Romanian Rugby

[bredowski]

First, welcome on these forums! Great to have a test player here! Maybe you can post from time to time news from Portuguese rugby! Since you're a former international, by any chance did you worked with a Romanian coach nicknamed Mao back in 90s?

I was impressed by few things of Portugal team. They seemed to use the anthem like some sort of haka, to stimulate uphold them. Then the team work was best from competition, they were like mechanism and I liked the way they dealt with Spanish dominance in some key moments of the match, reminded me of Kiwis. Last but not the least, it is a very technical team, have very good tackling technique and they knew the basics of rugby very well which allowed them to have a simple but very effective game plan and get out of difficult situation with cold blood.

I also agree about your opinion on match between Romanian and Portugal. The difference was made by the respective try which was first a problem of not tackling and secondly a problem regarding the players' position in defense after own kick ... they lost the positioning pattern...a thing I noticed in few other phases. That was, simplifying, the main difference: Portugal was more of a team than ours and managed to defeat a squad that didn't have good team work although have some better individual players. I liked Portuguese no.1 very much, awesome player.

It is frustrating really, especially with such a good generation and after previous failures to see that you keep doing the same mistake because of staff. I don't buy the excuse that the players were over motivated or after losing to Portugal they morale crumbled, this is staff's business. I also don't buy the excuse that they have gaps in preparation from clubs, at this age is also the NT staff responsability to make them special training programs ..these guys didn't come out of nowhere, they were also in U18 sides.




I am also looking forward to those matches. Although it may benefit to Romania to have Belgium next year too because of BP win abroad, I kind of want Portugal back, they're a much interesting side than Belgium. Sure, the team is rebuilding but still. Kenya vs Germany is very very interesting and I think will be a very difficult one for the Europeans.

About Steaua - Dinamo I don't know much except the visitors were complacent first half and weren't able to do anything. I do agree that Steaua looks soft in tight five. I think Perju (b. 1994) had a very good game with a try and contributing at the counterattack from which resulted last Steaua's try, he seems to be a quality center.

CSM - Iasi was a very good match with lots of tries and a bold reply from the visitors. Despite having financial issues and being few tries behind at the break, Iasi young team put up a good performance in second half scoring 3 unanswered tries. CSM kept the composure and were able to win but what a match!

Thank you, i am not that old, in the 90's i was starting to play rugby!I might create a Portuguese rugby thread...

 

[dragos03]

I don't think Steaua's pack is that weak. Dinamo is an old-school club that focuses on a big scrum and solid forwards that can trouble any team in the league. Their young loosehead Bogdan Neacsu is a real talent, they won't be able to keep him for long. Dinamo hooker Mihai Adascalitei could have been a star of Romanian rugby but he destroyed his career after a shameful incident at the national team.

Steaua should be able to hold its own in the scrum against Timisoara, not sure if they will be able to resist Baia Mare but they have a back line full of quality and the best kicker in the Superliga.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Yes, the top three have different strengths and weaknesses which makes their matchups more interesting. It should be a very competitive run in to the final.

In other news at the Canadian rugby AGM coach Mark Anscombe said he would put a weakened side out against Georgia but a full strength one against Romania because it is the game before the RWC playoffs with the USA. He also gave examples of Brazil and Romania as countries that are preparing players far better than Canada.

https://youtu.be/AV7pwk_188Q

 

[amz]

FRR published an interview with Howells, I'll translate a summary of his answers from here:
https://frr.ro/2017/04/04/interviu-...e-se-acomoda-acolo-de-se-adapta-cat-mai-bine/


- The start of REC was awful and we had to re-considerate our strategy ; everybody thought that match vs Germany will be simple; it's important to respect your opponent
- match vs Spain was good, it was a must win, we didn't had other option; than we played Russia and the respective match was the best from REC except of course the match vs Georgia;
- I think the main difficulty playing Germany, Belgium, Russia and Spain is that these team rather tried to stopped us than play; referees weren't of the standard we expected for such competition;
- Match vs Georgia was something else, without the stake to qualify for World Cup but with all that everybody said this is the match that mattered most; another stake for me was that I didn't defeated Georgia yet since I coach Romania; I think Oaks were the better team, I think we could have scored more but we've made two or three mistakes unacceptable at this level; It's a performance to play against a team ranked 12th and destroy their scrum;
- I think the help from Cuttita helped a lot, every player was more technical, we worked with every player from the scrum in this field; scrum is more than a brute force, it isn't just a contact area, we become more technical and they didn't.
- I think Georgia didn't showed the respect we deserve considering we lost last year with 38 - 9. But since this season counts about WC, our approach changed considerably; I am convinced that if Macovei could have been played with Germany, we wouldn't have lost it;
- I told the players that as long as Mamuka is up and controls the ball, there is a danger because when he attacks as speed nobody can stop him so we used two players to stop him which Georgians didn't liked it and it was visible in their game;
- We left the stadium thinking we defeated Georgia but couldn't win the trophy , than Morariu come and told us we won, that is was made a mistake; I was disappointed because boys didn't live that moment to raise the trophy after the match and this cannot be changed;
- I think supporters were right after the match vs Germany; Who would have thought we will lose vs Germany and won vs Georgia? I think it is clearlyw a problem with players from local championship who play last official match in November and come back to play first competitional match in February; There are serious problems related to physical preparation, no training, how to be ready for the game of contact. All teams that have played have competitions in December practically do not have that break;
- The loss with Germany was very disappointing; also it was disappointing to lose players injured like Nistor, Samoa and we had to to changes from game to game
- We played more spectacular rugby in November because those teams wanted to play such rugby as well; as opposed, in REC everybody is concerned not to make mistakes; as I said, teams we played didn't tried to play rugby , the refs didn't do well with contact area, when we tried to speed up the play, the other teams didn't liked that and tried to avoid mistake because it was at stake the qualification for WC;
- I said many time to Word Rugby that Romania plays away with big teams only at RWC and only play away in REC; We need longer tournaments; we shall go to Japan where RWC 2019 will be played and we can see how the team will respond; Japan is a totally different place, I went there before with Wales and won't be easy for players to take contact with this culture and won't be different with Canada; than we will be back in Romania to play a 3rd match;
- We need this tournament especially because we will face change of timezone, long flights; we will also have the occasion to see the group of players who'll stay home to prepare the third match; Probably this tournament will also give us some answers regarding some positions like 10 or 15, to find alternatives; the most important is we will play Japan at Kumamoto, on a stadium that will be used for RWC;
- I spoke with Canadian coach and he told me he tried to use the younger players in ARC to find solutions for future; Canada did what we did last year in REC when we tried to see playing as many players as possible; But when we'll play Canada in June, they'll field the best team available

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

All fair enough from Howells although I can't comment on the refs allowing the ball to be slowed down. And you can hardly sayGermany didn't try to play when they scored 30+ points. Surprised he didn't credit his teams defensive play more for the struggles of Spain and Russia. He is right to be hacked off about the REC trophy presentation too and you can tell how much he enjoyed ending the losing run to Georgia.

 

[amz]

I think match vs Germany falls into a different category...at least this is what I feel. In the respective match we tried to play and open game and lost, but not because this but because we were complacent. This is the match he refers most in his interview along with Georgian clash so I think these were some sort of benchmarks.

He mentioned he talked with Canadian coach about our match from this summer and probably both teams might have best XV available so I think it will be a cracker; we own to the Canadians a match away after playing 3 times in Bucharest and one time at WC...

He mentioned a third match in the summer but none is announced yet, a match played home so I wonder which will be the opponent. Maybe is an opponent for Romania A ? Nothing is know about this match except what he said in this interview.

 

[dragos03]

The third match will be played by Romania A, even if it won't actually be designated as such. He says that a group of players will stay in the country to prepare for that match.

In other news, Timisoara lost important players after the Krasny Yar match. Rose is out for at least 3 months with a broken arm, Ianus has a commotion and Lemnaru has a muscular problem. The return leg will be a lot more difficult without them.

 

[amz]

Alex Tarus, Oaks' tight head prop to Sale:
http://www.espn.com.au/rugby/story/_/id/19123478/sale-sharks-sign-romanian-prop-alexandru-tarus

Week-end results in SuperLiga (I'll post highlights as soon as will appear):

C.S. Politehnica Iasi 15 - 40 C.S.A. Steaua Bucuresti

full match: https://www.rugbytv.ro/2017/04/08/superliga-cec-bank-politehnica-iasi-csa-steaua-08-04-2017.html

Hosts still struggle financially but is expected that this issue will come soon to an end, the budget was passed by local council; I only watched first half and Steaua didn't have any problem.

Timisoara Saracens 45 - 17 CSM Bucuresti

Best match of Timisoara for a while; the margin was because they were really good, not that CSM were bad. I especially liked how hosts negotiated with the pressure of CSM in first half. Jack Umaga was almost flawless with the boot, from the tee or tactically and I think it will be next kicker. He can be a solution for Oaks as well.

C.S. Dinamo Bucuresti 34 - 10 C.S. Universitatea Cluj

Despite financial issues of Cluj due to losing their main sponsor, they put up a stiff resistance in first half and Dinamo missed a lot of opportunities;

 

[dragos03]

I guess someone noticed his great scrum effort against Georgia. Happy for Tarus, he's a hard working guy.

 

[amz]

Highlights from Timisoara - CSM Bucuresti:

 

[dragos03]

Day 11 of the Superliga, all of the matches were balanced:
U Cluj - Poli Iasi 23-24
Steaua - Timisoara Saracens 9-8
CSM Bucharest - Baia Mare 19-27

 

[Croket66]

Just noticed there is a romanian winger with Italy U18 and a romanian forward on the bench

15 Michelangelo BIENTINESI (RUGBY CLUB EMERGENTI CECINA)14 Vittorio DOTTI (CUS MILANO RUGBY)13 Damiano MAZZA (RUGBY PARMA F.C.1931)12 Francesco CRISANTEMO (RUGGERS TARVISIUM)11 Ionut Sarius CONSTANTINESCU (FIAMME ORO RUGBY)10 Alessandro FUSCO (RUGBY NAPOLI AFRAGOLA)9 Stefano ROMANO (PRO RECCO RUGBY)8 Fabrizio MARONCELLI (ROMAGNA R.F.C.)7 Lorenzo STURARO (PETRARCA PADOVA)6 Andrea CHIANUCCI (TOSCANA AEROPORTI I MEDICEI)5 Mirco FINOTTO (BENETTON RUGBY TREVISO) – capitano4 Marco BUTTURINI (GIACOBAZZI MODENA RUGBY 1965)3 Antonio ALOE' (ASD CUS CATANIA RUGBY)2 Davide MICHIELOTTO (VALSUGANA RUGBY PADOVA)1 Tommaso GEMMA (RUGBY COLORNO)A disposizione:16 Niccolò TADDIA (BORSARI AMATORI RUGBY BADIA)17 Leonardo MARIOTTINI (TOSCANA AEROPORTI I MEDICEI)18 Matteo NOCERA (GIACOBAZZI MODENA RUGBY 1965)19 Cosmin Andrei BENCHEA (RUGBY COLORNO)20 Davide RUGGERI (ASD RUGBY MILANO)21 Gianmarco PIVA (BENETTON RUGBY TREVISO)22 Pietro GENTILI (RUGBY PARMA F.C.1931)23 Francesco MODENA (FEMI-CZ ROVIGO)24 Alberto ROSSI (VALSUGANA RUGBY PADOVA)25 Giovanni SCAGNOLARI (RUGBY PETRARCA PD)26 Mattia GIOVANNINI (RUGBY VIADANA 1970)

 

[Welshdragon2000]

I hear that full back is a real artist of the game..... I'll get my coat

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I hear that full back is a real artist of the game..... I'll get my coat

Ooph! Number 17 is also very inventive

Steau look favourites for top seed now. Timisoara vs Baia Mare in a semi final would be very competitive. Strange the games between the top 3 can be extremely low scoring with defences on top.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

On the subject of rugby player names I have to name check Cluj prop, Romulus Boar. What a fantastic name for a rugby player!

https://translate.googleusercontent...?pj=78&usg=ALkJrhjvwCcXlSkLMaCogV4mRNPFl6kG6Q

 

[amz]

http://en.espn.co.uk/france/rugby/player/250071.html

If we are talking about famous names Strangely, he is Tartar by origin but have an Hungarian name.

He grew up to Farul Constanta, sadly he isn't interested in playing for Romania.

 

[amz]

Highlights from last round:

CSM Bucuresti 19 - 27 CSM Stiinta Baia Mare


CSA Steaua Bucuresti 9 - 8 RCM Timisoara Saracens


CS Universitatea Cluj 23 - 24 CS Politehnica Iasi full match:
https://www.rugbytv.ro/2017/04/14/s...aprilie-ora-1100-u-cluj-politehnica-iasi.html

 

[amz]

Challenge Cup qualification competition:
Timisoara - Krasny Yar will be broadcasted on https://www.rugbytv.ro/ at 14:00 local timezone (12:00 GMT).

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Challenge Cup qualification competition:
Timisoara - Krasny Yar will be broadcasted on https://www.rugbytv.ro/ at 14:00 local timezone (12:00 GMT).

Thanks for the reminder. I will tune into this as it should be interesting and competitive. It looked like they were not missing Rose so much so I will favour Timisoara to win on aggregate, but very narrowly.

Baia Mare vs CSM looked a decent game but the crowds are disappointing. I was hoping for a boost after the success in the REC. Romanians must be busy or lazy like me and prefer watching on TV.

 

[dragos03]

Here are the teams for tomorrow:

Timisoara Saracens
1. Eddie Aholelei
2. Eugen Capatana
3. Horatiu Pungea
4. Valentin Poparlan (c)
5. Marian Drenceanu
6. James Doyle
7. Vasile Rus
8. Michael Stewart
9. Henry Seniloli
10. Jack Umaga
11. Tevita Manumua
12. Florin Popa
13. Brian Sefanaia
14. Gabriel Conache
15. Catalin Fercu

16. Andrei Radoi, 17. Samuel Maris, 18. Sione Halalilo, 19. Ionut Muresan, 20. Lotter Pretorius, 21. Marius Simionescu, 22. Vladut Zaharia, 23. Randall Morrison


Krasny Yar
1. Sione Fukofuka
2. Valery Tsnobiladze
3. Mikheil Tsiklauri
4. Victor Arhip
5. Andrei Garbuzov
6. Victor Gresev
7. Kirill Gotovtsev
8. Oleg Prepeliţa
9. Anton Ryabov
10. Fangatapu Apikotoa
11. Igor Galinovsky
12. Lasha Malaguradze
13. Giorgi Pruidze
14. Andrei Keller
15. Vasily Artemyev (c)


16. Sergei Bazhenov, 17. Sergey Novoselov, 18 Alexander Ilin, 19. Bogdan Fedotko, 20. Lasha Lomidze, 21 Rushan Yagudin, 22 Eugene Kolomiitsev, 23. Kirill Golosnitsky