ROM
No.Name
15Catalin Fercu, -
14Madalin Lemnaru, -
13Paula Kinikinilau, -
12Florin Vlaicu, -
2
11Ionut Botezatu, -
10Mike Wiringi, -
9Valentin Calafeteanu, -
1Mihaita Lazar, -
2Otar Turashvili, -
3Paulica Ion, -
4Valentin Poparlan, -
T
5Johan van Heerden, -
6Valentin Ursache, -
7Viorel Lucaci, -
8Daniel Carpo, -
Replacements
16Andrei Radoi, -
17Andrei Ursache, -
18Horatiu Pungea, -
19Marius Antonescu, -
20Stelian Burcea, -
21Tudorel Bratu, -
22Adrian Apostol, -
T
2
23Csaba Gal, -

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Sandy Park
9:30 AM, October 11, 2015
Attendance: 11,450
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

81'ESPN's Alex Perry (@AlexPerryESPN) had this to say:

"Excuse the cliché, but that was a game of two halves. Italy dominated the first and notched up enough points to ultimately win them the match. But what might have been if the Romania that came out for the second 40 had showed up in the first. Three late tries had the 11,450 packed into Sandy Park on their feet, but it was far too little, far too late. Italy have qualified for the 2019 tournament in Japan. Too early to talk of extending the Six Nations? Not if this match is anything to go by…"
81'+222-32 End of second half
80'No bonus point as the it's done here at Sandy Park! FULL TIME! Analysis to come in a few moments...
79'Missed kick, but Romania have won the second half so that's definitely something to cheer about. Nearly in bonus point territory for the Oaks!
79'22-32 Try - Adrian Apostol , Romania
78'They've got it! ROMANIA TRY!
Great offload from Fercu, passing it over three players to find Adrian Apostol in the corner. Good vision from Fercu, who has been really impressive since being shifted to No.10, and finished nicely by the replacement winger.
77'Scrum just under the Italian sticks. Great little kick from Fercu from the left into the centre, leaving Carlo Canna in no mans land just under his sticks with three incoming Romanian's. Lucky to get away with it unscathed.
76'Italy's lineout along half way results in the driving maul, and it actually looks like gaining a significant amount of ground to begin with but Romania manage to take control and shut it down. Their turn to attack now.
76'17-32 Conversion - Florin Vlaicu , Romania
75'15-32 Try - Valentin Poparlan , Romania
75'Player substituted - Josh Furno , Italy
75'Substitute on - Valerio Bernabo , Italy
74'ROMANIA TRY!
What a complete mess this is turning into at Sandy Park. Even I can't see what's going on here. But, they awarded a try because somehow they've seen that Valentin Poparlan has grounded the ball amongst a huge pile up of bodies. Well, hey ho, Romania have the points with a chance of a couple extras.
73'Driving maul is collapsed by Italy so Romania have the penalty advantage. Can they make this pay? They're just metres out from an extra five here.
72'Romania have the lineout deep in the Italian 22 and they are very close to boosting their score here - can they do it?
70'10-32 Penalty goal - Tommaso Allan , Italy
68'And Italy have the penalty! Kick incoming, this time for the sticks...
68'Player substituted - Edoardo Gori , Italy
68'Substitute on - Carlo Canna , Italy
67'Italian scrum inside the Romanian 22.
67'10-29 Conversion - Florin Vlaicu , Romania
66'
66'8-29 Try - Adrian Apostol , Romania
66'Player substituted - Mihaita Lazar , Romania
66'Substitute on - Horatiu Pungea , Romania
65'ROMANIA TRY!!
The classic driving maul move. Three Italian players on the eventual scorer Adrian Apostol who still has a lot of work to do on the line to actually get the ball down. Very strong from the Oaks replacement. TMO is needed by try is still awarded.
64'Finally a bit of action as the Romanian lineout results into the driving maul...
64'Player substituted - Ionut Botezatu , Romania
64'Substitute on - Adrian Apostol , Romania
64'Player substituted - Simone Favaro , Italy
64'Substitute on - Samu Vunisa , Italy
64'Player substituted - Luke McLean , Italy
64'Substitute on - Guglielmo Palazzani , Italy
62'Not a lot to report on at the minute. Scrum has been gifted to Romania, and after collecting from the rear, theyare being pushed backed into their own half from an increasingly impressive Italian defence. A lot of back and forth kicking, too.
60'Substitute on - Tudorel Bratu , Romania
60'Player substituted - Valentin Calafeteanu , Romania
58'Italy are still well within the Romanian half but they've just kicked out. Bit of a rest bite for the Oaks as we approach the final quarter.
58'Player substituted - Otar Turashvili , Romania
58'Substitute on - Andrei Radoi , Romania
57'Italy pump the ball well from left to right and just as they look like finding their right winger, Tommy Allen's little stab through with his feet just skips past him and bounces into touch. Almost another try for the Azzurri.
56'Italy lineout along their left flank, still inside the Romanian half.
56'Player substituted - Matias Aguero , Italy
56'Substitute on - Alberto de Marchi , Italy
56'Player substituted - Viorel Lucaci , Romania
56'Substitute on - Valentin Ursache , Romania
56'Player substituted - Lorenzo Cittadini , Italy
56'Substitute on - Dario Chistolini , Italy
56'Player substituted - Andrea Manici , Italy
56'Substitute on - Davide Giazzon , Italy
55'
55'Player substituted - Johan van Heerden , Romania
55'Substitute on - Marius Antonescu , Romania
54'Romania's attack is well and truly broken down now as Italy have been awarded the pen. They've kicked for the lineout and they've got their own go at pushing from the set piece.
52'Italy defending these lineouts well as Luke McLean boots to clear the pressure.
51'Italy managed to push up field by about 10 metres from the Romanian lineout, but they've got another go just on the edge of the 22.
49'Better from the Oaks. Florin Vlaicu cross field kick is collected well by Catalin Fercu before he's bundled into touch by Giovanbattista Venditti down the left flank. However, play's been brought back for an Romanian pen and they've kick to touch.
48'Romania on the charge for the first time in quite some while. Just inside the Italian 22 and they're making good progress, albeit quite slowly.
48'Player substituted - Valentin Ursache , Romania
48'Substitute on - Stelian Burcea , Romania
48'3-29 Conversion - Tommaso Allan , Italy
46'3-27 Try - Alessandro Zanni , Italy
45'ITALY TRY
It's been coming! Alessandro Zanni pounces on the loose ball off the scrum and heads home. Relatively easy for the Azzurri making amends for fumble a moment ago.
44'Ooo, so nearly again. Allen breaks the line just inside the 22 and bursts for the try, he offloads left to Francesco Minto but he fumbles it! Minto still goes on to ground it but a TMO decision sees a Romanian hand intercepting before being held up. All going on here! Scrum to restart.
41'Gori nicks it off the floor and bursts down the left flank, not far off the try, and he's almost there but is barged into touch.
41'HALF TIME ANALYSIS

ESPN's Alex Perry (@AlexPerryESPN) had this to say:

"The 22-3 half-time scoreline will flatter Italy who, despite two superb tries, have been pushed to the limit by a determined Romanian side. A sloppy start from the Azzurri was punished by the boot of Florin Vlaicu, but the boys in blue soon showed what they could do with a superb counter-attack by Edoardo Gori. But no! Denied by the dreaded TMO. Italy didn't have to wait long though. Leonardo Sarto soon flew over before Gori finally got his touchdown. Then, Italy's poster boy, the twinkle-toed Tommy Allan, hopped, skipped and jumped through the Romanian backline to put Italy well in control. Romania came back against Canada on Tuesday. It's going to take something to repeat that here at Sandy Park. "
41'Substitute on - Andrei Ursache , Romania
41'Player substituted - Paulica Ion , Romania
41'Player substituted - Mike Wiringi , Romania
41'Substitute on - Csaba Gal , Romania
41'3-22 End of first half
40'We're back under way here in Exeter and we're back into the scrums already. Italy to feed along their left flank near half way.
40'
40'3-22 Start of second half
40'3-22 Conversion - Tommaso Allan , Italy
39'And Allen has rounded off the half in even more style as he successfully converts his own try!
39'3-20 Try - Tommaso Allan , Italy
38'ITALY TRY

Great pace from Tommy Allen, one of Italy's better performers this tournament. Quintin Geldenhuys offloads to Allen who breaks the line with ease. Nice 40 metre run for the try as even Fercu didn't have the speed to catch him. Easy for the fly half.
35'Lineout doesn't result in anything significant but Romania are eventually awarded the penalty themselves after a bit of stalemate for possession in midfield. Too far out of kicking range so they opted to kick in the corner for the lineout...but it was still missed and Luke McLean comfortably collected before firing it back into outer orbit via his boot.
35'Substitute on - Enrico Bacchin , Italy
35'Player substituted - Michele Campagnaro , Italy
33'
32'And it's all come to nothing - unbelievable! Italy awarded the penalty and they can finally release this Romanian pressure.
31'Same old stuff here. Right on the Italian try line. Some brave stuff from the men in blue. Can the Oaks find a way through? We're battling right under the sticks now...
30'Simone Favaro offside for Italy and we have another lineout from the penalty kick.
29'Romania slamming into Italian tacklers right on the Azzurri try line but they're doing so well not to allow any Oaks ball carriers through. Try looming.
28'And they got to within two metres! Good Azzurri defending to keep them out but still the ref has awarded the penalty to the Oaks. Another lineout incoming.
27'Romania finally having a bit of breather and have an attacking lineout of their own in the Azzurri 22.
25'3-15 Conversion - Tommaso Allan , Italy
24'3-13 Try - Edoardo Gori , Italy
23'ITALY TRY

But there we have it. Try! Edoardo Gori - who has been the best player on the pitch so far - picks the ball of the floor, steps a couple of times forward and slides to his for the try.

Quite comically defending from Romania actually as Otar Turashvili, Valentin Ursache and another man in yellow all tackled in the same way at the same time next to each other and all missed Gori.
22'These scrums aren't the most enjoyable viewing. Collapsed, reset, again...
21'Lineout again looks like another try but the ref again blows for a knock on. The right decision and we have the scrum on the Romanian five metre mark.
20'Cheeky quick lineout lands in Alessandro Zanni's hands before touching down, but the referee has said it wasn't straight. Retake needed.
18'And the Oaks are penalised. Italy have kicked for the lineout.
17'Romanian scrum on their right flank just inside Italian territory.
16'
16'3-8 Penalty goal - Tommaso Allan , Italy
16'Yellow card - Johan van Heerden , Romania
15'Johann Van Heerden has been binned for cynical infringement, attempting to grab with his hands before kicking on the floor. All a bit of mess there from the Romanian lock. Italy score the resulting penalty kick.
14'Romania's Paula Kinikinilau gifting another penalty to Italy for a high tackle. Lineout kick it is.
13'Finally the scrum erupts and we're back into some rugby. The Azzurri have kicked up field and Romania are on the ball.
12'Couple of scrums in the Italian half, lots of milling about and not a lot of action is one way to describe play since the try.
10'3-5 Try - Leonardo Sarto , Italy
9'ITALY TRY

Michele Campagnaro!

Fantastic passing from Italy, they use the width very well in that attack. Edoardo Gori breaks the line before finding his teammate Campagnaro on his left who rides it home unchallenged. Kick missed, however.
8'Italy gain another penalty, which is arguably in kicking distance but with a tight angle, and they kick for the lineout.
6'POTENTIAL TRY FOR ITALY! TMO time...

Edoardo Gori breaks the line and bursts towards the Romanian five point marker. He opts to kick and chase as Catalin Fercu - Romania's last line of defence - is in close proximity but instead of collecting and grounding the ball properly with his hands, the pressure the Romanian fullback imposed on the Azzurri No.9 is enough to put him off course and he just flops on top of the ball. NO TRY!
5'Romania have never won more than once in the World Cup, but it's a positive start so far with that first kick. We're back under way with the Italian's on the charge.
5'3-0 Penalty goal - Florin Vlaicu , Romania
4'He sure can! Romania 3 - 0 Italy.
3'First scrum leads to the first penalty kicking opportunity, in favour of the men in yellow. Romania's Vlaicu lines up. His international point tally is already at 636 - can he make it 639?
1'Romania have kicked us off and they're the first ones to attack. They've taken the ball back down the left flank and are pushing - albeit slowly - towards the Italian try line. However, they've just condeded the first penalty and Italy have attempted to kick for the lineout, but missed and it was caught by Romania's Catalin Fercu.
1'Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Pool D clash between Italy and Romania!

Follow our man on the ground, Alex Perry (@AlexPerryESPN), who'll be providing us with his insights straight from Exeter.

You can read Alex's preview HERE

ITALY XV: Luke McLean, Leonardo Sarto, Michele Campagnaro, Tommaso Benvenuti, Giovanbattista Venditti, Tommaso Allan, Edoardo Gori; Matias Aguero, Andrea Manici, Lorenzo Cittadini, Quintin Geldenhuys (captain), Josh Furno, Francesco Minto, Simone Favaro, Alessandro Zanni

ROMANIA XV: Catalin Fercu, Madalin Lemnaru, Paula Kinikinilau, Florin Vlaicu, Ionut Botezatu, Michael Wiringi, Valentin Calafeteanu, Mihaita Lazar, Otar Turashvili, Paulica Ion, Valentin Poparlan, Johannes van Heerden, Valentin Ursache (captain), Viorel Lucaci, Daniel Carpo

Also see...
- Georgia set sights higher after historic World Cup
- What happened last night between England and Uruguay
- Preview of today's later game between Japan and USA
1'0-0 Start of first half

Rugby World Cup 2015 News