2014 European Nations Cup Division 1: Round Five. 15/03/14

[Croket66]

It's over, Georgia 22-9 Romania

RWC 2015
Pool C : New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga, Georgia, Africa1
Pool D : France, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Romania

 

[Pockets]

Romania will need a quick score I feel, but down a man it looks pretty much a Herculean task. Can't wait for Romania vs. Canada in 2015 by the looks of things. Either way both ENC qualifiers have pools with winnable contests though Europe #1 is in a slightly better position. I'm not a huge fan of this Georgian kit.

The yellow cards made it impossible for Romania there. Georgia definitely have a nice draw for the world cup.

 

[Toko_11]

Romania will need a quick score I feel, but down a man it looks pretty much a Herculean task. Can't wait for Romania vs. Canada in 2015 by the looks of things. Either way both ENC qualifiers have pools with winnable contests though Europe #1 is in a slightly better position. I'm not a huge fan of this Georgian kit.

but fans love it though... whole stadium was wearing black

 

[LittleGuy]

but fans love it though... whole stadium was wearing black

I think I'm just so used to them wearing Red unless they have a clash with like Wales or somebody.

Georgia should have a fantastic chance of beating Africa 1, and Tonga is very targetable. Romania have two games they have a real shot at as well, beating Canada is very possible and with the way Italy looks right now an upset could be on the cards. I frankly wouldn't be shocked if Italy ends up finishing dead last in Pool D in 2015.

 

[djwizard84]

the two possible wins for Romania and they are one after the other in less than 5 days time... not even with possibility to rotate players. The RWC schedule should be more fair for every nation.
[TABLE="class: fixresfilter, width: 0"]
<tbody>[TR="class: even"]
[TD="class: dt date cell_shade, bgcolor: #E8E8E8"]06/10 - 17:00[/TD]
[TD="class: ht, bgcolor: #E8E8E8, align: right"]Canada[/TD]
[TD="class: hf flag, bgcolor: #E8E8E8"][/TD]
[TD="class: sc, bgcolor: #E8E8E8, align: center"] -[/TD]
[TD="class: hf flag, bgcolor: #E8E8E8"][/TD]
[TD="class: at, bgcolor: #E8E8E8, align: left"]Europe 2[/TD]
[TD="class: pl, bgcolor: #E8E8E8"]Leicester City Stadium[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD="class: dt date cell_shade, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]11/10 - 14:30[/TD]
[TD="class: ht, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right"]Italy[/TD]
[TD="class: hf flag, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"][/TD]
[TD="class: sc, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center"] -[/TD]
[TD="class: hf flag, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"][/TD]
[TD="class: at, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: left"]Europe 2[/TD]
[TD="class: pl, bgcolor: #FFFFFF"]Sandy Park[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

 

[Toko_11]

I think I'm just so used to them wearing Red unless they have a clash with like Wales or somebody.

Georgia should have a fantastic chance of beating Africa 1, and Tonga is very targetable. Romania have two games they have a real shot at as well, beating Canada is very possible and with the way Italy looks right now an upset could be on the cards. I frankly wouldn't be shocked if Italy ends up finishing dead last in Pool D in 2015.

the problem is Georgians love black and no matter how much they are asked they won't wear white or red... so instead GRU came up with a creative solution and put the 15 in black so now it looks like a real home game for Georgia. Also black is a traditional color for Georgia the old flag had it so we're kinda used to it.

Tonga v Georgia Romania v Italy and Canada v Italy probably the 3 games I'm looking forward to the most

 

[djwizard84]

Tonga v Georgia

I want to go to this game, it's gonna be the real break even for Georgia Rugby.

 

[Toko_11]

I want to go to this game, it's gonna be the real break even for Georgia Rugby.

I'm going to Wales for this WC.. no way in hell I'm missing it.

 

[dragos03]

Congratulations to Georgia. You were very lucky not to lose against us in the past two years but today you were the better team.

Romania did not play well (except for Fercu who was amazing) and it was impossible to win with 3 players in the bin. The referee also favored Georgia a lot, but I can't blame him for the defeat. We were not good enough today and we will have to step it up at the RWC.

 

[Toko_11]

Yes refereeing is a problem still. I wonder if TMO would improve anything.

 

[dragos03]

Of course a TMO would help a lot. It's ridiculous to have a TMO at matches in the Romanian league, but not in the ENC.

Sending some better refs to the most important match in the tournament would also be a good idea. The refs in the last two direct games have been awful as well.

 

[Toko_11]

Of course a TMO would help a lot. It's ridiculous to have a TMO at matches in the Romanian league, but not in the ENC.

Sending some better refs to the most important match in the tournament would also be a good idea. The refs in the last two direct games have been awful as well.

Problem with TMO is not in Georgia or Romania its the other nations who can't afford/organize it. and Fira can't have TMO available in one game when another one is played somewhere in a remote village...

yes there's a history of sending weak refs for important games. most recently Poite for Samoa v Georgia

 

[dragos03]

So what? Does the whole ENC have to suffer because of the incompetence of the Russians?

A solution would be to only have TMO in the countries that are able to provide it. Another would be to force all nations to meet some minimum standards, TMO included, and fine them heavily if they fail to comply.

Anyway, good luck to both Georgia and Romania at the RWC. I will travel there too and I'm sure that both teams will do better than in 2011 and manage some upsets.

According to rumors, Romania and Georgia will be removed from the ENC after the RWC and play in a new competition with USA, Canada and potentially two more nations from 2016.

 

[Toko_11]

So what? Does the whole ENC have to suffer because of the incompetence of the Russians?

A solution would be to only have TMO in the countries that are able to provide it. Another would be to force all nations to meet some minimum standards, TMO included, and fine them heavily if they fail to comply.

Anyway, good luck to both Georgia and Romania at the RWC. I will travel there too and I'm sure that both teams will do better than in 2011 and manage some upsets.

I agree with you, I just said what was Fira's excuse.

Yes! now i can't wait for the WC to start... all of a sudden year and a half seems like a century.

 

[LittleGuy]

The other two results from today were Russia 34-20 Belgium and Spain 28-24 Portugal. Hard to get too excited over those games as they held little to no meaning. Russia will await a lower ranked European side to qualify for the later repechage stages. The final standings are therefore.

1st. Georgia 41 points
2nd. Romania 38 points
3rd. Russia 28 points
4th. Spain 15 points
5th. Portugal 12 points
6th. Belgium 6 points.

 

[Nielsch]

It's over, Georgia 22-9 Romania

RWC 2015
Pool C : New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga, Georgia, Africa1
Pool D : France, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Romania

I can see Georgia ending third in their pool with victories over Tonga and Namibia. This would mean direct qualification for RWC 2019. Who knows, maybe they even manage to upset Argentina and make it to the QF. It's unlikely but who knows.

I hope Romania is able to beat Italy. That would be awesome as well.

 

[dragos03]

Romania and Georgia have their chances but it will be very hard.

Georgia has a guaranteed win against the African nation and a chance against Tonga (but Tonga remains the favorite against them).

Romania is the underdog in every match in the group but we will have a chance vs Canada and Italy. You can bet that Italy will take their match against us extremely seriously, they have been avoiding our team for many years now and the last two direct games (we beat them in Bucharest in 2004 then lost a very close match at RWC 2007 after leading at HT) have been quite balanced. Italy will be well aware that a defeat against the Oaks would question their status in European rugby.

 

[Toko_11]

Romania and Georgia have their chances but it will be very hard.

Georgia has a guaranteed win against the African nation and a chance against Tonga (but Tonga remains the favorite against them).

Romania is the underdog in every match in the group but we will have a chance vs Canada and Italy. You can bet that Italy will take their match against us extremely seriously, they have been avoiding our team for many years now and the last two direct games (we beat them in Bucharest in 2004 then lost a very close match at RWC 2007 after leading at HT) have been quite balanced. Italy will be well aware that a defeat against the Oaks would question their status in European rugby.

I think Romania should do what Georgia did after last WC, I'm talking about developing the backs. with a pack like that even average back line becomes a lot more dangerous. besides it was terrible watching Fercu play that game alone while rest of the back line ran around like headless cocks. Either that or Lend us Fercu for the WC we promise we will return him without a scratch!

 

[dragos03]

Romania has been working on the backs since the RWC but they are not good enough yet. Until next year there will be significant changes though, as more good players will be available for selection on crucial positions in the back line (in particular a new fly half and a new centre).

In any case, teams must play to their strength and that's in the forwards for both Romania and Georgia.

Fercu will always look like an alien in the Romanian team. He is a world class player, so much better than the rest of our backs, so he always seems to be playing alone. But you will also hear more about players like Ionut Dumitru (he was crap yesterday, but that's because at only 21 years old he lacks big game experience and couldn't take the pressure of a hostile crowd).

 

[Croket66]

Fercu will always look like an alien in the Romanian team. He is a world class player, so much better than the rest of our backs, so he always seems to be playing alone. But you will also hear more about players like Ionut Dumitru (he was crap yesterday, but that's because at only 21 years old he lacks big game experience and couldn't take the pressure of a hostile crowd).

And maybe soon Kinikinilau and Wiringi