Culture
Students studying in France first brought Rugby to Romania in the 19th century. Not only did the spread of rugby in Romania develop a new sport in the nation, but later in the 1930s it also helped France (who were excluded from British rugby tournaments at the time) create some competition across Europe. Romania adapted to the sport well, quickly become France's biggest rivals in continental Europe after Romania won in their first test match. Rugby in Romania had its roots from France, and proved to be physical as well as technically skilled. Romania continued to be among Europe's best rugby nations until the switch from amateurism to professionalism when Eastern European rivals Georgia overtook Romania as Eastern Europe's premier rugby nation. Romania also played a big part in the success of the Soviet Union national team back in the late 20th century, Romanian players formed the bulk of the squad, no doubt supplying their Georgian rivals with the key to their own downfall.
Play Style
At the time when rugby was brought to Romania from France, France played a very physical and aggressive game; Romania adopted this play style, and is now nicknamed the oaks for their hard play style and their unrelenting attitude towards the game. Similarly to their Georgian rivals, Romania has an enhanced emphasis on the set piece, particularly the scrum. Although less focused on scrumaging than their Eastern European cousins, Romania displays a refreshing excitement for the engagement, and can go toe to toe with the top tier nations in this regard. This was proven in Scotland's game against Romania in the 2011 RWC where the oaks put up staunch resistance in order to control the flow of the game against their higher ranked opposition. Despite the control of the game that dominating the set piece gives Romania, Romania still find it difficult to convert possession into points against higher ranked nations. Often time the scoreboard is not a fair reflection of the Oaks’ efforts in the game. This comes from the lack of execution in the backline were all players bar 2 play for local clubs.
Photo by Flickr (Fire_Eyes)
Fast Facts:
Players: 12,810
RWC Results: Third in Pool 1987, 1991,1999 Fourth in Pool 2003, 2007
Best Result 2014: Vs. Russia 34-3
IRB World Ranking: 16th with 68.42
Captain: Mihai Macovei Coach: Lynn Howells