[November Tests 2016 EOYT] Romania vs. Uruguay (26/11/2016)

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: Arcul de Triumf
Time: 18:00 CAT (SA, GMT+2)​

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Uruguay going downhill fast. Very sad as they were recently granted Tier 2 status and given more funding - it sounds like that might be in jeopardy. But Rome wasn't built in a day. I'd like to see some experimentation from Romania as they are big favourites and don't need to be at full strength. Probably best to keep one out of Vlaicu or Fercu for a bit of experience though. Plai to start please!

 

[dragos03]

Howells already made a wild experiment by starting Popa against Canada.

Despite their very poor results this autumn, Uruguay deserves respect. I hope Howells will keep an experienced backbone of the team but include all the youngsters who didn't play at all so far in November. Popa, Gordas, Chirica, Antonescu could be starters. Pristavita, Bardasu, Muresan, Bratu, Melniciuc, Plai, Onutu and Simionescu should either start or at least be on the bench.

I'd keep Fonovai, Umaga and Gorcioaia in the lineup since they need more matches to become integrated with the national team.

 

[amz]

[FONT=&quot]URUGUAY
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 Ignacio Secco
2 Carlos Arboleya
3 Mario Sagario (capt.)
4 Franco Lamanna
5 Diego Ayala
6 Joaquín Dell’Acqua
7 Santiago Hernández
8 Gonzalo Soto
9 Agustín Ormaechea
10 Felipe Berchesi
11 Santiago Arata
12 Nicolás Freitas
13 Santiago Gibernau
14 Mauro Daverio
15 Manuel Blengio[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Replacements:
16 Facundo Gattas
17 Francisco Jiménez
18 Mateo Sanguinetti
19 Diego Magno
20 Marcos Chamyan
21 Guillermo Lijtenstein
22 Juan Manuel Cat
23 Andrés Rocco

ROMANIA
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]1. Mihai Lazar[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2. Andrei Radoi[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3. Alexandru Tarus[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4. Valentin Poparlan[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5. Johan Van Heerden[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6. Viorel Lucaci[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]7. Stelian Burcea[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]8. Andrei Gorcioaia[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]9. Florin Surugiu[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]10. Florin Vlaicu[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]11. Stephen Shennan[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]12. Vladut Popa[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]13. Jack Umaga[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]14. Fonovai Tangimana[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]15. Catalin Fercu[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Replacements:
16. Marian Capatana
17. Ionel Badiu
18. Alexandru Gordas
19. Ionut Muresan
20. Cristian Chirica
21. Alexandru Tigla
22. Paula Kinikinilau
23. Ionut Dumitru.[/FONT]

 

[dragos03]

I expected Lynn Howells to do more experiments in this match, dissapointed not to see Simionescu or Plai in the team. At least there are two uncapped players on the bench.

I guess we treat this test seriously because it's the last one before the start of the RWC qualification.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Disappointing to see, but other strong favourites this week (Scotland, NZ and Italy) are also not experimenting. Anything less than a 15+ point victory will be a little disappointing to me given Uruguays woes.

 

[dragos03]

We also played against Uruguay in June, five months ago, and beat them 40-0. It won't be easy to repeat a similar scoreline.

 

[amz]

Well, to give Howells some credit, he tried 50 players this year which imo is huge.

I'd have liked to see Plai (FH), Simionescu (FB ), Pristavita (PR) as starters or on the bench.

However, a nice surprise of these tests was the attendance. Despite price of tickets nearly doubled, there was about the same attendance, maybe a little more than usual (but November tests were always the most crowded).

 

[dragos03]

He actually used 54 different players this year, of which 19 were uncapped. We really can't accuse Howells of not experimenting this season There must be at least 10 others who were included in the extended squad and trained with the national team but didn't play.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I'd read this was a much stronger Uruguay squad than the one you defeated 40-0. A couple of lovely tries from Romania so far and well on the way to a comfortable victory. The last one was particularly impressive and completely destroys the stereotype of Oaks rugby. I'm starting to think I've underestimated Howells.

 

[dragos03]

Well, the Romanian squad in that 40-0 win was also quite experimental.

Uruguay played very well at the start of the match, defending better than USA or Canada did. But I think they already ran out of gas, Romanian backline play continues to amaze me.

As for Howells, he is an underrated coach. Despite his age, he is willing to take risks and has a great eye for young talents (like Popa).

 

[dragos03]

Romania - Uruguay 36-10 FT

Despite the clear win, I think this was the worst performance of November for the Oaks. A lot of nerves, wasted opportunities (about 3 clear tries not scored) and a malfunctioning lineout. But we finish the year with a win rate of over 90%, an all-time record for Romanian rugby.

 

[dragos03]

Romania vs Uruguay highlights: