Tag: sports

  • 20.08.2016

    20.08.2016

    Visite — Le Premier ministre roumain Dacian Cioloş fera jeudi, le 25 août, une visite officielle en République de Moldova voisine, apprend-on par le Bureau de presse du gouvernement de Bucarest. Elle a lieu après qu’en début du mois, l’exécutif eut approuvé la délivrance, le 24 août, de la première tranche de 60 millions d’euros de l’assistance financière remboursable de 150 millions d’euros destiné à la République de Moldova. La délivrance de ce montant est soumise à toute une série d’obligations de la part des autorités de Chişinău, dont l’établissement de la feuille de route pour un accord avec le FMI, la réforme de la Justice et la lutte contre la corruption. Créée sur une partie des territoires roumains de l’est annexés par l’URSS, suite à un ultimatum, la République de Moldova a proclamé son indépendance voici un quart de siècle, le 27 août 1991, après l’échec du putsch néo-bolchevik de Moscou.



    Royauté — Les obsèques de la reine Anne ont mis ensemble, sous le signe de la Couronne, la Roumanie et la République de Moldova, l’Eglise orthodoxe et catholique, les cœurs et les espérances des Roumains du monde entier, affirme la princesse héritière Margarita, gardienne de la Couronne, dans un message de remerciement. La princesse souligne que la reine Anne a été un exemple de dévouement à l’égard du roi et de la nation, et que l’amour, le respect et l’admiration que les Roumains lui ont voué lors de son décès donnent beaucoup d’espoir pour l’avenir. Les funérailles de la reine Anne ont eu lieu samedi dernier, à la nouvelle cathédrale, nécropole des rois de Roumanie, érigée près du monastère de Curtea de Argeş (sud). Elle était décédée le 1er août dernier dans un hôpital de Suisse, à 92 ans. Gravement malade, le roi Michel n’a pas pu assister aux obsèques.



    Diaspora — Les représentants des communautés historiques de Roumains vivant autour des frontières du pays et dans la diaspora, participants à l’Université d’été d’Izvorul Mureşului (centre), ont demandé, par une résolution, la création d’un ministère des Roumains de la diaspora, que l’obtention de la nationalité roumaine soit facilitée et la création de nouveaux instituts culturels. Les Roumains vivant à l’étranger demandent aussi un accroissement du nombre de députés et sénateurs censés représenter le nombre de citoyens roumains de la diaspora et moldaves de manière proportionnelle. La résolution sera envoyée à la présidence, au Parlement, au gouvernement et aux partis politiques.



    Transports — Les transporteurs routiers roumains annoncent qu’ils déclenchent une grève à la japonaise et qu’ils rouleront chaque jour, pendant une heure, à 30 km/h, où qu’ils se trouvent en Roumanie, jusqu’à ce que les primes d’assurance responsabilité civile ne soient réduites à 4.907 lei (soit 1100 euros) par an. Les associations patronales de ce secteur organiseront le 15 septembre une grande protestation au niveau national. La majorité des opérateurs de transport sont amenés à faire faillire, après que les primes d’assurance pour le transport commercial de marchandises et de personnes aient connu une augmentation de plus de 300% par rapport à l’année précédente et de plus de 500% par rapport à l’année 2014, font valoir les transporteurs routiers roumains.



    Dacia — La première voiture roumaine, Dacia 1100, sortait des portes de l’usine de Mioveni (sud) voici 48 ans jour pour jour. Cet exemplaire, devenu objet de musée et appartenant à l’Automobile club roumain, était une copie de la Renault 8 et avait été créée suivant un accord entre les autorités communistes de l’époque et le producteur français. La Dacia 1300, licence R12, a suivi, puis sa variante améliorée, la 1310, quasiment le seul modèle qui roulait sur les routes roumaines avant 1989. Renault a racheté, en 1999, 51% du capital de Dacia et a relancé l’usine de Mioveni, grâce aux modèles Logan et Duster, qui circulent de nos jours dans le monde entier.



    JO — Les coureurs de marathon Marius Ionescu et Nicolae Soare et le lutteur Albert Saritov défendront les couleurs de la Roumanie, dimanche, dernier jour des JO de Rio. Après 14 jours, la Roumanie est 45e au classement par médailles aux JO de Rio. La compétition est dominée par les Etats Unis, avec 105 médailles, suivis par le Royaume Uni, la Chine et l’Allemagne. La délégation roumaine a rassemblé, jusqu’ici, 4 médailles : une d’or pour les épéistes roumaines, une d’argent gagnée par la paire Florin Mergea/Horia Tecău en tennis double messieurs, et deux de bronze, appartenant à l’haltérophile Gabriel Sîncrăian et à l’équipage féminin d’aviron 8 avec barreuse. Les résultats aux JO ont déterminé le président du Comité olympique et sportif roumain, Alin Petrache, à annoncer déjà sa démission. Le bilan décevant au Brésil est doublé par le scandale de corruption en Roumanie, où la police fait une enquête à la société ayant livré l’équipement du lot olympique roumain. Les sportifs se sont plaints de ce que l’équipement se soit déchiré après quelques jours seulement, et de ce que sa couleur ait déteint sur la peau. La presse affirme que la société Pax Creative, qui a livré l’équipement officiel pour Rio 2016, a été fondée par l’ancien président du Comité olympique et sportif roumain, Octavian Morariu, actuellement membre du Comité olympique international, et par le secrétaire général en exercice, Ioan Dobrescu.


  • Olympic Update  18.08.2016

    Olympic Update 18.08.2016

    Wednesday brought no notable performances for the Romanian athletes participating in the Rio 2016 Olympics. They only participated in qualifying competitions or in the first round of various competitions. Unfortunately all of them have failed to qualify to the next rounds. Wrestler Alina Emilia Vuc was eliminated in the first round of the 48 kg category in the freestyle competition. She sustained an outright defeat at the score of 0-11 and missed the chance to compete in qualification round 2 for a bronze medal, as Vinesh Phogat failed to qualify to the final. Vinesh Phogat’s run at the Rio 2016 was stopped as she injured her knee against China’s Yanan Sun in the women’s freestyle 48kg quarterfinal with the score 1-2.



    Athletes Claudia Bobocea and Florina Pierdevară have failed to qualify to the semifinal of the 800-meter event, being eliminated in the heats, round 1. Pierdevară ended on 7th place, the last but one place, in the first heat with 2 minutes 3 seconds and 32 hundredth while Bobocea came 6th in the second heat, with the score of 2 minutes 3 seconds and 75 hundredth. Of the 64 athletes that ended the races, the two Romanians had scores of 50 and 51 respectively.



    On Thursday Romania will have only one athlete in competition. Andrei Gag will compete in the men’s shot-put qualifying round. If he qualifies, he will compete for a medal in the final.



    Until Tuesday Romania has obtained four Olympic medals: gold in the women’s team epee competition, silver in the men’s doubles in tennis, bronze in the men’s weightlifting event, in the 85 kg category and bronze in the women’s eight rowing crew event.



    Other news from Rio: the president of the European Olympic Committees, Irishman Patrick Hickey, was arrested over illegal Olympic ticket sales, the Brazilian police announced on Wednesday. He is accused of being involved in a scheme to sell tickets for higher than their face value.

  • Olympic Update

    Olympic Update

    Romanian wrestler Alin Alexuc — Ciurariu came in 5th in men’s Greco — Roman 98 kg event. In the round of 16, the Romanian wrestler had managed to pass by the Egyptian Hamdy Moustafa Elsaid Abdelwahab, but in the quarters he was defeated by the Armenian Artur Aleksanyan, the one who would eventually win the golden medal. There followed re-qualifications, where the Romanian athlete defeated the Italian Daigoro Timoncini. In the game that could have brought him the bronze medal, Alexuc — Ciurariu was defeated by Cenk Ildem of Turkey. Also in the Greco-Roman wrestling event, but in the 66 kg category, the Romanian wrestler Ion Iulian Panait was defeated in the first round by the Russian Islambek Albiev.



    In artistic gymnastics, Andrei Vasile Muntean came in 6th in the men’s parallel bars final. He got 15.600 points, a better result than the one he had obtained in qualifications, when he got 15.466 points. Unfortunately, Romania has not managed to win any medals in the gymnastics competitions in Rio, as Marian Dragulescu came in 4th in men’s vault, and Catalina Ponor finished the women’s beam final on 7th place. It’s for the first time since 1972 that Romanian gymnasts come back home from the Olympic Games with no medals.



    Romanian athlete Alina Rotaru failed to qualify for the women’s long jump final. Her best jump was 6 meters 40 centimeters long, 13 centimeters shorter than the jump of the last finalist, Jazmin Sawyers of Great Britain.

  • Olympic Update

    Olympic Update

    Romanian wrestler Alin Alexuc — Ciurariu came in 5th in men’s Greco — Roman 98 kg event. In the round of 16, the Romanian wrestler had managed to pass by the Egyptian Hamdy Moustafa Elsaid Abdelwahab, but in the quarters he was defeated by the Armenian Artur Aleksanyan, the one who would eventually win the golden medal. There followed re-qualifications, where the Romanian athlete defeated the Italian Daigoro Timoncini. In the game that could have brought him the bronze medal, Alexuc — Ciurariu was defeated by Cenk Ildem of Turkey. Also in the Greco-Roman wrestling event, but in the 66 kg category, the Romanian wrestler Ion Iulian Panait was defeated in the first round by the Russian Islambek Albiev.



    In artistic gymnastics, Andrei Vasile Muntean came in 6th in the men’s parallel bars final. He got 15.600 points, a better result than the one he had obtained in qualifications, when he got 15.466 points. Unfortunately, Romania has not managed to win any medals in the gymnastics competitions in Rio, as Marian Dragulescu came in 4th in men’s vault, and Catalina Ponor finished the women’s beam final on 7th place. It’s for the first time since 1972 that Romanian gymnasts come back home from the Olympic Games with no medals.



    Romanian athlete Alina Rotaru failed to qualify for the women’s long jump final. Her best jump was 6 meters 40 centimeters long, 13 centimeters shorter than the jump of the last finalist, Jazmin Sawyers of Great Britain.

  • Rio Olympics – An Update

    Rio Olympics – An Update

    The Summer Olympic Games in Rio go on without Romania winning any medal so far. On Tuesday, Andreea Mitu and Raluca Olaru failed to qualify into the quarterfinals of the tennis doubles. The Romanians lost in two sets, 1-6, 4-6, the match against the Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.



    Also on Tuesday, the Romanian rowers Cristi Pirghie and George Palamariu fell short in their bid to qualify into the men’s coxless pair final. They came out sixth in the first semi-final, and are scheduled to take part in the B-Final on Thursday.



    The best Romanian performance so far remains the fifth place won by Corina Caprioriu in judo, in the 57-kilo category. An Olympic vice-champion four years ago in London, Corina kept her place in the category’s world elite. Here is what she posted on her Facebook account: “I really wanted a medal, first of all for you, the people who have supported me for years, who helped me get back on my feet and keep fighting. I wanted a medal for Romania. I did my best, I’ve given it all I had, but this time around, it was not meant to be. It is only natural to cry at times like this, and only an athlete who has sacrificed everything to sport can understand this. Thank you all for your messages and for being by my side all the way.”



    We should also note that, after Tuesday’s events, the overall leader in the nations ranking is still the USA, with 9 gold medals, 8 silver and 9 bronze. Second comes China, with 8 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals. Surprisingly enough, the third place in the provisional standing is held by Hungary, which already has 4 gold medals, a silver and a bronze, with swimmer Katinka Hoszu contributing three gold medals to her country’s total medal count.

  • A Preview of Romanian participation in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

    A Preview of Romanian participation in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

    Starting on Friday, August 5, for three weeks running, the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be grabbing sports lovers’ attention. The 31st edition of the Olympics is being attended by more than 10 thousand athletes from 206 countries.



    As an absolute first, participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics is a team of refugees, made up of ten athletes. The most numerous delegations are those of the United States, with 554 athletes, Brazil, with 465 athletes and Germany, with 425 athletes. Representing Romania in Rio is a delegation of 96 athletes and 7 substitutes who will be competing in 15 sporting events.



    According to the US publication ‘Sports Illustrated’, Romania is likely to walk away from Rio with five medals, but none gold. Under the predictions column, the Sports Illustrated columnists wrote that, in terms of medal winners, Romania’s women’s epee team is likely to walk away with silver. Romania is also likely to win another 4 bronze medals: two by gymnast Marian Dragulescu in the floor and vault events, and the other two by judoka Andreea Chitu, in the 52 kilogram category, and by Romania’s women’s handball team, respectively.



    The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee’s set target for the 2016 Olympics is six up to eight medals. The target is apparently unassuming, if we take into account that the eight-medal record at the Bejing Olympics in 2008 was an all-time low for Romania. We recall that at the London Olympics in 2012 Romanian athletes won 9 medals.



    Competitions have already kick-started, even ahead of the official opening ceremony. The first surprise has already occurred in football, since Brazil, with superstar Neymar in the lineup, succeeded a lackluster blank draw against South Africa.

  • Les Roumains aux JO de Rio

    Les Roumains aux JO de Rio

    Tout le monde n’est pas en mesure d’écrire l’histoire ! Mais en sport, il y en a pas mal qui le font. A travers le temps et les époques, les sportifs roumains ont signé des performances retentissantes. Qui pourrait oublier Nadia Comăneci et son 10/10, obtenu aux JO de Montréal il y a très exactement 40 ans, la première note maximale jamais accordée dans l’histoire de la gymnastique ? Ou bien, qui pourrait oublier le pittoresque Ilie Năstase, un des plus importants joueurs de tennis du monde, victorieux à Roland Garros et à l’Open des Etats Unis ? On se souvient toujours de l’excellent footballeur Gheorghe Hagi ou encore du gardien des buts Helmut Duckadam, « le héros de Séville » qui a stoppé tous les tirs au but du FC Barcelone, dans la finale de la Coupe des champions de 1986, offrant pratiquement le trophée à son club Steaua Bucarest.

    Une fois de plus, les Roumains attendent beaucoup de leurs sportifs qui participeront aux JO de Rio, du 5 au 21 août. Le président Klaus Iohannis, qui a reçu les membres de la délégation nationale à cet événement, a souligné « Vous êtes les meilleurs et je vous encourage à le montrer. Soyez vous-mêmes ! Vivez votre rêve à Rio ! Et n’oubliez que des millions de gens vous soutiennent depuis la Roumanie ! J’espère que cette édition des JO sera, pour vous et pour l’histoire du sport roumain, une expérience mémorable. Osez écrire l’histoire !

    Le chef de l’Etat a remis le drapeau tricolore à la gymnaste Cătălina Ponor, qui sera le porte-étendard de la délagtion roumaine à l’ouverture des Jeux. Elle a été désignée à cet honneur par le Comité sportif et olympique roumain ; ses atouts, trois titres olympiques à Athènes en 2004, une médaille d’argent et une de bronze à Londres an 2012, devraient constituer un exemple inspirateur pour les 105 athlètes qui traverseront l’Atlantique, à destination du Brésil.

    Les 98 titulaires et 7 remplaçants seront présents dans 15 disciplines sportives, notamment l’athlétisme et le canotage. A remarquer aussi quelques absences notables : la joueuse de tennis, numéro 5 mondiale, Simona Halep a décidé ne pas se rendre à Rio, par peur du virus Zika. Les équipes de gymnastique ont raté la qualification – il n’y aura donc pas d’équipe féminine de Roumanie dans la compétition olympique, une première depuis 1968.

    Un échec, aux côtés d’autres, qui fait que des voix parlent d’un déclin du sport roumain. Le sport rapproche les gens, contribue à un style de vie sain, dans le corps et dans la tête et promeut une culture reposant sur le respect de l’autre, la tolérance, le fair-play et la persévérance, soulignait le président Klaus Iohannis. Si la Roumanie veut être compétitive parmi les Etats du monde et si elle veut avoir une population en bonne santé, elle doit avoir une nouvelle vision du sport. Et pour cela, il est urgent d’avoir une présence accrue des classes d’éducation physique dans les programmes scolaires – a conclu le chef de l’Etat roumain. (trad. Ileana Taroi)

  • Athlete of the Week – Gymnast Catalina Ponor

    Athlete of the Week – Gymnast Catalina Ponor

    The Romanian gymnasts again failed to meet expectations coming sixth in the nations standings. The Romanian side lacked two major athletes, Larisa Iordache, who sustained hand injuries and Diana Bulimar who is also recovering from injuries.



    The situation improved in the apparatus finals, where Romania reaped two bronze medals through Catalina Ponor in the beam and floor events. Russian Alia Mustafina walked away with gold in the beam event, while French Marine Boyer got silver. Swiss Giulia Steingruber became the gold medallist in the floor event, while Elissa Downie of Britain ranked second.




    For the two medals she won in Switzerland, Radio Romania International has designated Catalina Ponor the athlete of the week. Catalina Ponor was born on August 20th in Constanta, south-eastern Romania, and took up gymnastics at the age of 4 at the local club Farul. In 2002 she got selected and started training in Deva, central Romania, and a year later she joined the countrys national gymnastics team. She compelled international recognition at the Worlds Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, California, the USA after she had become triple silver medallist with the team and in the floor and beam events. The lackluster results she obtained before the Anaheim competition were not indicative of her full potential. Before Anaheim, Ponor only reaped bronze in the beam event of Romanias national championship and silver in Romanias International Championships the same year.



    Her first notable performance came at the European Championships in Amsterdam in 2004, where she got three gold medals after the pattern in Anaheim. The same pattern was maintained at the Athens Olympics in the summer of 2004. With three gold medals, Catalina Ponor was the best gymnast in Romanias delegation and the worlds best gymnast in 2004.




    She obtained other notable results, such as gold in the beam event at the European Championships in 2005 and 2006 and bronze with the team at the World Championships in Stuttgart in 2007.




    Catalina Ponor withdrew from competitions but after a four-year recess, in 2011 she resumed training and in 2012 she won gold again with the Romanian team at the European Championships in Brussels. Ponor reaped gold in the beam event and silver in the floor competitions. Larisa Iordache became gold and silver medallist in the floor and beam event respectively. At the London Olympics in 2012, Catalina Ponor won silver in the floor event and bronze with the Romanian team.

  • Romania is bracing up for EURO 2016

    Romania is bracing up for EURO 2016

    Unassuming optimism and fated pessimism. These are the feelings with which Romanian football fans await the national squad’s debut fixture at EURO 2016. A privilege for some and a spell of bad luck for others, in the European Championship’s opening match in Paris this coming Friday, Romania goes against the team of the host country, France, which is still a powerhouse and a much- feared opponent for any of the teams competing for EURO 2016.



    Some time ago, even Romanian national team’s experienced coach, Anghel Iordanescu, who was declared the Romanian football manager of the 20th century, made a clean breast out of the fact that he would have liked to skip a match against France at EURO 2016, at any rate, not as a debut fixture for his lineup, and not as an opening game at EURO 2016.



    Rated as the minnows for the match against France, Romanian footballers assured everyone they would play their chance to the full, in a game where ambition is likely to bridge the gap in terms of value between the two teams. For the game against France, the high motivational tension is obvious, according to the captain of the Romanian team, Vlad Chiriches, a defender for Italy’s vice-champion Naples. Chiriches admitted the match against France was the most important game of his career, being equally important to the great majority of Romania’s regulars, footballers, who, save for very few exceptions, are in a satisfactory condition ahead of the game against France.



    In addition to Vlad Chiriches, Spanish team Cordoba striker Florin Andone, who was also the goal getter of the Spanish Second Division, as well as the striker of the domestic champion team Astra Giurgiu, Denis Alibec had minor health problems, but their condition does in no way hinder their presence among Romania’s lineup for the match against France.



    With France ranking as favorite to winning the group, Romania will try to edge out its challenger teams, Switzerland and Albania, as our national squad’s fixtures against the two teams are scheduled also in Paris on June 15 and in Lyon on June 19, respectively. Sports pundits say the two teams can be defeated, roughly standing on a par with Romania, provided favorable circumstances or the inspiration of a split second can make the difference between the satisfaction or the dismay of the Romanian national football team’s fans. And we mean the fans who, following an eight-year gap, have the chance to encourage the national squad in a final tournament, in this case at the European Championship.



    All throughout the competition, 20 policemen whom the Romanian Interior Ministry has posted in France, will offer assistance to their French colleagues, if they must sort out legal matters where Romanian citizens may be involved. Joining them are nine gendarmes who will contribute to maintaining public order for Romanian fans who may be in the stands at EURO 2016.

  • A la une de la presse roumaine – 19.04.2016

    A la une de la presse roumaine – 19.04.2016

    Ce mardi dans la presse roumaine, experts, sportifs et entraîneurs tentent d’expliquer l’échec retentissant de l’équipe féminine de gymnastique de la Roumanie à se qualifier aux JO de cet été. Mauvaises conditions de travail dans des salles de sport vétustes, absence des investissements et des bourses de formation, plus de deux décennies de mauvaise gestion du sport roumain, problèmes médicaux chez les sportifs, rémunérations de misère malgré les résultats remarquables – autant de problèmes à régler dans le domaine.



  • Athlete of the Week on RRI

    Athlete of the Week on RRI

    The Romanian women’s epee team has moved up in top position in the World Cup rankings. On Sunday, in the World Cup stage of the women’s epee team competition hosted by Buenos Aires, the Romanian fencers grabbed a 45-40 win over Russia in the team finals. In the eighth finals Romania edged out Brazil 45-37, in the quarterfinals they knocked out the United States 45-27, and in the semi-finals they defeated Estonia 45-36.



    In the singles competition, Simona Gherman ranked 3rd. In the first round she defeated Liubov Shutova of Russia, 15-13. She won narrowly against Erika Kirpu of Estonia 15-14 in the second round, and won against Nathalie Moellhausen of Brazil 15-12 in the eighth finals. In the semi-finals Gherman won easily against Britta Heidemann of Germany, the Olympic champion of 2008. In the semi-finals however she lost to Irina Embrich of Estonia, 15-10.



    For her good performance in the World Cup this weekend, we have designated Simona Gherman Athlete of the Week on RRI. Simona Gherman was born on April 12, 1985 in Bucharest. In 2004 she became the world junior champion in the team event, alongside Loredana Iordachioiu and Ana-Maria Branza. In the seniors’ competitions, she won two world titles with Romania’s team, in 2010 in Paris and in 2011 in Catania. Simona Gherman also contributed to Romania’s five European titles, in 2008 in Kiev, in 2009 in Plovdiv, in 2011 in Sheffield, in 2014 in Strasbourg and in 2015 in Montreux. In 2012 she became European champion in the singles event in Legnano, Italy.

  • Athlete of the Week on RRI

    Athlete of the Week on RRI

    The Romanian women’s epee team has moved up in top position in the World Cup rankings. On Sunday, in the World Cup stage of the women’s epee team competition hosted by Buenos Aires, the Romanian fencers grabbed a 45-40 win over Russia in the team finals. In the eighth finals Romania edged out Brazil 45-37, in the quarterfinals they knocked out the United States 45-27, and in the semi-finals they defeated Estonia 45-36.



    In the singles competition, Simona Gherman ranked 3rd. In the first round she defeated Liubov Shutova of Russia, 15-13. She won narrowly against Erika Kirpu of Estonia 15-14 in the second round, and won against Nathalie Moellhausen of Brazil 15-12 in the eighth finals. In the semi-finals Gherman won easily against Britta Heidemann of Germany, the Olympic champion of 2008. In the semi-finals however she lost to Irina Embrich of Estonia, 15-10.



    For her good performance in the World Cup this weekend, we have designated Simona Gherman Athlete of the Week on RRI. Simona Gherman was born on April 12, 1985 in Bucharest. In 2004 she became the world junior champion in the team event, alongside Loredana Iordachioiu and Ana-Maria Branza. In the seniors’ competitions, she won two world titles with Romania’s team, in 2010 in Paris and in 2011 in Catania. Simona Gherman also contributed to Romania’s five European titles, in 2008 in Kiev, in 2009 in Plovdiv, in 2011 in Sheffield, in 2014 in Strasbourg and in 2015 in Montreux. In 2012 she became European champion in the singles event in Legnano, Italy.

  • RRI Sports Club – Rugby

    RRI Sports Club – Rugby

    In the inaugural game of the current edition of the Rugby Europe Championship, Romania’s Stejarii – “The Oak Leaf Knights” trounced Portugal, 39-14. The Romanians have also been awarded the offensive game bonus point thanks to their excellent run in the second half of the game. At half time, Portugal had a 4 point lead, 14-10. Scoring for Romania were Stephen Shennan and Vlad Nistor, with two tries each, while Florin Radoi scored yet another try. Florin Vlaicu successfully converted four of the Romanian team’s tries, also converting two penalty kicks.



    In other fixtures at the weekend, Georgia thrashed Germany, 59-7, while Russia outclassed Spain, 22-20. The Romanian national squad’s next fixture is the game against Spain on February 13, in Madrid.



    For the game against Spain, Romania’s national squad’s pool of regulars has included six more players. Apart from the 31 rugby players summoned for the game against Portugal, the Welsh manager Lynn Howells also summoned captain Mihai Macovei and Otar Turashvili, both currently playing for French team Colomiers. Joining them are props Silviu Sebastian Suciu and Paul Alexandru Rusu, both signed up by CSM Stiinta Baia Mare, scrumhalf Alexandru Tigla, of CSM Bucharest and young Ionut Balaban of the National Center of Excellence.



    Furthermore, scrumhalf Tudorel Bratu, having sustained a minor injury during a training session last week, has completely recovered and will be used for next week’s game against Spain, according to Agerpress news agency.



    This past weekend saw games being played counting towards the inaugural stage of the Six Nations Tournament. On Saturday in Edinburgh, England defeated Scotland 15-9, while France narrowly defeated Italy, 23-21, on Stade de France. In Dublin on Sunday, Ireland held Wales to a 16-all draw.



    The second stage of the competition is scheduled for this weekend, when France will be facing Ireland, Wales will be taking on Scotland and Italy will go up against England.

  • RRI Sports Club – Rugby

    RRI Sports Club – Rugby

    In the inaugural game of the current edition of the Rugby Europe Championship, Romania’s Stejarii – “The Oak Leaf Knights” trounced Portugal, 39-14. The Romanians have also been awarded the offensive game bonus point thanks to their excellent run in the second half of the game. At half time, Portugal had a 4 point lead, 14-10. Scoring for Romania were Stephen Shennan and Vlad Nistor, with two tries each, while Florin Radoi scored yet another try. Florin Vlaicu successfully converted four of the Romanian team’s tries, also converting two penalty kicks.



    In other fixtures at the weekend, Georgia thrashed Germany, 59-7, while Russia outclassed Spain, 22-20. The Romanian national squad’s next fixture is the game against Spain on February 13, in Madrid.



    For the game against Spain, Romania’s national squad’s pool of regulars has included six more players. Apart from the 31 rugby players summoned for the game against Portugal, the Welsh manager Lynn Howells also summoned captain Mihai Macovei and Otar Turashvili, both currently playing for French team Colomiers. Joining them are props Silviu Sebastian Suciu and Paul Alexandru Rusu, both signed up by CSM Stiinta Baia Mare, scrumhalf Alexandru Tigla, of CSM Bucharest and young Ionut Balaban of the National Center of Excellence.



    Furthermore, scrumhalf Tudorel Bratu, having sustained a minor injury during a training session last week, has completely recovered and will be used for next week’s game against Spain, according to Agerpress news agency.



    This past weekend saw games being played counting towards the inaugural stage of the Six Nations Tournament. On Saturday in Edinburgh, England defeated Scotland 15-9, while France narrowly defeated Italy, 23-21, on Stade de France. In Dublin on Sunday, Ireland held Wales to a 16-all draw.



    The second stage of the competition is scheduled for this weekend, when France will be facing Ireland, Wales will be taking on Scotland and Italy will go up against England.

  • RRI Sports Club – Handball

    RRI Sports Club – Handball

    At the end of this week handball lovers in Romania will find the teams that will be playing in the qualifying playoffs for the World Handball Championships of 2017. The Romanian side is part of the second preliminary group and will be up on its own turf, in Baia Mare, against the group’s leader, Austria. On Saturday, our handballers will be playing the Italian side in an away game. The group’s best handball side is qualified for the playoffs.


    Romanian women’s handball sides will be taking on their opponents in the European Cups this weekend. In the Champions League’s games that commenced at the end of last week, Romania’s champions CSM Bucharest lost the game they played away against the Macedonians from Vardar Skopje 22-21. CSM is currently ranking fourth in the group with five points. In the main group, HCM Baia Mare has secured a 31-28 home win against the French side Fleury Loiret. The result has pushed Baia Mare to the fifth position in the group’s ranking.



    In the first round of the Cup Winner’s Cup eight finals, the Romanian side Municipal Craiova clinched a 30-29 home win against Mercator Ljubljana of Slovenia. The return game is due on Saturday. Romania had two sides in the EHF Cup’s eight finals. Last Sunday, HCM Roman obtained a 22-21 win on home turf against Corona Brasov. The two sides will be meeting for the return game in Brasov, central Romania, on Sunday.



    Cristina Neagu, the best player in the World Championship held in Denmark in December has extended her contract with Buducnost Podgorica until 2017. We recall that with Cristina, the Montenegrin side won the Champions League a year ago. Last month Cristina was designated the world’s best handballer in 2015 through the vote of a 19-member jury and the votes of the fans on handball-planet.com. Next came Nora Mork and Heidi Loke of Norway.