Romania Squad Nov 2012 Intl's

[londonderryrugby]

[TABLE="class: tablebg, width: 100%"]
<tbody style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">[TR="class: row1, bgcolor: #ECECEC"]
[TD][TABLE="width: 100%"]
<tbody style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">[TR]
[TD]Props:
Vlad Badalicescu (Dinamo)
Horatiu Pungea (RCM Timisoara)
Romulus Boar (U Cluj)
Petru Tamba (Cardiff Blues).

Hookers:
Otar Turashvili (RCM Timisoara)
Andrei Radoi (Baia Mare)
Cristian Cornei (Farul Constanta).

Locks:
Valentin Ursache (Oyonnax)
Marius Sirbe (Tarbes)
Alin Coste (Bourg en Bresse)
Cristian Munteanu (Farul Constanta).

Flanker/N8:
Mihai Macovei (Saint Nazaire)
Viorel Lucaci (Steaua)
Vasile Rus (RCM Timisoara)
Cosmin Ratiu (Dinamo)
Adrian Ion (Dinamo)
Daniel Ianus (Steaua).

Scrum Halfs:
Florin Surugiu (CSM Bucuresti)
Grigoras Diaconescu (Steaua)
Tudorel Bratu (CSO Pantelimon)

Fly-Halfs:
Ionut Florea (Sporting Club Tulliste)
Andrei Filip (CSM Bucuresti).

Centres:
Ionel Cazan (Steaua)
Robert Dascalu (Steaua)
Constantin Gheara (Farul Constanta)
Csaba Gal (Baia Mare).

Outside Backs:
Madalin Lemnaru (RCM Timisoara)
Ionut Botezatu (Baia Mare)
Adrian Apostol (Farul Constanta)
Daniel Statulescu (Dinamo)
Catalin Fercu (RCM Timisoara)
Ionut Niacsu (Baia Mare).
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

 

[Croket66]

Only Sirbe and Ursache are pro (and soon Tamba)

A "not in the squad" XV :

1.Mihai Lazar (Castres Olympique/Top14)
2.Bogdan Zebega (Steaua Burcuresti)
3.Paulica Ion (London Welsh/Premiership)
4.Agustin Petrecheï (CA Périgeux/Federale1)
5.Mihail Bageag (Castanet/Federale1)
6.Liviu Pascu (Viadana/Italian Premiership)
7.Ovidiu Tonita (US Carcassonne/ProD2)
8.Alexandru Manta (Lyon OU/ProD2)
9.Valentin Calafeteanu (RCM Timisoara)
10.Ionut Dimofte (CSM Baia Mare)
11.Stefan Ciuntu (CSM Baia Mare)
12.Bogdan Iovu (Rugby San Dona/Italian Premiership)
13.Jeff Makapelu (RCM Timisoara)
14.Adrian Matei (USA Limoges/Federale1)
15.Vlorin Vlaicu (Steaua Bucuresti)

16.Petrisor Toderasc (La Rochelle/ProD2)
17.Eugen Capatana (RCM Timisoara)
18.Silviu Florea (U Bordeaux-Bègles/Top14)
19.Laurent Guical (St Jean d'Ancely/Federale1)
20.Valentin Poparlan (CSM Bucuresti)
21.Petre Mitu (St Jean d'Angely/Federale1)
22.Danut Dumbrava (Steaua Bucuresti)
23.Catalin Nicolae (Dinamo Bucuresti)

 

[dragos03]

Indeed, the all the players from the Romanian league are professionals. However, the Romanian squad for these tests is incredibly weak. Due to various reasons (but mainly club refusal to release players for the national squad), most of the best options are missing. You can even add a few more to the list of absents above: prop Bogdan Balan (Lyon/Pro D2), n8 Daniel Carpo (RCM Timisoara), fullback Iulian Dumitras (Lourdes/Federale1), former team captain flanker Sorin Socol (also from Lourdes), etc. The worst is the props situation, where the 7 best options are missing, depleting the Oaks of their best asset.

However, most of the young/unexperienced players in the squad are the same who won the IRB Nations Cup in June (with victories against Uruguay, Argentina Jaguars and Emerging Italy) against the odds. So who knows, maybe they will again prove to be better than people expect.