European Nations Cup 2016 Division 1B leaders Belgium ran in four tries in each half to overwhelm Poland 53-23 in Brussels on Saturday.

Full-back Charles Reynaert (2), centre Guillaume Piron and flanker Baptiste Lescarboura crossed for the Black Devils before the break with Floriant Piron kicking two conversions and a penalty for a 27-9 half-time lead.

Forwards Bertrand Bili and Max Dubois scored tries five and six to put Belgium out of sight at 41-9 up with just over a quarter of the match to play. 

Poland, however, hit back with a couple of scores of their own from flanker Mateusz Bartoszek and Karol Perzak before Belgium confirmed their superiority when replacement hooker Quentin Boucar and scrum-half Kevin Williams got in on the act late on.

Belgium were already assured of the 2015 title going into Saturday’s match given earlier wins over Ukraine, Netherlands, Moldova and Sweden had put them in an unassailable position. While they remain unmoved in the World Rugby Rankings in 25th despite gaining 0.33 of a ranking point, Poland slip one place to 36th.

Swiss on a roll

Switzerland kept their slim ENC Division 2A title hopes alive with a 40-20 win against Croatia in Monthey.

The victory extended Switzerland’s winning run over Croatia to five matches and also saw them climb two places in the World Rugby Rankings to 42nd. Croatia fall two places to 53rd.

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Number eight Brice Monzeglio was responsible for two of their four tries with Ghislain Montiel and Mathieu Guyou getting the others, while scrum-half Simon Perrod kicked 17 points in excellent playing conditions. Fly-half Jay Ayoub accounted for 15 of Croatia’s points through a try and a couple of penalties and conversions.

The Swiss now need to beat Malta on Saturday and hope the Czech Republic, who hold a four-point lead at the top of the table, slip up for the first time this season against bottom-of-the-table Israel to have any chance of finishing top of the division.

Malta up two

Malta came out on top in their first-ever fixture with Israel, winning 16-13 in the coastal city of Netanya thanks to second-half tries from hooker Harry Collins and winger James Kirk.

Malta move up two places in the rankings to 39th as a result of the win while Israel, who remain without a win in this year’s competition, slip on place to 57th with Mexico the beneficiaries.

The results of two matches in ENC Division 2C had a significant impact on the rankings, Luxembourg and Serbia both enjoying five place rises after their respective wins over Slovenia and Austria.

Luxembourg’s rankings total is boosted by 1.34 points to 39.94, which sees them leapfrog Peru, India, Hungary and Botswana into 67th, while Serbia are 13 places lower down in 80th after a 1.69 point gain.

Scrum-half Stuart Logier handed Luxembourg a 14-11 victory with the match-winning try 10 minutes from time, after Slovenia, their nearest rivals in the Division 2C table had led 6-0 at half-time.

Serbia, meanwhile, scored three tries on their way to a 22-3 win against Austria on a rainy day in Belgrade.

A rise and a fall for Bahamas 

Serbia’s surge up the rankings had an adverse effect on the Bahamas, who drop one place to 84th despite winning on the weekend.

Scrum-half Kevin Salabie kicked 14 points and Jamal Cutler and Duran beadle both scored tries as Bahamas claimed the NACRA North Zone Cup League title with a 24-7 victory against the Turks and Caicos Isles.

The British Virgin Islands 22-15 win over St Vincent and the Grenadines sets them up for a South Zone Cup League title decider against Curacao on Saturday 2 May.

A keenly-contested match at the Arnos Vale Stadium was settled when replacement Harry Vivieon produced the match-winning score with three minutes of normal time remaining.

Neither of these matches had any impact on the World Rugby Rankings as they only involved one full member union of the sport's governing body.

The same was true of the three matches in Division 3 West of the Asia Rugby Championship 2015 involving Lebanon, Iran and Jordan. Lebanon claimed the title on home soil after victories over Jordan 71-3 and Iran 27-8.

Photo credit: Sportkipik.be