Having watched France produce some opening night fireworks, it is Ireland’s turn to kick off their Rugby World Cup 2023 campaign against a Romania team they last played in London eight years ago.
RUGBY WORLD CUP POOL B:
Saturday, September 9 –
IRELAND v ROMANIA, Stade de Bordeaux, 3.30pm local time/2.30pm Irish time (live Virgin Media One/Virgin Media Player/ITV 1/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC 5 Live/BBC Radio Ulster/IRFU Live Blog)
Team News: Back from injury and suspension for his first game since March, captain Jonathan Sexton leads an Ireland team looking to make a strong start to the tournament in boiling Bordeaux.
Sexton resumes his half-back partnership with Jamison Gibson-Park, head coach Andy Farrell has selected Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki together in midfield, and Keith Earls, Ireland’s record World Cup try scorer with eight, joins Hugo Keenan and James Lowe in the back-three.
Earls scored two tries when Ireland played Romania during the 2015 World Cup pool stages. They won 44-10 that day in front of almost 90,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium. Tadhg Furlong and Conor Murray were the only other current squad members involved.
Andrew Porter, Furlong and Ulster’s Rob Herring form the front row, with 22-year-old powerhouse Joe McCarthy – one of six players in the starting XV set for their Rugby World Cup debuts – packing down alongside James Ryan in the second row.
Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony and Caelan Doris complete the pack, with experienced flanker O’Mahony admitting that Farrell’s men are well prepared for playing at high temperatures on Saturday afternoon.
“The management have designed certainly the back-end of our pre-season around some hot-weather training in Biarritz and some time in Portugal, and all of them were similar temperatures and humidity to here, so we’ve certainly had a good amount of training in these conditions,” he said.
“The time we were in Portugal there was a heatwave and something similar in Biarritz, and it’s been the same here, so we’ve had some great exposure to it.”
Ronan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, who skippered the side against Samoa last time out, and Josh van der Flier are the replacement forwards. Murray, Jack Crowley and Robbie Henshaw provide the back-line options.
Commenting on McCarthy’s inclusion and the approach to selection for this World Cup opener, Farrell said: “Joe deserves it with the form that he’s shown, not just in the games that he’s played but also his preparation over the last 10 or 11 weeks.
“He’s really progressed his game and gets an opportunity to start in the first game of the World Cup. We’ve got lots of experience and a nice blend of youth within our squad.
“We’ve got a squad of 33 players that we totally believe in. No matter what side we pick, it’s going to be one that’s threatening and a determined one at that.
“If you can give people game-time who have not had game-time it would help, but at the same time our mindset at this stage is full steam ahead. Whatever side we put out is going to be strong and we expect a fantastic performance on the weekend to kick us off in the right manner.”
Meanwhile, the game has come too early for Romania’s centurion scrum half Florin Surugiu, their only surviving player from that 2015 clash. The 38-year-old is still returning from injury, so the Oaks will field their seventh different half-back pairing of the year.
Gabriel Rupanu links up with the New Zealand-born Hinckley Vaovasa, who has only played one previous Test at out-half. The 24-year-old’s other international starts have come at centre, full-back and on the wing.
Head coach Eugen Apjok has made three personnel changes to the team from their 57-7 defeat to Italy in San Benedetto del Tronto two weeks ago. Florian Rosu wins his 14th cap at blindside flanker, replacing Damian Stratila.
Biarritz Olympique lock Adrian Motoc also features in the pack, having been cleared to play at a judicial hearing following his early red card during the heavy loss to the Italians last time out.
In a rejigged back-line, Jason Tomane, younger brother of former Leinster centre Joe, moves to inside centre, the position vacated by former Tongan Sevens international Tevita Manumua who reverts to the back-three. There is a switch of wings for CS Annonay signing Nicolas Onutu.
IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster); Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster).
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Jeremy Loughman (Garryowen/Munster), Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster), Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster).
ROMANIA: Marius Simionescu (Timișoara); Nicholas Onutu (CS Annonay), Fonovai Tangimana (Steaua București), Jason Tomane (Știința Baia Mare), Tevita Manumua (Timișoara); Hinckley Vaovasa (Steaua București), Gabriel Rupanu (Timișoara); Iulian Hartig (Bassin d’Arcachon), Ovidiu Cojocaru (Dinamo București), Alexandru Gordas (Dinamo București), Adrian Motoc (Biarritz Olympique), Stefan Iancu (Știința Baia Mare), Florian Rosu (Știința Baia Mare), Vlad Neculau (Timișoara), Cristian Chirica (Dinamo București) (capt).
Replacements: Florin Bardasu (Steaua București), Alexandru Savin (Steaua București), Gheorghe Gajion (Stade Montois), Marius Iftimiciuc (US Carcassonne), Dragos Ser (Steaua București), Alin Conache (Timișoara), Tudor Boldor (Dinamo București), Taylor Gontineac (Rouen NR).
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Television Match Official: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Pre-Match Quotes: Jonathan Sexton (Ireland) –
I’m delighted to be back. Playing for Ireland is always special, extra special when it comes to World Cups, so I’m very, very happy to be back in the team.
“Getting back fit from the injury was the first challenge, and then once I got back from that, then being able to reintegrate with the team and getting back up to speed.
“The excitement of getting into an amazing stadium, I’m sure the Irish will travel like they always do and it’s a very different atmosphere to what you normally get at rugby matches.
“It’s very much like a soccer World Cup atmosphere, the ones I’ve been involved in to date, and we’re looking forward to that. But also with that comes a bit of nerves.
“We’ve built to this moment for the last four years so now it’s finally here the nerves come in, but it’s about embracing them and going out and trying to play our best.”
Eugen Apjok (Romania) –
We chose the best players that we could for this game, and also we want to give them the opportunity to play against the number one team in the world rankings. We think we are ready for this game.
“They must play at 100% because their individual performances will have a great impact on the team performance. It’s very important for them to play and enjoy this game as it can be a moment where we see our strengths and weaknesses.
“Also, it can be a very important start to build towards qualification for the next World Cup as 95% of the players at this World Cup will be available for the next one also.
“It will be a special moment for all the 23 players. It will be their first game in the World Cup. I hope there will be positive emotions. It depends on how they manage these emotions so they can do what we prepared for this game.
“We will have tough moments but we’ll see how the leaders of the team react at that point. I am truly convinced that this experience will help us in the future.”
Pre-Match Videos –
Most Recent Meetings –
2003: Rugby World Cup Pool A: Ireland 45 Romania 17, Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
2005: Autumn Test: Ireland 43 Romania 12, Lansdowne Road
2015: Rugby World Cup Pool D: Ireland 44 Romania 10, Wembley Stadium, London
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