Romanian Rugby

[Croket66]

Good to see in the photo some of the better foreigners from last season (Cobden, Paila, Tabu), there will be some continuity.

Croket, why didn't Perpignan release Ion? I didn't follow Pro D2 much, is he a key player for the club this season?

This season he is the first choice at tighthead prop, and behind him, Mchedlishvili are Chéron are so weak that the staff prefers youth David from the espoirs team.
Anyway, I don't like when a club refuses to release a player called up by his national team, even if it's my favorite team.

 

[dragos03]

Transfer news and rumours:
- the new head coach of Steaua is George Sava, he has won several titles in Russia with Enisey-STM. One confirmed transfer for Steaua is Bogdan Doroftei from RC Barlad.
- two more transfer rumours at CSM Bucuresti: Samoan scrum half Philip Tuigamala (he has played for Baia Mare two seasons ago) and Tongan hooker Sakalia Sosefo (Steaua). I like Sosefo, a really skilled player.
- two Moldovan internationals will play for Poli Iasi in the second division.

 

[dragos03]

Some very interesting bits from an interview with FRR President Harry Dumitras:
- a modern rugby stadium with 8500 seats will be built to replace the current Arcul de Triumf. It should be completed by 2017.
- Romania and Georgia hope to be included in a future 8 Nations tournament, a lot depends on the results of both teams at the RWC.

 

[amz]

Too bad Sosefo interrupted his contract with Steaua, otherwise he could have been eligible for Romania in 3 years and he's a skilled forward, I really like how he's playing.

CMS is building a very strong side; Cobden and Paila I think would be interesting choices for Oaks too should they choose to continue here for two more seasons and our staff will be interested in selecting them.

Also nice to see Moldovan international come to play in Romania.

According with Constanta local newspaper, Viorel Lucaci signed with Farul Constanta:
http://www.telegrafonline.ro/142343...l_pentru_na539ionala_de_rugby_a_romaniei.html

 

[dragos03]

Sosefo could still become eligible for Romania as long as he remains in the Superliga, he doesn't have to stay at one club.

Lucaci is a great transfer for Farul, he is one of the best players in the league in my opinion. Sadly, Steaua keeps losing key players and won't be able to compete with the top four clubs but hopefully this will force them to use more youngsters.

 

[Croket66]

CSM Bucharest (it seems they will be called CSM Tigers?!) will be very strong the next season. I saw some 2014 Super Liga games and Sosefo looked the best hooker of the championship IMO.
Very good transfer for Farul Constanta, but it seem they have lost important players http://www.rugby-farul.ro/echipa/ including Faamita (very good each time I saw him), fijian international Ralulu, samoan international Crichton, Gheara, saffas Sabbagh and Taljard, Tuchashvili (back to Armia Tbilisi) and australian winger Gerry-Burgess
Hard times for Steaua, they lost Lucaci, Sosefo, Ianus, Zamfir, Neacsu after losing Vlaicu, Cazan, Beca, Nere, Caplescu the previous year

 

[dragos03]

All the teams of CSM Bucharest (handball, volleyball, etc) are nicknamed "the tigers", don't think it will be the official name of the rugby team. Don't think Sosefo is the best hooker in the league (I'd say there are at least 2-3 better ones at the moment) but he has some great qualities and could develop into a top player. Surely a good signing for CSM who might have a strong scrum since Vasiliu also joined them.

Farul changes a lot of players every season, they actually look reasonably stable this year. Faamita is the only major loss, the others were either on short-term contracts to help them in the playoffs (Ralulu, Crichton, Burgess) or not that good (Taljard, Tuchasvili). The important thing is that most of the best players from last season will stay (Tamba, Turashvili, Neacsu, Vueti, Ravulo, Van Neel, Kenatale, Jantjies, Vlaicu, etc). They made at least two good transfers (Lucaci and Sobota) and are said to be in talks with centre Robert Dascalu as well. The squad might also be reinforced by some players from Beziers.

 

[Andre8]

Guys, question for you! Do you know Andrei Mahu? He's a Moldavian lock who played Superliga in the last few season. He just signed a contract until the end of the season with Zebre in Pro12? He looks massive, 205 cm x 124 kg..

 

[dragos03]

He is a quality player in my opinion, young but very powerful. I'm sure that he will do well. He's also a Romanian citizen, so he doesn't need a work permit.

 

[Andre8]

Thanks! I love Eastern European forwards, I think they are really good hard workers.. I hope he will have a good impact for Zebre! He'll probably struggle in the first weeks, he only has a few months to earn his contract for the next season!

 

[dragos03]

Still, this is a strange transfer. Mahu is a good player but not an established one, he was normally the 3rd choice lock at Timisoara. Since Italy only has two professional teams, shouldn't Zebre give a chance to an Italian prospect instead of a foreign one?

He will work hard for sure to get a longer contract or maybe to be scouted by another good club.

 

[Andre8]

Still, this is a strange transfer. Mahu is a good player but not an established one, he was normally the 3rd choice lock at Timisoara. Since Italy only has two professional teams, shouldn't Zebre give a chance to an Italian prospect instead of a foreign one?

He will work hard for sure to get a longer contract or maybe to be scouted by another good club.

I totally agree with you, the problem is that we are in February and it's hard to find a player now..

 

[amz]

Very good transfer for Farul Constanta, but it seem they have lost important players http://www.rugby-farul.ro/echipa/ including Faamita (very good each time I saw him), fijian international Ralulu, samoan international Crichton, Gheara, saffas Sabbagh and Taljard, Tuchashvili (back to Armia Tbilisi) and australian winger Gerry-Burgess

Besides dragos already told you, Faamita probably did not wanted to continue with Farul, he wasn't answering to emails since he left Romania last autumn.It was clearly an interest from the club.

 

[Croket66]

- hooker Cristi Cornei (Timisoara) signed to Steaua Bucharest

- Romania team to face Spain
1. Mihaita Lazar (Castres Olympique/FRA),
2. Otar Turashvili (Farul Constanta),
3. Andrei Ursache (Carcassonne/FRA),
4. Valentin Poparlan (Timisoara),
5. Marius Antonescu (Tarbes/FRA),
6. Viorel Lucaci (Steaua Bucharest),
7. Valentin Ursache (Oyonnax/FRA),
8. Mihai Macovei (captain - Massy/FRA),
9. Valentin Calafeteanu (Timisoara),
10. Danut Dumbrava (Steaua Bucharest),
11. Ionut Botezatu (Baia Mare),
12. Csaba Gal (Cluj),
13. Robert Dascalu (Steaua Bucharest),
14. Adrian Apostol (Farul Constanta),
15. Catalin Fercu (Saracens/ENG),

16. Andrei Radoi (Ealing Trailfinders/ENG),
17. Constantin Pristavita (Baia Mare),
18. Horatiu Pungea (Lyon/FRA),
19. Marius Sirbe (Blagnac),
20. Stelian Burcea (Timisoara),
21. Grigoras Diaconescu (Steaua Bucharest),
22. Florin Ionita (Steaua Bucharest),
23. Dorin Manole (Orthez/FRA)

 

[dragos03]

This looks like a weird selection again, with the same ineffective combo of Calafeteanu and Dumbrava and with a natural loosehead starting at 3. Paulica Ion and Alin Coste are missing even if there won't be matches in Pro D2 this weekend?

 

[amz]

At least Fercu is back.

 

[dragos03]

The transfer of Moldovan lock Andrei Romanov at CSM Bucharest is confirmed by an article on frr.ro. According to a CSM insider, they are in talks with another 7 players at the moment, most are Samoans and Tongans with ITM Cup experience. We'll see how many of them will be signed. Also, Danie de Villiers is implementing very modern coaching techniques at the club, with the latest gadgets and monitoring software.

 

[Croket66]

The transfer of Moldovan lock Andrei Romanov at CSM Bucharest is confirmed by an article on frr.ro. According to a CSM insider, they are in talks with another 7 players at the moment, most are Samoans and Tongans with ITM Cup experience. We'll see how many of them will be signed. Also, Danie de Villiers is implementing very modern coaching techniques at the club, with the latest gadgets and monitoring software.

Good, CSM Bucharest will be very strong!
As for Alfie Paea, he is a centre/fullback and not prop. I saw he played for Tonga Select XV against Western Force. From his profile http://www.therugbyagents.com/profile-7elUjt5gdx.html he also played for Tonga A and was in the extented squad of 2 NRL teams.

I also found the real name of the tongan who signed for Cluj : Taniela Halafihi. But I found nothing about him

 

[dragos03]

Interesting info. There are several players named Halafihi with ITM Cup experience, maybe the guy at Cluj is one of them.

Romania - Spain 29-8 highlights:

 

[dragos03]

Various news:
- 9 clubs will play in the second division this season, the second team of CSM Bucuresti will be named Olimpia Bucuresti.
- Farul Constanta might be in trouble. Due to a corruption investigation involving the president of the Constanta County Council, the budget of the club hasn't been approved yet. Hopefully the situation will be fixed in time.
- the Italian media is starting to be concerned about the country's position in the 6N. This article quotes previous statements of FRR President Harry Dumitras and claims that a flight from Western Europe to Bucharest or Tbilisi takes 6-7 hours Dunno about Tbilissi but flights to Bucharest don't take more than 2-3 hours and are quite cheap as well: http://www.onrugby.it/2015/02/17/la...i-non-e-roma-perche-meritiamo-il-sei-nazioni/
- in another interview, Dumitras said that the Oaks will play Russia without two of the top players. I guess one of them is Fercu...