Romania - profile

Romania will arrive at Twickenham on Saturday week wide-eyed withanticipation but devoid of expectation. Frankly, they have more pressingconcerns than the prospect of a drubbing at the hands of England in thisone-off Test.The public exposure and sense of occasion alone will do them the world ofgood. Romanian rugby, once the source of shock results that rocked theestablishment, is now in a shocking mess.For a number of years the game has been in rapid decline in the eastEuropean country and without international aid, in the form of funds,training and management expertise, extinction is imminent. DumitruMihalache, the unpaid president of Romania's rugby federation, admitted:'Weare in deep crisis - this is a crucial time for us. Romanian rugby willdisappear because we are a poor country. We have to have help.'

Ironically, it was Romania's dramatic release from the grip of Ceaucescu'scommunism in 1989 that precipitated the rugby team's rapid demise. Havingclaimed victories over France, Scotland and Wales twice on a series ofheadydays in the Eighties and early Nineties, the country's top players weresuddenly free to seek their fortune abroad and the domestic game witheredintheir wake.This exodus has been a frustrating fact of life ever since, with manyplayers heading for France in particular. On occasion, the clubs putpressure on these exiles not to link up with their international team-matesfor matches, a trend evident in Cardiff back in September when anunder-strength Romanian side were trounced 81-9 by Wales.For the England encounter, Romania expect to be at full strength but arenevertheless resigned to engaging in a desperate damage-limitationexercise,however experimental the home side's line-up.

If club form is any guide at all, their prospects look bleak. In the ParkerPen European Shield to date this season, Dinamo Bucharest have lost threeoftheir four games, shipping 257 points in the process.Yet the players still await their big day with anticipation. Defeat isinevitable barring the biggest upset in international history, but giventheir current plight, to restrict England to 50 pointsand maybe snatch a try or two of their own in front of a large Twickenhamcrowd and a watching television audience would provide enough incentivetoprolong the struggle for survival.

England play Romania at Twickenham on Saturday, November 17, 2001.

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