Romania look for first Rugby World Cup win against France

Romania kick-off their Rugby World Cup campaign on this evening (September 23) against France in London’s Olympic Stadium at 22:00 (20:00 GMT). The Romanian rugby team, also known as The Oaks, currently ranked 17th in the world, are the only side yet to play in pool D and this will be their first important test before they go on to play group high flyers and current six nations holders Ireland on September 29 and Canada on October 6. Romania will need a good result here to be in with a chance of going beyond the tournament’s pool stages for the first time in their history. The Head Coach hoping to lead the Romanian team to world cup glory is Welshman Lynn Howells, a former rugby union player turned coach. Since Howells’ appointment in January 2012 the Romanian side has gone from strength to strength, winning back to back IRB Nations cups in 2012 and 2013 and the 2015 World Rugby Nations Cup. In spite of these victories, fans will feel that their side has a lot to prove at the highest level after a disappointing Rugby World Cup display in 2011 which saw Romania finish bottom of their group. The Romanian side should feel accustomed to coming up against French opposition as many of the players in this squad, including team captain Mihai Macovei, play in the highest divisions of the French rugby league at club level. The head to head statistics at an international level strongly favour the French side. Romania has won just eight of the 49 matches played against France and none of those victories were in a Rugby World Cup. France walked away 62-14 winners when the two sides last met in 2006 but the Romanian side will be feeling more confident than ever after seeing underdogs Japan pull off a momentous shock victory against South Africa on Saturday with Head Coach Howells’ calling Japan’s victory a result that’s “scared the bigger teams”. Aside from this newly added fear factor captain Mihai Macovei believes that Romania’s biggest strength lies in “the unity of the team”. Both fans and players alike will be hoping that this unity is strong enough to help Romania cause another Rugby World Cup shock tonight in London. By Dale Harris, editorial intern