Two early tries in four minutes from Vrchlabí Mad Squirrels winger Matej Schejbal set the platform for a 36-28 Czech Republic win against Poland, at the Majkowski Wembley Stadium in Kalisz, in a men’s senior international.

In a terrific contest, played in great spirit, Poland opened the scoring in the first minute, full back Fabian Glinkowski gliding over, but the Czech’s hit back with 22 unanswered points, David Belohlavek with the first of his two tries and stand off Jakub Hudrlik crossing to go with his total of four goals.

Local player Łukasz Kostecki from Husaria Kalisz replied on the stroke of half time to make it 22-10 at the break, and in the second half Jonathan Tutak and back rower Michał Krzypkowski narrowed the gap further, only late tries from Tomas Kasik and Barbarians Letohrad’s Josef Brynda - sandwiching one by Tomasz Zerbe for the hosts - sealing the win.

Poland joint head coach Colin Baker said: “We are very proud of the guys and especially with the team being entirely comprised of domestic players who gave it their all. It was a great experience for everyone involved and congratulations to our neighbours Czech Republic on the win in a wonderful contest.”

Czech Republic caretaker head coach, Tomas Adamec, noted: “Our main aim was to give opportunities to new players, and they showed their skills and gained the experience which is good. We started strongly and dominated early, a few mistakes and errors meant the score was closer, but we finished strongly in the final 20 minutes. Poland played very well and have improved a lot which is good for rugby league in central Europe.”