Reckless Romania hold on to beat Canada in Bucharest

Romania held on beat Canada by a final score of 35-27 in Bucharest on Saturday. A late score gave the Oaks some breathing room, but poor discipline in the second half nearly gave the game away to a committed but ultimately outmatched Maple Leafs team.

The home side held advantageous field position early until a turnover on attack saw Andrew Coe breaking from his end and delivering a long kick ahead. Hinckley Vaovasa won the race to the ball by a finger-tip, but it was only a stay of execution. Romania couldn’t clear and when a Canadian maul was collapsed, seven points went up on the board and Cristi Boboc went to the bin.

Despite having an extra body on the pitch the Canadians fumbled their next opportunities and two penalties went through the sticks via the boot of Alin Conache to make it a one-point game. A dangerous clearout in the shadow of their posts, however, saw Romania handing three back to Peter Nelson.

Coe paid the price for repeat team infringements with another offside punished by a yellow card. The home side took full advantage, attacking the space where the winger would have been. Tevita Manumua cut back to the short side to score the first Romanian try. The second came straight from the restart, with Cristi Chirica finishing off a 70-meter breakout to make it 18-13 to the Oaks at halftime.

Early in the second half it looked as though the Romanians might put the game to rest. Quick ball put the visitors on the back foot and Ovidiu Neagu stepped back inside to slip in under the posts. A crunching hit from Stefan Buruiana on a dipping Sion Parry, however, landed the Oaks hooker in the bin and left the door open for Canada.

With the Romanian scrum down to 7 men, the Canadian pack flexed their muscles and won a pushover try with Lucas Rumball getting the credit. The script flipped almost immediately at the restart as the Oaks won the ball back and used their own forwards to bash ahead until Yanis Horvat went over to restore a 10-point lead.

Again the pendulum swung as the Oaks were pinged for an early shove on a Canadian put-in. Rumball went quick, and the defense was too slow to reorganize as Parry went through a gap to score Canada’s third try. The successful conversion from Nelson left the gap just three points with 25 minutes to play.

More ill-discipline cost the home side as Jason Tomane flew in with a late and reckless shot on Nelson. This time the referee decided there was no mitigation and the Romanian center was handed a red card. It hardly seemed to bother the Oaks, with a Vaovasa cross-kick finding Taliauli Sikuea open wide right. The ball then came wide left and though Ovidiu Cojocaru’s final pass didn’t go to hand, it deflected off a Canadian player for Neagu to regather and score in the corner.

The game slowed in the final minutes as both teams emptied their bench. Canada conceded an obstruction penalty at an attacking throw-in, and Gabriel Rupanu missed a speculative shot at goal after the reinforced Romanian scrum won a penalty. Another scrum win allowed the Oaks to kick the ball dead to end the game.

Canada’s year is now over and players will return to their clubs until reconvening in July. Their World Cup qualifying campaign begins in August with the Pacific Nations Cup. Romania will enjoy one more home game against Uruguay at the same venue next weekend.

 

SCORING

ROMANIA 35
Tries (5) – T. Manumua (31′), C. Chirica (33′), O. Neagu 2 (42′, 69′), Y. Horvat (50′)
Cons (2) – A. Conache 2/4 (34′, 43′), G. Rupanu 0/1
Pens (2) – A. Conache 2/2 (16′, 22′), G. Rupanu 0/1
YC (2) – C. Boboc (12′), S. Buruiana (44′)
RC (1) – J. Tomane (64′)

CANADA 27
Tries (3) – Penalty try (12′), L. Rumball (48′), S. Parry (55′)
Cons (3) – No kick (12′), P. Nelson 2/2 (49′, 56′)
Pens (2) – P. Nelson 2/2 (26′, 37′)
YC (1) – A. Coe (29′)

TEAMS

ROMANIA
1 Alexandru Savin (17 Iulian Hartig 49′), 2 Stefan Buruiana (16 Ovidiu Cojocaru 54′), 3 Vasile Balan (18 Cosmin Manole 49′), 4 Nicolaas Immelman (20 Vlad Neculau 67′), 5 Andrei Mahu, 6 Cristi Boboc, 7 Cristi Chirica (capt.) (19 Yanis Horvat HT), 8 Adrian Mitu (16 Ovidiu Cojocaru 45-54′), 9 Alin Conache (21 Gabriel Rupanu 60′), 10 Hinckley Voavasa, 11 Tevita Manumua, 12 Jason Tomane, 13 Mihai Graure (22 Alexandru Bucur 51′-59′), 14 Taliauli Sikuea, 15 Ovidiu Neagu (23 Paul Popoaia 75′)

CANADA
1 Cali Martinez (17 Sam Miller 78′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Jesse Mackail 72′), 3 Conor Young (18 Tyler Matchem 78′), 4 James Stockwood (20 Izzak Kelly 36′ {19 Callum Botchar 75′}), 5 Mason Flesch, 6 Matt Heaton, 7 Sion Parry (21 Matthew Oworu 66′), 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Brock Gallagher (22 Jesse Kilgour 75′), 10 Peter Nelson (23 Rhys James 64′-70′), 11 Nic Benn, 12 Noah Flesch, 13 Mitch Richardson, 14 Andrew Coe (23 Rhys James 70′), 15 Cooper Coats

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, November 16
Venue: Stadionul Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest
Kickoff: 18:00 local (08:00 Pacific, 11:00 Eastern)
Weather: clear, 39°F (4°C), wind SW 3-5mph (5-8km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistants: Saba Abulashvili (Georgia) & Ruaridh Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

FULL MATCH VIDEO