Monaco’s young rugby players have written a new chapter in the Principality’s sporting history, finishing as European runners-up and securing promotion to the Rugby Europe Championship.
The under-18 team travelled to Budapest last weekend to compete in the Trophy 1 tournament, only one year after winning the Trophy 2 title. Their latest result completes a rapid rise through the European rankings and places Monaco among the continent’s 12 leading nations in under-18 rugby sevens.
Under coach Dorian Danthez, Monaco opened the tournament with a determined 17–17 draw against Luxembourg before recording victories over Sweden and Croatia. Those results carried the team to the top of its group and into the semi-finals.
There, Monaco delivered one of its strongest performances of the weekend, defeating Israel 26–7. The victory secured not only a place in the final but also the greater prize: promotion to the Championship division.
Latvia ultimately proved too strong in the deciding match, claiming a 19–7 victory. Yet Monaco returned home with a European silver medal and the knowledge that next season it will compete alongside established rugby nations including France, Spain and Germany.
There was also individual recognition for Tom Lacascia, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player. It is the second consecutive year in which a Monaco player has received the competition’s highest individual honour.
For a country more commonly associated with Formula One, football and sailing, the achievement is another sign of Monaco’s expanding sporting identity. Built through youth development, patience and successive promotions, this was considerably more than a good weekend in Budapest.
The silver medal may be what enters the record books, but promotion—and the future it opens—could prove the team’s most important victory of all.