Romania

philb87 says...

Thanks for all the comments people. It is much appreciated.

Personally I would not be for a proposal of promotion/relegation as I think it would be unsettling. Teams need to be assured that they can develop a game plan without the risk that the next year they will be in a lower competition with lesser revenue.

Funding for the IRB to help improve the playing numbers in Tier 2 Nations is very important though. In somewhere like Romania, the IRB also need to win the 'hearts and mind's of the public to change the view that Rugby is so intrinsicly linked to their former regime: a regime that caused so many autrocities.

I do think there is also room for a change to the system currently. Tier 2 Nations need not necessarily play in for instance the 6 Nations or newly named Rugby Championship, but they could have matches against England Saxons, New Zealand Maori, Ireland A etc. That would still be a huge step up for them, and could be a benefit to Home Nations as well. A match against the fesity georgian Pack would be a hell of an experience for a English B side for example.

Where I see the bigger problem personally though is that teams such as Samoa, Fiji and Tonga who are already rugby mad do not get a fair crack. They should be involved more and not just have to play the Pacific Nations Cup which I don't not see as much benefit to them to be quite honest. You feel that the IRB are quite conservative in their ways and want to keep the status quo. Something which needs to change if they really want to globalise the game.

Posted 13:03 22nd March 2012

NHsaints says...

Nice article, 'big' russian winger? Big is certainly not a way I'd describe Vas....

Posted 07:04 22nd March 2012

Pearcewreck says...

Great letter.

Posted 21:42 21st March 2012

hayj05 says...

Sad really, Hopefully they'll be up there again someday.

Posted 19:47 21st March 2012

kybone says...

I think having these teams play against club sides would do nothing for there self esteem or their growth. In my opinion a brand new eupopean championships should be set up to replace the current tiered system of competitions. Ill admit that doing away with the 6N would not be a popular idea, but i find the idea of a full on european championships very exciting. More and more people each year seem to label the 6N as a stale competition with poor games. The current club v country problems, due to the 6N being bang in the middle of the club season, are an issue which is being highlighted more and more. The likes of the sides mentioned in the letter need more competitive games against the top sides . The creation of a new summer competion (played 4 yearly between World Cups) would solve all 3 of these problems.

Posted 16:41 21st March 2012

leinster_goy says...

this article was a romping good read, well done sir. also quite a sad account of how erstwhile strong and respected teams can dip rapidly into obscurity

it's fascinating that many socialist dictatorships were able to produce excellent sportsmen (team and individual) while simultaneously massacring their own populations in the name of equality. romania aside, look at football teams like the soviet union in the 80s, hungary in the 50s, north korea in the 60s...sprinters like juantorena from cuba...i suppose the main reason is that these regimes routinely banned their own nationals from emigrating, which inevitably meant that the most talented athletes stayed at home. either that, or drugs, as ye say

the irony of it all is that ex-communist regimes like romania and russia are now the beneficiaries of marxist thinking within international sporting bodies like the IRB who seem intent on expanding tournaments like the rugby world cup to the point where it becomes diluted of almost all its competitiveness - all in the name of "giving everyone a leg up", seemingly

Posted 14:51 21st March 2012