England and Argentina’s Pool B rivals limped out of the competition this morning following their fourth defeat, at the hands of Georgia in the lightly-hyped “Eastern European Derby”. The Oaks scored a total of 54 points in four games, and provided the punching bag for at least 60 percent of the Pool. Like so many teams, their first game promised so much but really had little to show for it by the end. Coached by a man named Romeo.
Best moment: almost beating Scotland in their opening match and dealing a serious blow to Scottish confidence in the process. At one point in the last ten minutes in the 34-24 defeat, the Oaks were even ahead, only to be let down by their defence and inferior fitness. That was also the only time in the competition where the team broke the double figures ceiling.
Worst moment: leaving to one side the 43-8 loss to Argentina and the 67-3 loss to England the following week, both of which served as confidence boosters for their rivals, Romania had placed the majority of their expectations on beating Georgia, even resting key figures to ensure peak fitness. The net result was a well-rested 25-9 capitulation. Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Probably on the plane back to Bucarest, I should imagine.
Highest points scorer: fly-half Marin Danut Dumbrava kicked 15 in the tournament, with Tiberius Ionut Dimofte, the replacement kicker who scored 11.
Best player: captain Marius Tincu, Romania’s leading try-scorer of all time with three (not bad from a hooker), who was the best player on the pitch in the Scotland game and consistently the sharpest Romanian, although with little competition.
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