Romanian Rugby

[dragos03]

Day 5 results:
Steaua - Baia Mare 29-24 - Steaua could have won by a bigger score, good win for them
U Cluj - Timisoara Saracens 11-51 - after losing at CSM, Timisoara didn't underestimate one of the small teams again
Dinamo - Poli Iasi 28-17 - Iasi were awful without Plai but they did manage a comeback after he came on in the second half

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Yeah, neither Boldor or Plai started for their teams. I find this a little surprising as both had been playing well. I wouldn't have thought there was a need to rest players given that the format has a bye week for each team due to the odd number of teams. Perhaps both of them were carrying injuries or the coaches don't want to overstretch their young talents? Good to see Timisoara scoring, even if it was against Cluj. Good for the Challenge Cup but probably bad news for the other teams in the league.

 

[dragos03]

Plai had a minor injury, while Boldor is still only 18 so I guess his coach was reluctant to start him vs a very physical team like Baia Mare.

Plai's absence in the first half showed just how important he is for Iasi, despite his immaturity. Sava's running gameplan didn't work without him and the replacement kickers, Morosanu and the South African who started at 10 (Bezuidenhout), missed some sitters from right in front of the posts. Iasi could have won if he played the whole 80 minutes.

There are some other guys at Iasi who have impressed me in every match so far: hooker Butnariu (young, accurate thrower and a a strong runner), lock Toader (another young guy with a huge frame) and no. 8 Alex Moa (powerful yet skilled ball carrier who suits their tactics).

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Does that make three Moa's at Iasi? Commentators nightmare! I'll keep an eye out for those guys.

 

[dragos03]

No, they only have 2 Moas:
- Alex Moa (n8)
- Atelea Moa (winger)

They are related but can't remember if they're brothers or just cousins. Even if the winger has a better CV (played for Tonga 7s and A), I've been more impressed by the backrower.

 

[dragos03]

Superliga Day 6 results:
CSM Bucuresti - Steaua 19-28
Timisoara Saracens - Dinamo 31-0
Baia Mare - U Cluj 36-10

The favourites had a slow start of the season but now they seem to easily beat the weaker clubs.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

The favourites had a slow start of the season but now they seem to easily beat the weaker clubs.

Yes, I think Timisoara are now showing themselves as he favourites you predicted. Still, the league is not uncompetitive. Dinamo and Iasi should be able to give Steaua and Baia Mare a game at home. Steaua and Baia Mare should also have a chance when hosting Timisoara. Having three competitive teams out of a league totalling seven is a decent ratio. As long as the top teams second XV can never guarantee a win against the bottom sides first team (as has sadly sometimes been the case in Pro12) then I'd say the level of competition will always be acceptable.

 

[amz]

Also, there is a serious shift in style of play. FRR said on its facebook page: "As an interesting aspect in the last three rounds of Super League CEC Bank, no prop, hooker or second row player has scored a try and this season most tries were scored by wings, 26".

 

[dragos03]

Yes, I think Timisoara are now showing themselves as he favourites you predicted. Still, the league is not uncompetitive. Dinamo and Iasi should be able to give Steaua and Baia Mare a game at home. Steaua and Baia Mare should also have a chance when hosting Timisoara. Having three competitive teams out of a league totalling seven is a decent ratio. As long as the top teams second XV can never guarantee a win against the bottom sides first team (as has sadly sometimes been the case in Pro12) then I'd say the level of competition will always be acceptable.

The league is not completely unbalanced, like for example the Russian one (where the two Krasnoyarsk teams pretty much crush all the others). But there is an obvious gap between the top 3 (Timisoara, Baia Mare, Steaua) and the rest.

However, this gap is not that big and even the champions can be beaten if they underestimate the smaller clubs and use too many reserves, like it happened to Timisoara against CSM Bucharest. It's worth noting that Timisoara fielded much stronger squads vs U Cluj and Dinamo, in order to avoid another upset, and I expect them to do the same this weekend at Iasi.

Tm Saracens remain the favorites for the ***le but Baia Mare and Steaua are competitive and could take advantage from Timisoara's focus on the Challenge Cup this season, that will surely cause them injuries and exhaustion.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I read the SuperLiga breaks after this weekend and resumes in the spring? If true, what is the reason for that and how will players retain form for Challenge Cup and November internationals?

 

[amz]

Answer is King's Cup:

http://www.super-liga.ro/cupa-regelui/program-rezultate/

 

[dragos03]

The King's Cup also has specific rules and the clubs will have to use more youngsters in their lineups. But it's basically a reserve competition designed to fill the gap in the season.

Superliga Day 7 results:
U Cluj - CSM Bucharest 24-10 (only one win for CSM this season but they are the only ones to beat Timisoara!)
Poli Iasi - Timisoara Saracens 24-49 - the result of this one was never in doubt but Iasi tried to attack as they always do
Dinamo - Baia Mare 11-22 - more balanced than the score suggests, Dinamo fought hard. Young Baia Mare scrumhalf Alex Tigla scored 3 tries in the first half! Dinamo finishes the first half of the Superliga in 4th place, the best of the lesser clubs.

 

[Jayatron]

Why do they have a break?

 

[dragos03]

It's not a break, the same clubs continue to play in another competition.

I guess there are two main reasons for it:
- a separate trophy gives more clubs the chance to win some silverware
- this lesser competition will force clubs to use more youngsters while Timisoara plays in the Challenge Cup and many players will be away with the national team

But there will be a real break after the King's Cup, rugby can't be played during the Romanian winter.

 

[amz]

Time to update this thread...
Sevens U18 European Championship will take place this week-end in Bucharest:
https://www.facebook.com/242479193269/photos/10154530651748270/


Chester Williams, Honorary Citizen of Timisoara:
http://frr.ro/2016/09/13/chester-williams-cetatean-de-onoare-al-timisoarei/


Some figures regarding first half of Super Liga from here:
http://www.super-liga.ro/2016/09/14...t-turul-sezonului-regulat-superliga-cec-bank/


I won't translate all article but few interesting figures:
5,23 tries/ match
Number of foreign players was 59 compared with lasts season when 69 foreign players played for 6 teams (now SL have 7 teams)


Number of tries: Total 110 from which 33 by forwards, 69 by backs, 8 penalty tries (Tries per position: Props -5, Hooker - 3, Second row - 4, Flankers - 11, Eightman -10, Scrum half - 10, Fly-half - 9, Centers - 11, Wings - 31, Fullback - 8).


Standing by number of scored tries:
1. Timisoara Saracens-26,
2.Stiinta Baia Mare-24,
3.Steaua Bucuresti-19,
4. Politehnica Iasi-15,
5. Dinamo Bucuresti-11,
6.CSM Olimpia Bucuresti-10,
7.Universitatea Cluj-5


Standard by numbers of conceded tries.
1.Timisoara Saracens-5,
2.Steaua Bucuresti-8,
3.Stiinta Baia Mare-11,
4.Dinamo Bucuresti-15,
5. Politehnica Iasi-22,
6.CSM Olimpia Bucuresti-23,
7.Universitatea Cluj-26

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Splitting of the Superliga is a little unusual, but its not such a bad way of doing things if it encourages youth development (and winter is too severe). It's a shame the Kings Cup (with presumably weaker teams) doesn't include second Division sides. Is there any cross-division tournament? They might need to increase the under 23s rule for the Kings Cup because I imagine a few teams are already doing that in the Superliga.

Encouraging stats about the distribution of tries scored, and whilst some of that can be put down to inconsistent defence it can only be a good thing to have Romanian backs getting ball in the hand and having to make split second decisions near the try line (rather than watching "developing" as a player by watching maul after maul and forwards armwrestling near the try line). There is no doubt in my mind that the sport internationally is intentionally developing in a way that rewards teams with talented back lines, rather than just those with strong packs and a good kicker (which I think has historically been the case). Plus that sort of play can be more appealing for TV and new fans.

I'm looking forward to how Timisoara compete in the Challenge Cup. I'm finding it impossible to judge how it may go - I find it difficult to judge the quality of defensive play / systems across different leagues. A shame no Romanian team is in the group stages of the Challenge Cup Qualifying Tournament. It'd have been good to see how they fared against Krasni Yar, El Salvador and the Italians.

Cluj with worst stats for scoring and conceding tries, but have two victories!?

 

[dragos03]

The Romanian Cup used to have cross-division matches but it was a waste of time, since the Superliga teams would trash the second division ones in every match (including some 100+ results). Even if the Superliga clubs usually sent reserve squads to such games, the difference between professionals and amateurs is just too big. Imagine Glasgow playing vs the Scottish Premiership clubs, how would that go? This gap is the reason why second division clubs have refused promotion for several years in a row. As for Cluj, they haven't scored many tries but have focused on the few matches they could realistically win. They have relied a lot on kicks (and even on dropgoals, Melniciuc scored 3 against CSM). Cluj is the poorest club in the league, I think they did pretty well, especially their win against Dinamo was unexpected. Timisoara won't do well in the Challenge Cup, they have the toughest draw possible. Their group looks like an ERCC one. But they have nothing to lose and if one of their opponents will send a depleted squad against them, anything can happen. I suspect that Baia Mare or Steaua would have defeated El Salvador and the Italians in the qualifying competition, not sure about the Russians.

 

[amz]

Splitting of the Superliga is a little unusual, but its not such a bad way of doing things if it encourages youth development (and winter is too severe). It's a shame the Kings Cup (with presumably weaker teams) doesn't include second Division sides. Is there any cross-division tournament? They might need to increase the under 23s rule for the Kings Cup because I imagine a few teams are already doing that in the Superliga.

It is the first time with this system so let's wait and see. The intention was to give time to players or clubs involved with national team or European cup. Cross division was tried last years but it wasn't successful at all.

Encouraging stats about the distribution of tries scored, and whilst some of that can be put down to inconsistent defence it can only be a good thing to have Romanian backs getting ball in the hand and having to make split second decisions near the try line (rather than watching "developing" as a player by watching maul after maul and forwards armwrestling near the try line). There is no doubt in my mind that the sport internationally is intentionally developing in a way that rewards teams with talented back lines, rather than just those with strong packs and a good kicker (which I think has historically been the case). Plus that sort of play can be more appealing for TV and new fans.

What I like most is that the number of foreigners dropped, clubs being more careful when signing them and that I don't recall a SL season when I saw so many young Romanian players to be noticed. Some of them are already starters for their clubs despite very young age.

I'm looking forward to how Timisoara compete in the Challenge Cup. I'm finding it impossible to judge how it may go - I find it difficult to judge the quality of defensive play / systems across different leagues. A shame no Romanian team is in the group stages of the Challenge Cup Qualifying Tournament. It'd have been good to see how they fared against Krasni Yar, El Salvador and the Italians.

It's difficult to have a clue about what Timisoara will do in Challenge Cup. I don't like that they have many injuries in starting XV so it is tricky to say what will be the potential of the squad. On the other hand, I imagine their staff are looking to gain peak of form during Challenge Cup matches.

 

[dragos03]

King's Cup results so far:

Round 1
Dinamo - Timisoara Saracens 3-52
U Cluj - Baia Mare 13-45
CSM Bucharest - Steaua 17-38

Round 2
Timisoara Saracens - U Cluj 69-7
Steaua - Dinamo 27-11
Poli Iasi - CSM Bucharest 34-21

No matches are broadcasted on TV but one per round is streamed by rugbytv.ro
The trends of the last matches in the Superliga seem to continue: the gap between the three favourites and the rest of the teams widens. The weaker clubs will have their chance during the November internationals, when the top three will be missing key players.

 

[dragos03]

Superliga Day 3
Baia Mare - Timisoara Saracens 14-3 (worrying signs ahead of the Challenge Cup)
Dinamo - Poli Iasi 40-13 (Dinamo proves again they are the best of the weaker clubs)
U Cluj - Steaua 3-29 (Cluj only seems to play well against clubs of similar strength)