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Rugby World Cup dreams for the ambitious girls of Romania

AFP
Cristina Stan (C), 16 and team colleagues play during the training session on the student's sports complex "Tei" rugby field
Cristina Stan (C), 16 and team colleagues play during the training session on the student's sports complex "Tei" rugby fieldALEXANDRU BUSCA, AFP
At the entrance to the changing room of CSM Bucuresti women's rugby team there is a large poster.

One corner is peeling back and flaps uncertainly in the breeze but it doesn't change the message.

"Doesn't matter who you have in the front of you," it reads in Romanian. "It matters who you have next to you."

Togetherness, unity is the name of the game here as rugby attempts to rediscover the strength it held in Romania in the 1980s.

Back then, Romania was the sixth best side in Europe, ahead of Italy, and clocked up notable wins over Wales, Scotland and France, the country that nurtured the sport there in the early 20th century.

The 1989 revolution changed everything.

Florian Murariu, who had played in the inaugural World Cup two years earlier, became an emblem for the lost game when he was shot dead at a roadblock and the state money that propped up the game disappeared.

It has been a long and painful road back -- a 134-0 defeat by England in 2001 was ugly for all who watched -- but for youngsters like Cristina Stan, rugby represents a clear and positive future.

"I first started playing with the boys rugby team before CSM decided to found a girls' team," the 16-year-old centre told AFP.

Team members listen to coach Nicolae Ungureanu (L) during a training session
Team members listen to coach Nicolae Ungureanu (L) during a training sessionALEXANDRU BUSCA, AFP

"I would like to have a career in rugby, to reach a certain performance level, to play for the Romanian national team."

Cristina is on a mission. She trains three times a week at the stadium, which involves a two-hour round-trip from her village Ciorogarla, and every day at home, based on a personal plan developed by her coach.

"Next year I see myself in the national team," adds the ambitious teenager.

The women have yet to play at a full World Cup -- they are focussed on Sevens -- but the Stejarii (The Oaks) will be in France for this year's men's global showpiece which starts on September 8.

Up against Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland and defending champions South Africa, not to mention a hungry Scotland, Romania are unlikely to get close to the knockout phase.

They will, however, eye up their final match against Tonga in Lille as a chance to climb another rung on the ladder back towards the higher branches of the game.

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