan (Asia), Uruguay (South America) and Samoa (Oceania), the latter having been relegated from the IRB Junior World Championship 2010 in Argentina.
