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Romania national rugby union team

March 12, 2023

The Romania national rugby union team (Romanian: Echipa națională de rugby a României) represents Romania in men's international rugby union competitions, nicknamed Stejarii (The Oaks), is long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations. They have participated in all but one Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the European Nations Cup, which they won recently in 2017. Rugby union in Romania is administered by the Romanian Rugby Federation.

Romania
Nickname(s)Stejarii (The Oaks)
EmblemOak leaf
UnionRomanian Rugby Federation
Head coachEugen Apjok
CaptainMihai Macovei
Most capsFlorin Vlaicu (129)
Top scorerFlorin Vlaicu (1,030)
Top try scorerCătălin Fercu (33)
Home stadiumStadionul Arcul de Triumf
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current20 (as of 14 November 2022)
Highest13 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
Lowest20 (2019, 2022)
First international
 United States 23–0 Romania 
(Paris, France; 26 June 1919)
All military sides
Biggest win
 Bulgaria 0–100 Romania 
(Burgas, Bulgaria; 21 September 1976)
Biggest defeat
 England 134–0 Romania 
(London, England; 17 November 2001)
World Cup
Appearances8 (First in 1987)
Best resultPool stage (1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)
Medal record
Websiterugbyromania.ro

France first played rugby against Romania in 1924 when they tried to establish a rival to the Five Nations championship. Romania holds with 25 matches the record for the longest unbeaten run.[1] Although not regarded as a first-tier team in more recent times, their history includes an away draw against Ireland, and wins against four (France, Italy, Scotland, Wales) of the other Six Nations Championship teams.[2]

Romania played in every Rugby World Cup through to 2015, but were disqualified from the 2019 Rugby World Cup after fielding an ineligible player during the qualification process.[3]

History

Early history

 
Romania at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

The game itself was introduced by students returning with rugby balls from their studies in Paris to form clubs such as Stadiul Roman from 1913 onwards. Seventeen other teams would be formed in the capital, Bucharest.

Romania's first international was played against the US in 1919. France first officially played rugby union against Romania in May 1924 when they tried to establish a rival to the Five Nations Championship (now the Six Nations). France were victorious by 59 points to 3.

Romania were one of three teams who entered the 1924 Olympics in Paris. France won 59–3, scoring 13 tries including four by the fine Stade Francais winger Adolphe Jaureguy. The United States then defeated Romania 39–0. Romania finishing third claimed the bronze medal. The Federaţia Română de Rugby was formed in 1931. In 1939 a team was formed in Braşov at an aircraft factory. This was the first team outside Bucharest.

Post-World War II

 
Viorel Morariu (right) captained Romania in the 1950s and early 1960s.
 
Alex Penciu, one of Romania's greatest players in the 1960s.
 
The Oaks starting lineup that beat France 15–0 in November 1980.
 
The Oaks before a test match against Wales in 1983.

The communist regime used rugby union like it used other sports, as a propaganda tool during the Cold War with the West. Every international success was presented as a direct result of the righteousness of the communist rule and ideology. Top players were employed in the army or the police sporting clubs, like CSA Steaua București or Dynamo.

A generation of French school trained coaches[citation needed] from late 1940s, and 1950s built a system and led the national team to success of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. In this era Romania began to compete more regularly against the major nations. Their first win over France came in 1960 in Bucharest, in a tour match won by 11–5. In 1974 Romania won against France 15–10 in Bucharest,[4] and the FIRA – Association of European Rugby championship.[5] In 1975 Romania went for an 8-game tour to New Zealand, concluding in Wellington with a 10–10 draw against the Junior All Blacks. Exposure to international rugby developed the country's game and they began to form their own distinctive style of play, built around strong, bruising packs. That Romania was emerging as a real force on the world stage became clear on their 1979 Romania rugby union tour of Wales at Cardiff Arms Park, in an unofficial, non-cap international. The Oaks led going into the dying minutes, when only a last-gasp drop goal from Gareth Davies gave a narrow 13–12 victory for Wales. The improvement continued in 1980, when Romania crushed the French in a record 15–0 win in Bucharest. A trip to Lansdowne Road in the 1980 Romania rugby union tour of Ireland then yielded a 13–13 draw against Ireland in another unofficial, non-cap match.

In the 1980s the country boasted more than 12,000 players in 110 clubs. Home nations sides began to award international caps for matches against Romania in 1981; Scotland were the first to do so when Romania visited them on their 1981 tour, Scotland winning the international by 12 points to 6.[6] Wales travelled to Bucharest in November 1983 and were totally overwhelmed, falling to a 24–6 defeat. Romania's first win over Scotland came in Bucharest in 1984 and their first away win against Five Nations opposition came in 1988 against Wales; 15–9 at Cardiff Arms Park.

Their national side beat Wales (twice – 1983: 24–6 in Romania, 1988: 15–9 in Wales), Scotland (the 1984 Grand Slam side 28–22 in Romania), France (twice 1980: 15–0 in Romania, 1982: 13–9 in Romania) and drew with Ireland (13–13, in 1980, at Dublin). In 1981, they lost to the All Blacks 14–6 but had two tries disallowed. Many felt it was wrong for the rugby union powers to fail to bring them into top-flight competition. Romania beat Zimbabwe 21–20 in their first ever Rugby World Cup match in 1987 but did not win any other games and failed to progress beyond the group stage.

After the collapse of Communism

However, with the deterioration of the domestic political and economic situation in the country in the 1990s, Romanian rugby union suffered; the two leading rugby union teams – Dinamo Bucharest and Steaua Bucharest, represented the police and the army respectively, so their state funding fell.[citation needed]

Post-revolution, Romanian rugby union was still alive and kicking. In 1990 they recorded a prestigious win to date by beating France 12–6 on French soil for the first time. The following year they beat Scotland 18–12. At the 1991 World Cup they beat Fiji 17–15 and as recently as the 1995 World Cup, Romania held the eventual winners South Africa to a highly respectable 21–8.

The professionalism that followed immediately upon the heels of that World Cup was the undoing of the sport in Romania. Approximately 200 Romanian players are thought to be playing in France and Italy. It was not just playing numbers that suffered, but a whole generation of potential referees and administrators was lost to the game. By 1994 Romania's rugby fortunes had declined sharply, when a Welsh team travelled to Bucharest for an uncapped international the visitors came away with a 16–9 win. In 1997 the Romanians toured Wales. They lost 36–21 to Wales A at Pontypridd and 70–21 in a test held in Wrexham. At the 1999 World Cup Romania could again only manage a single win 27–25 against the United States.

The new millennium

 
Romania plays its home games at the Stadionul Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest.
 
Romania playing Ireland at Lansdowne Road in 2005.

In 2000, Romania won the first European Nations Cup by a large margin, recording victories in all four matches. By 2001, Romania had been caught by the likes of Georgia who defeated them to take the 2001 European Nations Cup, crowned with a decisive 31–20 win over Romania in Bucharest. The national side lost to England by 134–0 in 2001 and Dinamo Bucharest lost 151–0 to Saracens in the European Rugby Shield. Several French-based players refused to turn up for the England debacle simply because their clubs refused to pay them for the week. Players in that Romanian squad were getting £30 a day in expenses while England's top earners scooped £6,000 for their afternoon's work.[citation needed]

In January 2002, Bernard Charreyre was appointed coach of the national team both supplied by and paid by the French Rugby Federation (FFR). Under Charreyre (known by The Oaks as 'Little Napoleon'), the Oaks' decline has been stopped and the team has started to slowly climb from the basement of international rugby union. With a change of format in the European Nations Cup, Romania started in 2002 trailing Georgia due to the inclusion of 2001 results. The Oaks won all of the remaining five games, including a hard-fought 31–23 victory in Tbilisi to win the tournament. They qualified for the World Cup in 2003, where they beat Namibia and lost to Ireland (45–17), after an honourable display, and then to Australia (90–8) and Argentina (50–3). Charreyre was dismissed after the World Cup as the Romanian Federation was not satisfied by the World Cup performance and decided not to renew his contract. Three other French coaches followed: first, Phillipe Sauton, for a very short period, Robert Antonin as a temporary stand-in and then Daniel Santamans.

In the 2003–2004 European Nations Cup, Portugal were surprise 16–15 winners over Romania in Lisbon and installed themselves on the top of the 2003 table. In the second half of the competition, Romania seemed back on track (36–6 against Portugal in Constanţa), but went down 24–33 to Russia in Krasnodar following allegations of players having been doped. Then Portugal clinched their first title with a last-minute 19–18 win over Russia in Lisbon. In 2004, the Romanians scored a narrow 25–24 victory over Italy, their first victory to date over a Six Nations Championship side.

In 2005 Romania was given 'second tier' status by the IRB and replaced Russia in the Super Powers Cup. The USA beat a Romanian team stripped of their France-based players 23–16 in the third place play-off. The 2005–06 European Nations Cup also served as a qualifying group for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Romania triumphed despite finishing level on points with Georgia.

Romania qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, finishing at the top of their pool during the Round 5 of the European qualifying tournaments. Romania won their first qualifying match on 7 October, defeating Georgia in Bucharest 20–8. Their 43–20 win over Spain in Madrid on 14 October ensured that they qualified directly for the World Cup in 2007. In June 2007, Romania hosted the IRB Nations Cup in Bucuresti.[7] In the 2007 Rugby World Cup finals, Romania won a bonus point in the 18–24 loss to Italy and to win a second game with Portugal by a narrow margin (14–10), but suffered heavy losses to Scotland (42–0) and New Zealand (85–8).

On 21 March 2009, Romania lost 22–21 at home to Portugal, leaving them with an uphill struggle to qualify for the 2011 World Cup – qualification for which is determined by performances in the European Nations Cup in 2009 and 2010. Romania went unbeaten, with a draw at Russia, in the 2010 phase of the European Nations Cup. The Oaks' strong finish put them in third place and the final phase of the European qualification playoffs, in which they easily defeated Ukraine over two legs (94–10 on aggregate) for the European place in the Final Place Playoff for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Romania emerged as the last qualifier for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand by overcoming first Tunisia in a winner-takes-it-all game (56–13) and later Uruguay (60–33 on aggregate). Thus, the Oaks are one of only 12 teams to participate at all World Cups alongside New Zealand, Australia, England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Argentina, Canada, and Japan.

In November 2016, Romania achieved home soil wins against the US, Canada and Uruguay.[8]

In 2018, Romania finished top of the Rugby Europe Championship, meaning they qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup to be played in Japan in 2019. But after the conclusion of the tournament World Rugby conducted a review of player eligibility and found Romania fielded Sione Faka'osilea, who previously played for the Tonga Sevens team, which made him ineligible to play for Romania in the competition. Romania was stripped of 30 competition points, which placed them third and meant that they failed to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with Russia taking their place.[9]

On 29 May 2018, it was confirmed that Romania had appealed the decision.[10] On 6 June, the appeal failed and the decision was upheld, meaning Russia was confirmed as Europe 1 and qualified for the World Cup, whilst Germany advanced to round 6.[11]

Honours

Record

Romania holds the record for the longest unbeaten run: 25 matches in between May 1959 and November 1964.[1]

Wins against Tier 1 nations

Date Home Score Away Venue Status
14 April 1940 Romania   3–0   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest Test Match
5 June 1960[12] Romania   11–5   France   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest Test Match
10 June 1962 Romania   14–6   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest Test Match
11 November 1962 Romania   3–0   France   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest Test Match
14 May 1967 Romania   15–14   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1966–67 FIRA Nations Cup
1 December 1968 Romania   24–3   France   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1968–69 FIRA Nations Cup
25 October 1970 Italy   3–14   Romania   Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini, Rovigo 1969–70 FIRA Nations Cup
11 April 1971 Romania   32–6   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1970–71 FIRA Nations Cup
13 October 1974 Romania   15–10   France   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1974–75 FIRA Trophy
14 November 1976 Romania   15–12   France   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1976–77 FIRA Trophy
1 May 1977 Romania   69–0   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1976–77 FIRA Trophy
22 April 1979 Romania   44–0   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1978–79 FIRA Trophy
23 November 1980 Romania   15–0   France   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1980–81 FIRA Trophy
12 April 1981 Romania   35–9   Italy   Brăila 1980–81 FIRA Trophy
31 October 1982 Romania   13–9   France   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1982–83 FIRA Trophy
10 April 1983 Romania   13–6   Italy   Buzău 1982–83 FIRA Trophy
12 November 1983 Romania   24–6   Wales   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest Test Match
20 May 1984 Romania   28–22   Scotland   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest Test Match
14 April 1985 Romania   7–6   Italy   Brașov 1984–85 FIRA Trophy
12 April 1987 Romania   9–3   Italy   Constanța 1985–87 FIRA Trophy
2 April 1988 Italy   3–12   Romania   San Siro, Milan 1987–89 FIRA Trophy
10 December 1988 Wales   9–15   Romania   Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Test Match
15 April 1989 Romania   28–4   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1987–89 FIRA Trophy
14 April 1990 Italy   9–16   Romania   Frascati 1989–90 FIRA Trophy
24 May 1990 France   9–12   Romania   Stade du Moulias, Auch 1989–90 FIRA Trophy
31 August 1991 Romania   18–12   Scotland   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest Test Match
14 May 1994 Romania   26–12   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest 1992–94 FIRA Trophy
26 June 2004 Romania   25–24   Italy   Dinamo Stadium, Bucharest Test Match

European competitions

Romania's only annual tournament is a competition involving Europe's tier 2 and tier 3 national teams. From 1936 through 1938, they competed in the FIRA Tournament against France, Germany and Italy. In 1965 until 1973 the FIRA Nations Cup was formed allowing other teams to be promoted or relegated from the competition. Romania won the competition once in 1969, being the only team to defeat France.

Pre–WWII Tournament (1936–1938)
Nation Games Points Table
points 		Champs
played won drawn lost for against diff
  France 6 6 0 0 133 48 +85 – 3
  Germany 6 3 0 3 83 92 −9 – 0
  Italy 5 3 0 2 75 76 −1 – 0
  Romania 7 1 0 6 81 114 −33 – 0
  Belgium 2 1 0 1 20 48 −28 – 0
  Netherlands 2 0 0 2 8 62 −54 – 0
FIRA Nations Cup (1965–1973)
Nation Games Points Table
points 		Champs
played won drawn lost for against diff
  France 26 25 0 1 824 198 +626 65 7
  Romania 26 17 1 8 528 222 +306 51 1
  Czechoslovakia 17 2 2 13 135 411 −267 16 0
  Morocco 9 2 0 7 65 332 −267 13 0
  Italy 13 4 1 8 86 227 −141 12 0
  West Germany 10 1 1 8 81 132 −51 6 0
  Spain 3 1 0 2 56 55 +1 5 0
  Poland 3 0 0 3 19 132 −113 3 0
  Portugal 3 0 0 3 23 108 −85 0 0

European Nations Cup (2000–present)

See also: European Nations Cup (rugby union)

Winners

Year First Division Lower Division Champions
Winner Second Third Relegated Division 2 Division 3
2000   Romania   Georgia   Morocco   Russia   Czech Republic
2001   Georgia   Romania   Russia   Poland Not played[13]
2001–2002   Romania   Georgia   Russia   Netherlands   Czech Republic[14]   Slovenia
2003–2004   Portugal   Romania   Georgia   Spain   Ukraine   Moldova
2004–2006   Romania   Georgia   Portugal   Ukraine   Spain   Latvia
2006–2008   Georgia   Russia   Romania   Czech Republic   Germany   Sweden
2008–2010   Georgia   Russia   Portugal   Germany [15]   Ukraine   Lithuania
2010   Romania   Georgia   Russia
2011   Georgia   Romania   Portugal   Ukraine [16]   Belgium   Sweden
2012   Georgia   Spain   Romania
2013   Georgia   Romania   Russia   Belgium [17]   Germany   Netherlands
2014   Georgia   Romania   Russia
2015   Georgia   Romania   Spain   Portugal   Belgium   Estonia
2016   Georgia   Romania   Russia
2017   Romania   Georgia   Spain –   Portugal   Czech Republic /   Malta
2018   Georgia   Russia   Germany –
2019   Georgia   Spain   Romania   Germany
2020   Georgia   Spain   Romania   Belgium   Netherlands
2021   Georgia   Romania   Portugal –
2022   Georgia   Romania   Spain   Russia   Belgium   Sweden /
  Croatia

All-time table

Pld W D L PF PA PD AVPPG Pts Champs
  Georgia 100 83 4 13 3096 1151 +1945 30.96 334 11
  Romania 100 72 2 26 3024 1311 +1713 30.24 288 5
  Russia 85 47 3 34 2190 1788 +402 26.07 186 0
  Portugal 85 35 3 47 1605 1865 −260 18.88 152 1
  Spain 80 25 4 51 1575 2020 −445 19.69 145 0
  Czech Republic 29 6 0 23 362 1075 −713 12.48 40 0
  Germany 25 3 1 21 341 1064 −723 13.64 26 0
  Netherlands 15 1 0 14 278 652 −374 18.53 17 0
  Ukraine 20 1 0 19 201 998 −797 10.05 15 0
  Morocco 5 3 0 2 94 69 +25 18.80 11 0
  Belgium 20 2 1 17 204 412 −208 13.6 8 0
 
ENC champions

Rivalries

See also: History of rugby union matches between Georgia and Romania and Antim Cup

Romania and Georgia have enjoyed a rivalry between the two most successful teams in the European Nations Cup. The winner of the rivalry takes home the Antim Cup.

Rugby World Cup

Main article: Romania at the Rugby World Cup

Romania had competed in every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987; that streak ended in 2018, when they were expelled from the 2019 tournament via points deduction for fielding ineligible players. Their best finish was with one win in 1987, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015. They lost all pool matches in 1995 and 2011.

World Cup record World Cup Qualification record
Year Round P W D L F A P W D L F A
   1987 Pool stage 3 1 0 2 61 130 -
    1991 Pool stage 3 1 0 2 31 64 3 2 0 1 85 42
  1995 Pool Stage 3 0 0 3 14 97 4 2 0 2 105 46
  1999 Pool Stage 3 1 0 2 50 126 6 4 0 2 300 127
  2003 Pool Stage 4 1 0 3 65 192 2 1 0 1 84 31
  2007 Pool Stage 4 1 0 3 40 161 12 10 0 2 452 122
  2011 Pool Stage 4 0 0 4 44 169 12 8 1 3 376 142
  2015 Pool Stage 4 1 0 3 60 129 10 8 1 1 242 106
  2019 Expelled after qualification 8 6 0 2 296 106
  2023 Qualified 10 6 0 4 289 232
Total 9/10 28 6 0 22 365 1068 57 41 2 14 1940 722

Overall

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 as of 6 March 2023[18]
Rank Change* Team Points
1     Ireland 091.33
2     France 089.47
3     New Zealand 088.98
4     South Africa 088.97
5     Scotland 083.26
6     England 083.11
7     Australia 081.80
8     Argentina 080.72
9     Japan 077.39
10     Wales 076.88
11     Samoa 076.03
12     Georgia 075.94
13     Italy 075.83
14     Fiji 074.84
15     Tonga 071.21
16     Portugal 067.92
17  1   Uruguay 066.24
18  1   United States 065.92
19  2   Spain 065.45
20     Romania 064.45
21     Namibia 061.60
22     Chile 060.89
23     Canada 060.46
24     Hong Kong 059.66
25     Russia 058.06
26     Brazil 055.23
27  1   Netherlands 055.09
28  2   Switzerland 053.80
29  2   Belgium 053.71
30  4   Germany 053.07
* Change from the previous week
Romania's historical rankings
See or edit source data.
Source: World Rugby[18]
Graph updated to 6 March 2023

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Romania national XV at test level up until 17 July 2021.[19]

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win % For Aga Diff
  Argentina 9 0 9 0 0.0% 114 341 −227
  Argentina XV 5 4 1 0 80.0% 113 74 +39
  Australia 3 0 3 0 0.0% 20 189 −169
  Belgium 7 7 0 0 100.0% 358 81 +277
  Brazil 2 2 0 0 100.0% 78 26 +52
  Bulgaria 2 2 0 0 100.0% 170 3 +167
  Canada 8 6 2 0 75.0% 138 142 −4
  Chile 2 2 0 0 100.0% 57 34 +23
  Czech Republic 6 6 0 0 100.0% 307 53 +254
  Czechoslovakia 18 17 0 1 77.8% 349 105 +244
  East Germany 13 12 0 1 92.3% 393 69 +324
  England 5 0 5 0 0.0% 24 335 −311
  Fiji 3 1 2 0 33.3% 42 70 −28
  France 50 8 41 2 15.7% 473 1342 −869
  France A 1 0 1 0 0.0% 16 20 −4
  France XV 5 0 5 0 0.0% 30 153 −123
  Georgia 25 9 15 1 36.0% 411 504 −93
  Germany 11 6 5 0 54.5% 367 158 +209
  Ireland 9 0 9 0 0.0% 102 390 −288
  Ireland XV 1 0 0 1 0.0% 13 13 +0
  Emerging Ireland 1 0 1 0 0.0% 10 31 −21
  Italy 42 16 23 3 38.1% 634 609 +25
  Italy A 4 2 2 0 50.0% 65 87 −22
  Emerging Italy 2 2 0 0 100.0% 43 26 +17
  Japan 6 1 5 0 16.7% 119 152 −33
  Japan XV 1 1 0 0 100.0% 30 25 +5
  Morocco 8 7 1 0 87.5% 342 56 +286
  Namibia 6 5 1 0 83.3% 158 66 +92
  Netherlands 7 7 0 0 100.0% 296 46 +250
  New Zealand 2 0 2 0 0.0% 14 99 −85
  New Zealand XV 1 0 1 0 0.0% 30 60 −30
  Junior All Blacks 1 0 0 1 0.0% 10 10 +0
  Poland 16 14 2 0 87.5% 514 143 +371
  Portugal 26 23 3 0 88.5% 803 286 +517
  Russia 24 16 7 1 66.7% 580 347 +233
  Samoa 2 2 0 0 100.0% 49 37 +12
  Scotland 13 2 11 0 15.4% 192 475 −283
  Scotland A 1 0 1 0 0.0% 18 21 −3
  South Africa 1 0 1 0 0.0% 8 21 −13
  Emerging Springboks 2 0 2 0 0.00% 20 86 −66
  Soviet Union 15 12 3 0 80.0% 251 153 +98
  Spain 37 34 3 0 91.9% 1063 379 +684
  Tonga 4 2 2 0 50.0% 87 84 +3
  Tunisia 5 4 1 0 80.0% 189 42 +147
  Ukraine 7 7 0 0 100.0% 400 43 +357
  United States 9 2 7 0 22.2% 104 230 −126
  Uruguay 10 7 2 1 70.0% 246 111 +135
  Wales 8 2 6 0 25.0% 96 342 −246
  Wales XV 1 0 1 0 0.0% 12 13 −1
  West Germany 9 8 1 0 88.9% 199 69 +130
  Zimbabwe 4 4 0 0 100.0% 123 84 +39
Total 458 260 189 12 56.77% 10218 8292 +1926

Players

Current squad

On 31 October 2022, Romania named a 33-man squad for the 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals.[20]

On 8 November 2022, Gheorghe Gajion, Ionuț Mureșan and Fonovai Tangimana were called up to replace Victor Leon, Ștefan Iancu and Ionel Melinte.

Head Coach:   Eugen Apjok

  • Caps Updated: 10 November 2022
Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Florin Bărdașu Hooker (1991-09-23) 23 September 1991 (age 31) 9   Steaua București
Tudor Butnariu Hooker (1995-03-12) 12 March 1995 (age 27) 6   Steaua București
Ovidiu Cojocaru Hooker (1996-11-19) 19 November 1996 (age 26) 24   Dinamo București
Vasile Balan Prop (1992-02-07) 7 February 1992 (age 31) 14   Steaua București
Gheorghe Gajion Prop (1992-11-13) 13 November 1992 (age 30) 2   Mont-de-Marsan
Alexandru Gordaș Prop (1994-05-11) 11 May 1994 (age 28) 32   Dinamo București
Mihai Lazăr Prop (1986-11-03) 3 November 1986 (age 36) 63   Timișoara
Alexandru Savin Prop (1995-02-12) 12 February 1995 (age 28) 17   Steaua București
Marius Iftimiciuc Lock (1997-08-13) 13 August 1997 (age 25) 13   Périgueux
Ionuț Mureșan Lock (1997-09-28) 28 September 1997 (age 25) 10   Timișoara
Luigi Ostoni Lock (1994-10-06) 6 October 1994 (age 28) 0   Milano
Florian Roșu Lock (1993-04-20) 20 April 1993 (age 29) 7   Baia Mare
Johan van Heerden Lock (1986-12-09) 9 December 1986 (age 36) 51   Dinamo București
Cristi Chirică Back row (1997-04-09) 9 April 1997 (age 25) 25   Hyères Carqueiranne
Mihai Macovei (c) Back row (1986-10-29) 29 October 1986 (age 36) 98   Bassin d'Arcachon
Dragoș Ser Back row (1999-03-04) 4 March 1999 (age 24) 12   Steaua București
Kamil Sobota Back row (1992-03-31) 31 March 1992 (age 30) 7   Steaua București
Damian Strătilă Back row (1996-07-28) 28 July 1996 (age 26) 3   Steaua București
Vlăduț Bocăneț Scrum-half (1999-04-28) 28 April 1999 (age 23) 0   Baia Mare
Gabriel Rupanu Scrum-half (1997-09-28) 28 September 1997 (age 25) 15   Timișoara
Florin Surugiu Scrum-half (1984-12-10) 10 December 1984 (age 38) 98   Steaua București
Tudor Boldor Fly-half (1997-11-29) 29 November 1997 (age 25) 13   Dinamo București
Daniel Plai Fly-half (1994-09-05) 5 September 1994 (age 28) 25   Steaua București
Alexandru Bucur Centre (1994-04-24) 24 April 1994 (age 28) 12   Timișoara
Vlăduț Popa Centre (1996-03-27) 27 March 1996 (age 26) 25   Steaua București
Fonovai Tangimana Centre (1989-10-25) 25 October 1989 (age 33) 17   Steaua București
Mihai Lămboiu Wing (1997-07-25) 25 July 1997 (age 25) 4   Baia Mare
Nicolas Onuțu Wing (1995-12-27) 27 December 1995 (age 27) 22   Vienne
Atila Septar Wing (1996-06-02) 2 June 1996 (age 26) 1   Toulon
Marius Simionescu Wing (1997-09-05) 5 September 1997 (age 25) 24   Dinamo București
Sioeli Lama Fullback (1995-10-12) 12 October 1995 (age 27) 4   Steaua București
Robert Neagu Fullback (1991-07-20) 20 July 1991 (age 31) 9   Steaua București
Hinckley Vaovasa Fullback (1998-09-24) 24 September 1998 (age 24) 11   Steaua București

Notable players

 
Mircea Paraschiv captained Romania from 1976 to 1987.
 
Florică Murariu was one of a number of Romanian rugby internationals who were killed during the Romanian Revolution in December 1989.[21]
 
Romania's current top point scorer and most capped player of all time, Florin Vlaicu.

The 1924 Romania Olympic team are the only Romanian inductee to have been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame. Nicolae Mărăscu captained the Hall of Fame side. The highest point of Mărăscu's career was at the 1924 tournament, earning Romania the bronze medal. He played as a centre and had five caps, without ever scoring, since his first match, in 1919, a 48–5 loss to France, in Paris, for the Inter-Allied Games, and his last, at 22 May 1927, in a 21–5 win over Czechoslovakia, in Bratislava.

Iulian Dumitraș was Romania's main man. Dumitraș was known to be one of the Oaks' most gifted playmakers, with an accurate kicking boot and a penchant for sparking attacks. Having made his test debut in 2002, he went on to start in every match a Rugby World Cup 2007 in France, bringing plenty of experience to the nation. The then standing 1.88m and weighing in a 110 kg, Dumitraș was a punishing runner when he chimes into the line on attack, which he looked to do often, and he provided a solid and dependable last obstacle in defence.

Sorin Socol is regarded by many good judges as the then best player in the current squad and was one of the rocks of the Romanian forward pack. He has captained the most matches to date for Romania, between 2003 and 2011. A total of 61 tests, 36 of them were as captain. He captained Romania for the first time on 30 October 2003 during the 2003 Rugby World Cup match against Namibia. He went on and featured in the 2007 World Cup squad and eventually retired from all international rugby after the 2011 tournament. Socol had one of Romania's highest winning percentage as a captain of 63.88.

Florin Vlaicu is Romania's top ever point scorer and also the most capped player appearing in 104 tests so far. Vlaicu made his international debut in 2006 as a substitute against Ukraine. He played for Romania in the IRB Nations Cup and in their 2007 Rugby World Cup qualifying before appearing for them in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He played two Tests at the World Cup as a substitute against both Scotland and the All Blacks. He also played at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups.

Cristian Petre is Romania's most recognized player after dominating the lock position for eleven years. He is one of Romania's most capped player with a total of 92 matches and a career span that started in 2001 against England and ended in 2012 against Italy. Petre has featured in three Rugby World Cups, first in 2003, going on to feature in 2007 and his last being in 2011. Petre has scored a total of six tries and had winning percentage of 55.43.

Cătălin Fercu is generally regarded as one of Romania's true global superstar of rugby union. Fercu is Romania's top try scorers. He had quickly made appearances on the international stage at a very young age and played against France and Scotland in the Autumn internationals in 2006. He also scored a try against the French. Fercu helped guide Romania to the 2007 Rugby World Cup as he played in the qualifier matches including the vital games against Georgia and Spain and scored a try against Spain in the game that sealed their qualification to the Rugby World Cup. Fercu was a late withdrawal from their Rugby World Cup squad in 2011 because he was not prepared to fly all the way to New Zealand. The Romanian side arrived in Christchurch to prepare for their first game of the tournament against Scotland in Invercargill on 10 September without Fercu, who failed to get on the plane when it left Romania.

Another one of the Oaks greatest players are Romeo Gontineac, represented Romania in four Rugby World Cups from 1995 to 2007. The hard running centre, who became the national coach in 2010, was capped 75 times for the nation, scoring 13 tries and a drop goal. During his career he played professionally in Romania, South Africa and France.

Members of the 1924 Olympics team

Coaches

Current coaching staff

The current coaching staff of the Romanian national team:

Name Nationality Role
Iustin Ilioiu   ROU Manager
Eugen Apjok   ROU Head coach
David Ellis   NZL Defence coach
Sosene Anesi   SAM Backs coach
Steve Scott   SCO Forwards coach
Valentin Ursache   ROU Contact area coach
Dave Ellis   ENG Defence coach

Former coaches

Years Coach
1961–1965   Petre Cosmănescu
1965–1968   Viorel Morariu
1968–1972   Petre Cosmănescu
1973–1974   Valeriu Irimescu
1974–1981   Petre Cosmănescu
1985–1987   Theodor Rădulescu
1987–1989   Mihai Naca
1989–1990   Theodor Rădulescu
1991   Peter Ianusevici
1992–1994   Theodor Rădulescu
1994–1999   Mircea Paraschiv
1999–2001   Eduard Suciu
2002–2003   Bernard Charreyre
2004   Phillipe Sauton
2004   Robert Antonin
2005–2007   Daniel Santamans
2007–2008   Marin Moț
2008–2009   Ellis Meachen
2009   Marin Moț
2009–2010   Serge Lairle
2010–2011   Romeo Gontineac
2012   Haralambie Dumitraș
2013–2018   Lynn Howells
2018   Thomas Lièvremont
2019   Marius Tincu (Interim)
2019–2022   Andy Robinson
2022–Present   Eugen Apjok

Individual all-time records

Most caps

# Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Won Lost Draw %
1 Florin Vlaicu Centre 2006–2022 129 103 26 79 47 3 62.89
2 Cătălin Fercu Fullback 2005–2020 109 107 2 73 33 3 68.34
3 Mihai Macovei Flanker 2006–present 102 91 11 59 42 1 58.98
4 Florin Surugiu Scrum-half 2008–present 101 65 36 62 38 1 62.35
5 Valentin Calafeteanu Scrum-half 2004–2019 100 54 46 61 37 2 62.00
6 Cristian Petre Lock 2001–2012 92 83 9 50 40 2 55.43
7 Csaba Gál Centre 2005–2015 88 65 23 49 37 2 56.81
8 Valentin Poparlan Lock 2007–2020 77 50 27 48 29 0 62.33
9 Romeo Gontineac Centre 1995–2008 76 75 1 35 41 0 46.05
Adrian Lungu Centre 1980–1995 76 75 1 40 36 0 52.63
Lucian Sîrbu Scrum-half 1996–2011 76 62 14 40 34 2 53.94

Last updated: Georgia vs Romania, 5 March 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[22]

Most tries

# Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries
1 Cătălin Fercu Fullback 2005–2020 109 107 2 171 33
2 Gabriel Brezoianu Centre 1996–2007 71 67 4 142 28
3 Mihai Macovei Flanker 2006– 102 91 11 110 22
4 Ionut Dumitru Centre 2013– 55 49 6 85 17
5 Ovidiu Toniţa Flanker 2000–2016 73 67 6 75 15
6 Petre Mitu Scrum-half 1996–2009 41 36 5 339 14
Cristian Săuan Wing 1999–2007 37 32 5 70 14
Marius Tincu Hooker 2002–2012 53 49 4 70 14
Florin Vlaicu Centre 2006–2022 129 103 26 1025 14
9 4 players on 13 tries

Last updated: Georgia vs Romania, 5 March 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[23]

Most points

# Player Pos Span Mat Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop
1 Florin Vlaicu Centre 2006–2022 129 1030 14 173 203 4
2 Dănuţ Dumbravă Fly-half 2002–2015 73 389 3 73 74 2
3 Petre Mitu Scrum-half 1996–2009 41 339 14 55 53 0
4 Ionuţ Tofan Fly-half 1997–2007 60 316 12 53 46 4
5 Valentin Calafeteanu Scrum-half 2004–2019 100 233 11 32 37 1
6 Neculai Nichitean Fly-half 1990–1997 28 201 0 18 45 10
7 Cătălin Fercu Fullback 2005–2020 109 171 33 1 1 0
8 Ionel Melinte Fullback 2018–present 25 155 8 32 17 0
9 Gelu Ignat Fly-half 1986–1992 25 148 1 15 32 6
10 Gabriel Brezoianu Centre 1996–2007 71 142 28 1 0 0

Last updated: Georgia vs Romania, 5 March 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[24]

Most matches as captain

# Player Pos Span Mat Won Lost Draw % Pts Tries
1 Mihai Macovei Flanker 2012–present 70 46 23 1 68.10 105 21
2 Sorin Socol Lock 2001–2011 36 22 12 2 63.88 25 5
3 Stelian Burcea Flanker 2009–2018 19 13 6 0 68.42 15 3
4 Mircea Paraschiv Scrum-half 1980–1987 18 7 10 1 41.66 16 4
5 Haralambie Dumitras Number 8 1989–1993 14 5 9 0 35.71 20 5
Romeo Gontineac Centre 1999–2003 14 4 10 0 28.57 5 1
7 Tiberiu Brînză Number 8 1994–1997 13 1 12 0 7.69 5 1
8 Marius Tincu Hooker 2007–2012 11 5 6 0 45.45 0 0
9 Costica Mersoiu Number 8 2007–2008 10 6 4 0 60.00 5 1
10 Alin Petrache Number 8 1999–2004 7 3 4 0 42.85 0 0

Last updated: Georgia vs Romania, 5 March 2023. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[25]

Most points in a match

# Player Pos Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Opposition Venue Date
1 Ionuţ Tofan Fly-half 32 2 8 2 0   Spain   Iași 05/10/2002
2 Virgil Popisteanu Fly-half 27 0 12 1 0   Portugal   Bucharest 13/04/1996
Petre Mitu Scrum-half 27 1 2 6 0   Portugal   Lisbon 04/02/2001
4 Ionel Rotaru Wing 25 5 0 0 0   Portugal   Bucharest 13/04/1996
5 Florin Vlaicu Fullback 24 1 8 0 1   Czech Republic   Bucharest 22/03/2008
Florin Vlaicu Centre 24 1 2 5 0   Russia   Bucharest 09/02/2013
7 Gelu Ignat Fly-half 22 0 5 4 0   Netherlands   Treviso 30/09/1990
Petre Mitu Scrum-half 22 1 4 3 0   Russia   Bârlad 18/03/2001
Ionuţ Tofan Fly-half 22 1 1 5 0   
March 12, 2023
romania, national, rugby, union, team, romanian, echipa, națională, rugby, româniei, represents, romania, international, rugby, union, competitions, nicknamed, stejarii, oaks, long, considered, stronger, european, teams, outside, nations, they, have, participa. The Romania national rugby union team Romanian Echipa națională de rugby a Romaniei represents Romania in men s international rugby union competitions nicknamed Stejarii The Oaks is long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations They have participated in all but one Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the European Nations Cup which they won recently in 2017 Rugby union in Romania is administered by the Romanian Rugby Federation RomaniaNickname s Stejarii The Oaks EmblemOak leafUnionRomanian Rugby FederationHead coachEugen ApjokCaptainMihai MacoveiMost capsFlorin Vlaicu 129 Top scorerFlorin Vlaicu 1 030 Top try scorerCătălin Fercu 33 Home stadiumStadionul Arcul de TriumfFirst coloursSecond coloursWorld Rugby rankingCurrent20 as of 14 November 2022 Highest13 2003 2004 2005 2006 Lowest20 2019 2022 First international United States 23 0 Romania Paris France 26 June 1919 All military sidesBiggest win Bulgaria 0 100 Romania Burgas Bulgaria 21 September 1976 Biggest defeat England 134 0 Romania London England 17 November 2001 World CupAppearances8 First in 1987 Best resultPool stage 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 Medal record Men s rugby union1924 Paris TeamWebsiterugbyromania roFrance first played rugby against Romania in 1924 when they tried to establish a rival to the Five Nations championship Romania holds with 25 matches the record for the longest unbeaten run 1 Although not regarded as a first tier team in more recent times their history includes an away draw against Ireland and wins against four France Italy Scotland Wales of the other Six Nations Championship teams 2 Romania played in every Rugby World Cup through to 2015 but were disqualified from the 2019 Rugby World Cup after fielding an ineligible player during the qualification process 3 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history 1 2 Post World War II 1 3 After the collapse of Communism 1 4 The new millennium 2 Honours 3 Record 3 1 Wins against Tier 1 nations 3 2 European competitions 3 3 European Nations Cup 2000 present 3 3 1 Winners 3 4 All time table 3 5 Rivalries 3 6 Rugby World Cup 3 7 Overall 4 Players 4 1 Current squad 4 2 Notable players 4 2 1 Members of the 1924 Olympics team 5 Coaches 5 1 Current coaching staff 5 2 Former coaches 6 Individual all time records 6 1 Most caps 6 2 Most tries 6 3 Most points 6 4 Most matches as captain 6 5 Most points in a match 6 6 Most tries in a match 7 Media coverage 8 Kit suppliers 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External linksHistory EditEarly history Edit Romania at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris France The game itself was introduced by students returning with rugby balls from their studies in Paris to form clubs such as Stadiul Roman from 1913 onwards Seventeen other teams would be formed in the capital Bucharest Romania s first international was played against the US in 1919 France first officially played rugby union against Romania in May 1924 when they tried to establish a rival to the Five Nations Championship now the Six Nations France were victorious by 59 points to 3 Romania were one of three teams who entered the 1924 Olympics in Paris France won 59 3 scoring 13 tries including four by the fine Stade Francais winger Adolphe Jaureguy The United States then defeated Romania 39 0 Romania finishing third claimed the bronze medal The Federaţia Romană de Rugby was formed in 1931 In 1939 a team was formed in Brasov at an aircraft factory This was the first team outside Bucharest Post World War II Edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it July 2022 Viorel Morariu right captained Romania in the 1950s and early 1960s Alex Penciu one of Romania s greatest players in the 1960s The Oaks starting lineup that beat France 15 0 in November 1980 The Oaks before a test match against Wales in 1983 The communist regime used rugby union like it used other sports as a propaganda tool during the Cold War with the West Every international success was presented as a direct result of the righteousness of the communist rule and ideology Top players were employed in the army or the police sporting clubs like CSA Steaua București or Dynamo A generation of French school trained coaches citation needed from late 1940s and 1950s built a system and led the national team to success of the 1960s 1970s and early 1980s In this era Romania began to compete more regularly against the major nations Their first win over France came in 1960 in Bucharest in a tour match won by 11 5 In 1974 Romania won against France 15 10 in Bucharest 4 and the FIRA Association of European Rugby championship 5 In 1975 Romania went for an 8 game tour to New Zealand concluding in Wellington with a 10 10 draw against the Junior All Blacks Exposure to international rugby developed the country s game and they began to form their own distinctive style of play built around strong bruising packs That Romania was emerging as a real force on the world stage became clear on their 1979 Romania rugby union tour of Wales at Cardiff Arms Park in an unofficial non cap international The Oaks led going into the dying minutes when only a last gasp drop goal from Gareth Davies gave a narrow 13 12 victory for Wales The improvement continued in 1980 when Romania crushed the French in a record 15 0 win in Bucharest A trip to Lansdowne Road in the 1980 Romania rugby union tour of Ireland then yielded a 13 13 draw against Ireland in another unofficial non cap match In the 1980s the country boasted more than 12 000 players in 110 clubs Home nations sides began to award international caps for matches against Romania in 1981 Scotland were the first to do so when Romania visited them on their 1981 tour Scotland winning the international by 12 points to 6 6 Wales travelled to Bucharest in November 1983 and were totally overwhelmed falling to a 24 6 defeat Romania s first win over Scotland came in Bucharest in 1984 and their first away win against Five Nations opposition came in 1988 against Wales 15 9 at Cardiff Arms Park Their national side beat Wales twice 1983 24 6 in Romania 1988 15 9 in Wales Scotland the 1984 Grand Slam side 28 22 in Romania France twice 1980 15 0 in Romania 1982 13 9 in Romania and drew with Ireland 13 13 in 1980 at Dublin In 1981 they lost to the All Blacks 14 6 but had two tries disallowed Many felt it was wrong for the rugby union powers to fail to bring them into top flight competition Romania beat Zimbabwe 21 20 in their first ever Rugby World Cup match in 1987 but did not win any other games and failed to progress beyond the group stage After the collapse of Communism Edit However with the deterioration of the domestic political and economic situation in the country in the 1990s Romanian rugby union suffered the two leading rugby union teams Dinamo Bucharest and Steaua Bucharest represented the police and the army respectively so their state funding fell citation needed Post revolution Romanian rugby union was still alive and kicking In 1990 they recorded a prestigious win to date by beating France 12 6 on French soil for the first time The following year they beat Scotland 18 12 At the 1991 World Cup they beat Fiji 17 15 and as recently as the 1995 World Cup Romania held the eventual winners South Africa to a highly respectable 21 8 The professionalism that followed immediately upon the heels of that World Cup was the undoing of the sport in Romania Approximately 200 Romanian players are thought to be playing in France and Italy It was not just playing numbers that suffered but a whole generation of potential referees and administrators was lost to the game By 1994 Romania s rugby fortunes had declined sharply when a Welsh team travelled to Bucharest for an uncapped international the visitors came away with a 16 9 win In 1997 the Romanians toured Wales They lost 36 21 to Wales A at Pontypridd and 70 21 in a test held in Wrexham At the 1999 World Cup Romania could again only manage a single win 27 25 against the United States The new millennium Edit Romania plays its home games at the Stadionul Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest Romania playing Ireland at Lansdowne Road in 2005 In 2000 Romania won the first European Nations Cup by a large margin recording victories in all four matches By 2001 Romania had been caught by the likes of Georgia who defeated them to take the 2001 European Nations Cup crowned with a decisive 31 20 win over Romania in Bucharest The national side lost to England by 134 0 in 2001 and Dinamo Bucharest lost 151 0 to Saracens in the European Rugby Shield Several French based players refused to turn up for the England debacle simply because their clubs refused to pay them for the week Players in that Romanian squad were getting 30 a day in expenses while England s top earners scooped 6 000 for their afternoon s work citation needed In January 2002 Bernard Charreyre was appointed coach of the national team both supplied by and paid by the French Rugby Federation FFR Under Charreyre known by The Oaks as Little Napoleon the Oaks decline has been stopped and the team has started to slowly climb from the basement of international rugby union With a change of format in the European Nations Cup Romania started in 2002 trailing Georgia due to the inclusion of 2001 results The Oaks won all of the remaining five games including a hard fought 31 23 victory in Tbilisi to win the tournament They qualified for the World Cup in 2003 where they beat Namibia and lost to Ireland 45 17 after an honourable display and then to Australia 90 8 and Argentina 50 3 Charreyre was dismissed after the World Cup as the Romanian Federation was not satisfied by the World Cup performance and decided not to renew his contract Three other French coaches followed first Phillipe Sauton for a very short period Robert Antonin as a temporary stand in and then Daniel Santamans In the 2003 2004 European Nations Cup Portugal were surprise 16 15 winners over Romania in Lisbon and installed themselves on the top of the 2003 table In the second half of the competition Romania seemed back on track 36 6 against Portugal in Constanţa but went down 24 33 to Russia in Krasnodar following allegations of players having been doped Then Portugal clinched their first title with a last minute 19 18 win over Russia in Lisbon In 2004 the Romanians scored a narrow 25 24 victory over Italy their first victory to date over a Six Nations Championship side In 2005 Romania was given second tier status by the IRB and replaced Russia in the Super Powers Cup The USA beat a Romanian team stripped of their France based players 23 16 in the third place play off The 2005 06 European Nations Cup also served as a qualifying group for the 2007 Rugby World Cup Romania triumphed despite finishing level on points with Georgia Romania qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France finishing at the top of their pool during the Round 5 of the European qualifying tournaments Romania won their first qualifying match on 7 October defeating Georgia in Bucharest 20 8 Their 43 20 win over Spain in Madrid on 14 October ensured that they qualified directly for the World Cup in 2007 In June 2007 Romania hosted the IRB Nations Cup in Bucuresti 7 In the 2007 Rugby World Cup finals Romania won a bonus point in the 18 24 loss to Italy and to win a second game with Portugal by a narrow margin 14 10 but suffered heavy losses to Scotland 42 0 and New Zealand 85 8 On 21 March 2009 Romania lost 22 21 at home to Portugal leaving them with an uphill struggle to qualify for the 2011 World Cup qualification for which is determined by performances in the European Nations Cup in 2009 and 2010 Romania went unbeaten with a draw at Russia in the 2010 phase of the European Nations Cup The Oaks strong finish put them in third place and the final phase of the European qualification playoffs in which they easily defeated Ukraine over two legs 94 10 on aggregate for the European place in the Final Place Playoff for the 2011 Rugby World Cup Romania emerged as the last qualifier for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand by overcoming first Tunisia in a winner takes it all game 56 13 and later Uruguay 60 33 on aggregate Thus the Oaks are one of only 12 teams to participate at all World Cups alongside New Zealand Australia England France Wales Ireland Scotland Italy Argentina Canada and Japan In November 2016 Romania achieved home soil wins against the US Canada and Uruguay 8 In 2018 Romania finished top of the Rugby Europe Championship meaning they qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup to be played in Japan in 2019 But after the conclusion of the tournament World Rugby conducted a review of player eligibility and found Romania fielded Sione Faka osilea who previously played for the Tonga Sevens team which made him ineligible to play for Romania in the competition Romania was stripped of 30 competition points which placed them third and meant that they failed to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup with Russia taking their place 9 On 29 May 2018 it was confirmed that Romania had appealed the decision 10 On 6 June the appeal failed and the decision was upheld meaning Russia was confirmed as Europe 1 and qualified for the World Cup whilst Germany advanced to round 6 11 Honours EditRugby union at the Summer Olympics Bronze Medal 1 1924 Rugby Europe International Championships Winner 10 1968 1969 1974 1975 1976 1977 1980 1981 1982 1983 2000 2001 2002 2004 2006 2010 2017 Runners Up 14 Third Place 12 Antim Cup Winner 6 2002 2003 2004 2006 2010 2017 World Rugby Nations Cup Winner 4 2012 2013 2015 2016Record EditRomania holds the record for the longest unbeaten run 25 matches in between May 1959 and November 1964 1 Wins against Tier 1 nations Edit Date Home Score Away Venue Status14 April 1940 Romania 3 0 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest Test Match5 June 1960 12 Romania 11 5 France Dinamo Stadium Bucharest Test Match10 June 1962 Romania 14 6 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest Test Match11 November 1962 Romania 3 0 France Dinamo Stadium Bucharest Test Match14 May 1967 Romania 15 14 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1966 67 FIRA Nations Cup1 December 1968 Romania 24 3 France Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1968 69 FIRA Nations Cup25 October 1970 Italy 3 14 Romania Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini Rovigo 1969 70 FIRA Nations Cup11 April 1971 Romania 32 6 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1970 71 FIRA Nations Cup13 October 1974 Romania 15 10 France Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1974 75 FIRA Trophy14 November 1976 Romania 15 12 France Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1976 77 FIRA Trophy1 May 1977 Romania 69 0 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1976 77 FIRA Trophy22 April 1979 Romania 44 0 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1978 79 FIRA Trophy23 November 1980 Romania 15 0 France Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1980 81 FIRA Trophy12 April 1981 Romania 35 9 Italy Brăila 1980 81 FIRA Trophy31 October 1982 Romania 13 9 France Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1982 83 FIRA Trophy10 April 1983 Romania 13 6 Italy Buzău 1982 83 FIRA Trophy12 November 1983 Romania 24 6 Wales Dinamo Stadium Bucharest Test Match20 May 1984 Romania 28 22 Scotland Dinamo Stadium Bucharest Test Match14 April 1985 Romania 7 6 Italy Brașov 1984 85 FIRA Trophy12 April 1987 Romania 9 3 Italy Constanța 1985 87 FIRA Trophy2 April 1988 Italy 3 12 Romania San Siro Milan 1987 89 FIRA Trophy10 December 1988 Wales 9 15 Romania Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Test Match15 April 1989 Romania 28 4 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1987 89 FIRA Trophy14 April 1990 Italy 9 16 Romania Frascati 1989 90 FIRA Trophy24 May 1990 France 9 12 Romania Stade du Moulias Auch 1989 90 FIRA Trophy31 August 1991 Romania 18 12 Scotland Dinamo Stadium Bucharest Test Match14 May 1994 Romania 26 12 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest 1992 94 FIRA Trophy26 June 2004 Romania 25 24 Italy Dinamo Stadium Bucharest Test MatchEuropean competitions Edit Romania s only annual tournament is a competition involving Europe s tier 2 and tier 3 national teams From 1936 through 1938 they competed in the FIRA Tournament against France Germany and Italy In 1965 until 1973 the FIRA Nations Cup was formed allowing other teams to be promoted or relegated from the competition Romania won the competition once in 1969 being the only team to defeat France Pre WWII Tournament 1936 1938 Nation Games Points Tablepoints Champsplayed won drawn lost for against diff France 6 6 0 0 133 48 85 3 Germany 6 3 0 3 83 92 9 0 Italy 5 3 0 2 75 76 1 0 Romania 7 1 0 6 81 114 33 0 Belgium 2 1 0 1 20 48 28 0 Netherlands 2 0 0 2 8 62 54 0FIRA Nations Cup 1965 1973 Nation Games Points Tablepoints Champsplayed won drawn lost for against diff France 26 25 0 1 824 198 626 65 7 Romania 26 17 1 8 528 222 306 51 1 Czechoslovakia 17 2 2 13 135 411 267 16 0 Morocco 9 2 0 7 65 332 267 13 0 Italy 13 4 1 8 86 227 141 12 0 West Germany 10 1 1 8 81 132 51 6 0 Spain 3 1 0 2 56 55 1 5 0 Poland 3 0 0 3 19 132 113 3 0 Portugal 3 0 0 3 23 108 85 0 0European Nations Cup 2000 present Edit See also European Nations Cup rugby union Winners Edit Year First Division Lower Division ChampionsWinner Second Third Relegated Division 2 Division 32000 Romania Georgia Morocco Russia Czech Republic2001 Georgia Romania Russia Poland Not played 13 2001 2002 Romania Georgia Russia Netherlands Czech Republic 14 Slovenia2003 2004 Portugal Romania Georgia Spain Ukraine Moldova2004 2006 Romania Georgia Portugal Ukraine Spain Latvia2006 2008 Georgia Russia Romania Czech Republic Germany Sweden2008 2010 Georgia Russia Portugal Germany 15 Ukraine Lithuania2010 Romania Georgia Russia2011 Georgia Romania Portugal Ukraine 16 Belgium Sweden2012 Georgia Spain Romania2013 Georgia Romania Russia Belgium 17 Germany Netherlands2014 Georgia Romania Russia2015 Georgia Romania Spain Portugal Belgium Estonia2016 Georgia Romania Russia2017 Romania Georgia Spain Portugal Czech Republic Malta2018 Georgia Russia Germany 2019 Georgia Spain Romania Germany2020 Georgia Spain Romania Belgium Netherlands2021 Georgia Romania Portugal 2022 Georgia Romania Spain Russia Belgium Sweden CroatiaAll time table Edit Pld W D L PF PA PD AVPPG Pts Champs Georgia 100 83 4 13 3096 1151 1945 30 96 334 11 Romania 100 72 2 26 3024 1311 1713 30 24 288 5 Russia 85 47 3 34 2190 1788 402 26 07 186 0 Portugal 85 35 3 47 1605 1865 260 18 88 152 1 Spain 80 25 4 51 1575 2020 445 19 69 145 0 Czech Republic 29 6 0 23 362 1075 713 12 48 40 0 Germany 25 3 1 21 341 1064 723 13 64 26 0 Netherlands 15 1 0 14 278 652 374 18 53 17 0 Ukraine 20 1 0 19 201 998 797 10 05 15 0 Morocco 5 3 0 2 94 69 25 18 80 11 0 Belgium 20 2 1 17 204 412 208 13 6 8 0 ENC champions Rivalries Edit See also History of rugby union matches between Georgia and Romania and Antim Cup This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it November 2016 Romania and Georgia have enjoyed a rivalry between the two most successful teams in the European Nations Cup The winner of the rivalry takes home the Antim Cup Rugby World Cup Edit Main article Romania at the Rugby World Cup Romania had competed in every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987 that streak ended in 2018 when they were expelled from the 2019 tournament via points deduction for fielding ineligible players Their best finish was with one win in 1987 1991 1999 2003 2007 and 2015 They lost all pool matches in 1995 and 2011 World Cup record World Cup Qualification recordYear Round P W D L F A P W D L F A 1987 Pool stage 3 1 0 2 61 130 1991 Pool stage 3 1 0 2 31 64 3 2 0 1 85 42 1995 Pool Stage 3 0 0 3 14 97 4 2 0 2 105 46 1999 Pool Stage 3 1 0 2 50 126 6 4 0 2 300 127 2003 Pool Stage 4 1 0 3 65 192 2 1 0 1 84 31 2007 Pool Stage 4 1 0 3 40 161 12 10 0 2 452 122 2011 Pool Stage 4 0 0 4 44 169 12 8 1 3 376 142 2015 Pool Stage 4 1 0 3 60 129 10 8 1 1 242 106 2019 Expelled after qualification 8 6 0 2 296 106 2023 Qualified 10 6 0 4 289 232Total 9 10 28 6 0 22 365 1068 57 41 2 14 1940 722World Cup ResultsYear Stage Opponent Final Score Venue1987 Pool D Zimbabwe 21 20 Eden Park France 12 55 Lancaster Park Scotland 28 55 Carisbrook1991 Pool D France 3 30 Stade de la Mediterranee Canada 11 19 Stade Ernest Wallon Fiji 17 15 Parc Municipal des Sports1995 Pool A Canada 3 34 Boet Erasmus Stadium South Africa 8 21 Newlands Australia 3 42 Danie Craven Stadium1999 Pool E Australia 9 57 Ravenhill United States 27 25 Lansdowne Road Ireland 14 44 Lansdowne Road2003 Pool A Ireland 17 45 Central Coast Stadium Australia 8 90 Suncorp Stadium Argentina 3 50 Aussie Stadium Namibia 37 7 York Park2007 Pool C Italy 18 24 Stade Velodrome Scotland 0 42 Murrayfield Stadium Portugal 14 10 Stadium de Toulouse New Zealand 8 85 Stadium de Toulouse2011 Pool B Scotland 24 34 Rugby Park Stadium Argentina 8 43 Rugby Park Stadium England 3 67 Otago Stadium Georgia 9 25 Arena Manawatu2015 Pool D France 11 38 Olympic Stadium Ireland 10 44 Wembley Stadium Canada 17 15 Leicester City Stadium Italy 22 32 Sandy ParkOverall Edit Men s World Rugby Rankingsvte Top 20 as of 6 March 2023 18 Rank Change Team Points1 Ireland 0 91 332 France 0 89 473 New Zealand 0 88 984 South Africa 0 88 975 Scotland 0 83 266 England 0 83 117 Australia 0 81 808 Argentina 0 80 729 Japan 0 77 3910 Wales 0 76 8811 Samoa 0 76 0312 Georgia 0 75 9413 Italy 0 75 8314 Fiji 0 74 8415 Tonga 0 71 2116 Portugal 0 67 9217 1 Uruguay 0 66 2418 1 United States 0 65 9219 2 Spain 0 65 4520 Romania 0 64 4521 Namibia 0 61 6022 Chile 0 60 8923 Canada 0 60 4624 Hong Kong 0 59 6625 Russia 0 58 0626 Brazil 0 55 2327 1 Netherlands 0 55 0928 2 Switzerland 0 53 8029 2 Belgium 0 53 7130 4 Germany 0 53 07 Change from the previous weekRomania s historical rankingsSee or edit source data Source World Rugby 18 Graph updated to 6 March 2023Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Romania national XV at test level up until 17 July 2021 19 Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win For Aga Diff Argentina 9 0 9 0 0 0 114 341 227 Argentina XV 5 4 1 0 80 0 113 74 39 Australia 3 0 3 0 0 0 20 189 169 Belgium 7 7 0 0 100 0 358 81 277 Brazil 2 2 0 0 100 0 78 26 52 Bulgaria 2 2 0 0 100 0 170 3 167 Canada 8 6 2 0 75 0 138 142 4 Chile 2 2 0 0 100 0 57 34 23 Czech Republic 6 6 0 0 100 0 307 53 254 Czechoslovakia 18 17 0 1 77 8 349 105 244 East Germany 13 12 0 1 92 3 393 69 324 England 5 0 5 0 0 0 24 335 311 Fiji 3 1 2 0 33 3 42 70 28 France 50 8 41 2 15 7 473 1342 869 France A 1 0 1 0 0 0 16 20 4 France XV 5 0 5 0 0 0 30 153 123 Georgia 25 9 15 1 36 0 411 504 93 Germany 11 6 5 0 54 5 367 158 209 Ireland 9 0 9 0 0 0 102 390 288 Ireland XV 1 0 0 1 0 0 13 13 0 Emerging Ireland 1 0 1 0 0 0 10 31 21 Italy 42 16 23 3 38 1 634 609 25 Italy A 4 2 2 0 50 0 65 87 22 Emerging Italy 2 2 0 0 100 0 43 26 17 Japan 6 1 5 0 16 7 119 152 33 Japan XV 1 1 0 0 100 0 30 25 5 Morocco 8 7 1 0 87 5 342 56 286 Namibia 6 5 1 0 83 3 158 66 92 Netherlands 7 7 0 0 100 0 296 46 250 New Zealand 2 0 2 0 0 0 14 99 85 New Zealand XV 1 0 1 0 0 0 30 60 30 Junior All Blacks 1 0 0 1 0 0 10 10 0 Poland 16 14 2 0 87 5 514 143 371 Portugal 26 23 3 0 88 5 803 286 517 Russia 24 16 7 1 66 7 580 347 233 Samoa 2 2 0 0 100 0 49 37 12 Scotland 13 2 11 0 15 4 192 475 283 Scotland A 1 0 1 0 0 0 18 21 3 South Africa 1 0 1 0 0 0 8 21 13 Emerging Springboks 2 0 2 0 0 00 20 86 66 Soviet Union 15 12 3 0 80 0 251 153 98 Spain 37 34 3 0 91 9 1063 379 684 Tonga 4 2 2 0 50 0 87 84 3 Tunisia 5 4 1 0 80 0 189 42 147 Ukraine 7 7 0 0 100 0 400 43 357 United States 9 2 7 0 22 2 104 230 126 Uruguay 10 7 2 1 70 0 246 111 135 Wales 8 2 6 0 25 0 96 342 246 Wales XV 1 0 1 0 0 0 12 13 1 West Germany 9 8 1 0 88 9 199 69 130 Zimbabwe 4 4 0 0 100 0 123 84 39Total 458 260 189 12 56 77 10218 8292 1926Players EditCurrent squad Edit On 31 October 2022 Romania named a 33 man squad for the 2022 end of year rugby union internationals 20 On 8 November 2022 Gheorghe Gajion Ionuț Mureșan and Fonovai Tangimana were called up to replace Victor Leon Ștefan Iancu and Ionel Melinte Head Coach Eugen Apjok Caps Updated 10 November 2022 Player Position Date of birth age Caps Club provinceFlorin Bărdașu Hooker 1991 09 23 23 September 1991 age 31 9 Steaua BucureștiTudor Butnariu Hooker 1995 03 12 12 March 1995 age 27 6 Steaua BucureștiOvidiu Cojocaru Hooker 1996 11 19 19 November 1996 age 26 24 Dinamo BucureștiVasile Balan Prop 1992 02 07 7 February 1992 age 31 14 Steaua BucureștiGheorghe Gajion Prop 1992 11 13 13 November 1992 age 30 2 Mont de MarsanAlexandru Gordaș Prop 1994 05 11 11 May 1994 age 28 32 Dinamo BucureștiMihai Lazăr Prop 1986 11 03 3 November 1986 age 36 63 TimișoaraAlexandru Savin Prop 1995 02 12 12 February 1995 age 28 17 Steaua BucureștiMarius Iftimiciuc Lock 1997 08 13 13 August 1997 age 25 13 PerigueuxIonuț Mureșan Lock 1997 09 28 28 September 1997 age 25 10 TimișoaraLuigi Ostoni Lock 1994 10 06 6 October 1994 age 28 0 MilanoFlorian Roșu Lock 1993 04 20 20 April 1993 age 29 7 Baia MareJohan van Heerden Lock 1986 12 09 9 December 1986 age 36 51 Dinamo BucureștiCristi Chirică Back row 1997 04 09 9 April 1997 age 25 25 Hyeres CarqueiranneMihai Macovei c Back row 1986 10 29 29 October 1986 age 36 98 Bassin d ArcachonDragoș Ser Back row 1999 03 04 4 March 1999 age 24 12 Steaua BucureștiKamil Sobota Back row 1992 03 31 31 March 1992 age 30 7 Steaua BucureștiDamian Strătilă Back row 1996 07 28 28 July 1996 age 26 3 Steaua BucureștiVlăduț Bocăneț Scrum half 1999 04 28 28 April 1999 age 23 0 Baia MareGabriel Rupanu Scrum half 1997 09 28 28 September 1997 age 25 15 TimișoaraFlorin Surugiu Scrum half 1984 12 10 10 December 1984 age 38 98 Steaua BucureștiTudor Boldor Fly half 1997 11 29 29 November 1997 age 25 13 Dinamo BucureștiDaniel Plai Fly half 1994 09 05 5 September 1994 age 28 25 Steaua BucureștiAlexandru Bucur Centre 1994 04 24 24 April 1994 age 28 12 TimișoaraVlăduț Popa Centre 1996 03 27 27 March 1996 age 26 25 Steaua BucureștiFonovai Tangimana Centre 1989 10 25 25 October 1989 age 33 17 Steaua BucureștiMihai Lămboiu Wing 1997 07 25 25 July 1997 age 25 4 Baia MareNicolas Onuțu Wing 1995 12 27 27 December 1995 age 27 22 VienneAtila Septar Wing 1996 06 02 2 June 1996 age 26 1 ToulonMarius Simionescu Wing 1997 09 05 5 September 1997 age 25 24 Dinamo BucureștiSioeli Lama Fullback 1995 10 12 12 October 1995 age 27 4 Steaua BucureștiRobert Neagu Fullback 1991 07 20 20 July 1991 age 31 9 Steaua BucureștiHinckley Vaovasa Fullback 1998 09 24 24 September 1998 age 24 11 Steaua BucureștiNotable players Edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mircea Paraschiv captained Romania from 1976 to 1987 Florică Murariu was one of a number of Romanian rugby internationals who were killed during the Romanian Revolution in December 1989 21 Romania s current top point scorer and most capped player of all time Florin Vlaicu The 1924 Romania Olympic team are the only Romanian inductee to have been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame Nicolae Mărăscu captained the Hall of Fame side The highest point of Mărăscu s career was at the 1924 tournament earning Romania the bronze medal He played as a centre and had five caps without ever scoring since his first match in 1919 a 48 5 loss to France in Paris for the Inter Allied Games and his last at 22 May 1927 in a 21 5 win over Czechoslovakia in Bratislava Iulian Dumitraș was Romania s main man Dumitraș was known to be one of the Oaks most gifted playmakers with an accurate kicking boot and a penchant for sparking attacks Having made his test debut in 2002 he went on to start in every match a Rugby World Cup 2007 in France bringing plenty of experience to the nation The then standing 1 88m and weighing in a 110 kg Dumitraș was a punishing runner when he chimes into the line on attack which he looked to do often and he provided a solid and dependable last obstacle in defence Sorin Socol is regarded by many good judges as the then best player in the current squad and was one of the rocks of the Romanian forward pack He has captained the most matches to date for Romania between 2003 and 2011 A total of 61 tests 36 of them were as captain He captained Romania for the first time on 30 October 2003 during the 2003 Rugby World Cup match against Namibia He went on and featured in the 2007 World Cup squad and eventually retired from all international rugby after the 2011 tournament Socol had one of Romania s highest winning percentage as a captain of 63 88 Florin Vlaicu is Romania s top ever point scorer and also the most capped player appearing in 104 tests so far Vlaicu made his international debut in 2006 as a substitute against Ukraine He played for Romania in the IRB Nations Cup and in their 2007 Rugby World Cup qualifying before appearing for them in the 2007 Rugby World Cup He played two Tests at the World Cup as a substitute against both Scotland and the All Blacks He also played at the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups Cristian Petre is Romania s most recognized player after dominating the lock position for eleven years He is one of Romania s most capped player with a total of 92 matches and a career span that started in 2001 against England and ended in 2012 against Italy Petre has featured in three Rugby World Cups first in 2003 going on to feature in 2007 and his last being in 2011 Petre has scored a total of six tries and had winning percentage of 55 43 Cătălin Fercu is generally regarded as one of Romania s true global superstar of rugby union Fercu is Romania s top try scorers He had quickly made appearances on the international stage at a very young age and played against France and Scotland in the Autumn internationals in 2006 He also scored a try against the French Fercu helped guide Romania to the 2007 Rugby World Cup as he played in the qualifier matches including the vital games against Georgia and Spain and scored a try against Spain in the game that sealed their qualification to the Rugby World Cup Fercu was a late withdrawal from their Rugby World Cup squad in 2011 because he was not prepared to fly all the way to New Zealand The Romanian side arrived in Christchurch to prepare for their first game of the tournament against Scotland in Invercargill on 10 September without Fercu who failed to get on the plane when it left Romania Another one of the Oaks greatest players are Romeo Gontineac represented Romania in four Rugby World Cups from 1995 to 2007 The hard running centre who became the national coach in 2010 was capped 75 times for the nation scoring 13 tries and a drop goal During his career he played professionally in Romania South Africa and France Members of the 1924 Olympics team Edit Nicolae Anastasiade Dumitru Armășel Gheorghe Benția J Cociociaho Constantin Crătunescu Teodor Florian Petre Ghițulescu Ion Girleșteanu Octav Luchide Jean Henry Manu Nicolae Mărăscu Teodor Marian Sorin Mihăilescu Paul Nedelcovici Iosif Nemeș Eugen Sfetescu Mircea Sfetescu Soare Sterian Mircea Stroescu Atanasie Tănăsescu Mihai Vardală Paul Vidrașcu Dumitru VolvoreanuCoaches EditCurrent coaching staff Edit The current coaching staff of the Romanian national team Name Nationality RoleIustin Ilioiu ROU ManagerEugen Apjok ROU Head coachDavid Ellis NZL Defence coachSosene Anesi SAM Backs coachSteve Scott SCO Forwards coachValentin Ursache ROU Contact area coachDave Ellis ENG Defence coachFormer coaches Edit Years Coach1961 1965 Petre Cosmănescu1965 1968 Viorel Morariu1968 1972 Petre Cosmănescu1973 1974 Valeriu Irimescu1974 1981 Petre Cosmănescu1985 1987 Theodor Rădulescu1987 1989 Mihai Naca1989 1990 Theodor Rădulescu1991 Peter Ianusevici1992 1994 Theodor Rădulescu1994 1999 Mircea Paraschiv1999 2001 Eduard Suciu2002 2003 Bernard Charreyre2004 Phillipe Sauton2004 Robert Antonin2005 2007 Daniel Santamans2007 2008 Marin Moț2008 2009 Ellis Meachen2009 Marin Moț2009 2010 Serge Lairle2010 2011 Romeo Gontineac2012 Haralambie Dumitraș2013 2018 Lynn Howells2018 Thomas Lievremont2019 Marius Tincu Interim 2019 2022 Andy Robinson2022 Present Eugen ApjokIndividual all time records EditMost caps Edit Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Won Lost Draw 1 Florin Vlaicu Centre 2006 2022 129 103 26 79 47 3 62 892 Cătălin Fercu Fullback 2005 2020 109 107 2 73 33 3 68 343 Mihai Macovei Flanker 2006 present 102 91 11 59 42 1 58 984 Florin Surugiu Scrum half 2008 present 101 65 36 62 38 1 62 355 Valentin Calafeteanu Scrum half 2004 2019 100 54 46 61 37 2 62 006 Cristian Petre Lock 2001 2012 92 83 9 50 40 2 55 437 Csaba Gal Centre 2005 2015 88 65 23 49 37 2 56 818 Valentin Poparlan Lock 2007 2020 77 50 27 48 29 0 62 339 Romeo Gontineac Centre 1995 2008 76 75 1 35 41 0 46 05Adrian Lungu Centre 1980 1995 76 75 1 40 36 0 52 63Lucian Sirbu Scrum half 1996 2011 76 62 14 40 34 2 53 94Last updated Georgia vs Romania 5 March 2023 Statistics include officially capped matches only 22 Most tries Edit Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries1 Cătălin Fercu Fullback 2005 2020 109 107 2 171 332 Gabriel Brezoianu Centre 1996 2007 71 67 4 142 283 Mihai Macovei Flanker 2006 102 91 11 110 224 Ionut Dumitru Centre 2013 55 49 6 85 175 Ovidiu Toniţa Flanker 2000 2016 73 67 6 75 156 Petre Mitu Scrum half 1996 2009 41 36 5 339 14Cristian Săuan Wing 1999 2007 37 32 5 70 14Marius Tincu Hooker 2002 2012 53 49 4 70 14Florin Vlaicu Centre 2006 2022 129 103 26 1025 149 4 players on 13 triesLast updated Georgia vs Romania 5 March 2023 Statistics include officially capped matches only 23 Most points Edit Player Pos Span Mat Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop1 Florin Vlaicu Centre 2006 2022 129 1030 14 173 203 42 Dănuţ Dumbravă Fly half 2002 2015 73 389 3 73 74 23 Petre Mitu Scrum half 1996 2009 41 339 14 55 53 04 Ionuţ Tofan Fly half 1997 2007 60 316 12 53 46 45 Valentin Calafeteanu Scrum half 2004 2019 100 233 11 32 37 16 Neculai Nichitean Fly half 1990 1997 28 201 0 18 45 107 Cătălin Fercu Fullback 2005 2020 109 171 33 1 1 08 Ionel Melinte Fullback 2018 present 25 155 8 32 17 09 Gelu Ignat Fly half 1986 1992 25 148 1 15 32 610 Gabriel Brezoianu Centre 1996 2007 71 142 28 1 0 0Last updated Georgia vs Romania 5 March 2023 Statistics include officially capped matches only 24 Most matches as captain Edit Player Pos Span Mat Won Lost Draw Pts Tries1 Mihai Macovei Flanker 2012 present 70 46 23 1 68 10 105 212 Sorin Socol Lock 2001 2011 36 22 12 2 63 88 25 53 Stelian Burcea Flanker 2009 2018 19 13 6 0 68 42 15 34 Mircea Paraschiv Scrum half 1980 1987 18 7 10 1 41 66 16 45 Haralambie Dumitras Number 8 1989 1993 14 5 9 0 35 71 20 5Romeo Gontineac Centre 1999 2003 14 4 10 0 28 57 5 17 Tiberiu Brinză Number 8 1994 1997 13 1 12 0 7 69 5 18 Marius Tincu Hooker 2007 2012 11 5 6 0 45 45 0 09 Costica Mersoiu Number 8 2007 2008 10 6 4 0 60 00 5 110 Alin Petrache Number 8 1999 2004 7 3 4 0 42 85 0 0Last updated Georgia vs Romania 5 March 2023 Statistics include officially capped matches only 25 Most points in a match Edit Player Pos Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Opposition Venue Date1 Ionuţ Tofan Fly half 32 2 8 2 0 Spain Iași 05 10 20022 Virgil Popisteanu Fly half 27 0 12 1 0 Portugal Bucharest 13 04 1996Petre Mitu Scrum half 27 1 2 6 0 Portugal Lisbon 04 02 20014 Ionel Rotaru Wing 25 5 0 0 0 Portugal Bucharest 13 04 19965 Florin Vlaicu Fullback 24 1 8 0 1 Czech Republic Bucharest 22 03 2008Florin Vlaicu Centre 24 1 2 5 0 Russia Bucharest 09 02 20137 Gelu Ignat Fly half 22 0 5 4 0 Netherlands Treviso 30 09 1990Petre Mitu Scrum half 22 1 4 3 0 Russia Barlad 18 03 2001Ionuţ Tofan Fly half 22 1 1 5 0 a, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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