The Romania national rugby union team, nicknamed The Oaks, have long been one of the stronger European teams outside of the Six Nations tournament. France first played Test rugby against Romania in 1924 when they tried to establish a rival to the Five Nations Championship (now the Six Nations).

In the 1980s the country boasted more than 12,000 players in 110 clubs. Their national side beat Wales (twice), Scotland (the 1984 Grand Slam side) and France (twice). In 1981, they lost to the All Blacks 14-6 but had two tries disallowed. Many felt it was wrong for the rugby powers to fail to bring them in to top-flight competition. There are even rumours that the Oaks were invited to join but refused because the championship took place during their winter break. Their players were generally employed in the army or the police.

However, with the deterioration of the domestic political and economic situation in the country in the 1980s, Romanian rugby suffered; the two leading rugby teams - Dinamo Bucharest and Steaua Bucharest, represented the police and the party respectively, so their state funding fell. Several leading rugby players lost their lives in the 1989 revolution. Among the dead was Romania's skipper, Florica Murariu. An army officer, he was shot dead at a roadblock.

Post-revolution, there was plenty of evidence to suggest that Romanian rugby was, if not in rude health, then at least alive and kicking. The year after Ceaucescu's death they recorded their best win to date by beating France on French soil for the first time. As recently as the 1995 World Cup, Romania held the eventual winners South Africa to a highly respectable 21-8.

The professionalism that followed immediately upon the heels of that World Cup was the undoing of the sport in Romania as elsewhere. Approximately 200 Romanian players are reckoned to be playing in France and Italy. It wasn't just playing numbers that suffered, but a whole generation of potential referees and administrators was lost to the game.

Fast forward to the present and Romania's playing numbers have dropped by 75% while its clubs have dwindled to just 28, none of which can boast its own clubhouse. The national side lost to England by 138-0 in 2001 and Dinamo Bucharest lost 151-0 to Saracens in the European Rugby Shield. Several French-based players refused to turn up for the England debacle simply because their clubs refused to pay them for the week. Players in that Romanian squad were getting £30 a day in expenses while England's top earners scooped £6,000 for their afternoon's work.

The French Rugby Federation (FFR) not only supply their coach Charreyre but more also pay his wages. In addition, the IRB has upped their contributions to Romania by 60%, which effectively means a windfall of £190,000 for the sport there.

They had now been caught by the likes of Georgia who defeated them to take the 2001 European Nations Cup, the lower-level Six Nations. Since then, Romania have qualified for RWC '03 and in 2004 recorded a narrow win against Italy.

Famous players

• Gabriel Brezoianu
• Romeo Gontineac
• Adrian Lungu

See also

• World Cup
• European Nations Cup

External links

• Official site (in Romanian, English, and French)
• European Nations Cup results from Heaven's game
• Planet-Rugby news for Romania