Chris Thau rounds up the action on day one of the IRB Nations Cup at the Arcul de Triumf Stadium in Bucharest.
Italy A 15-31 France A
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In the opening match of the 2009 IRB Nations Cup an inventive and skilful France A made an emphatic statement of their intentions by defeating resilient Italy A by 31-15, scoring five tries in the process.
Italy's plans were dealt a significant double blow early on as both of their starting props were forced off the field through injury. Tight-head prop Alberto de Marchi left the field with an injured foot some five minutes into the game and loose-head Michele Rizo followed him 15 minutes later, leaving the Italian scrum in disarray and vulnerable against the powerful French.
With further injuries to their replacement props, Irish referee J Lacey had to order uncontested scrums five minutes into the second half, which took some sting out of the French effort, as they seemed unable to devise alternative means to subdue the never-say-die Italians.
Azzuri fly half Ricardo Bocchino kicked the first of his five penalties 10 minutes into the game but it was France's scintillating centre Lionel Mazars who went through for the first try of the match after some magical play by his partner Fabrice Estebanez. Estebanez stole a ball from a careless Italian hand and made the initial break that led to the try.
Further scores from left wing Martial and scrum half and captain Julien Tomas underlined the French superiority for a half time score of 19-6 and, with the French playing adventurous, creative and high speed rugby in the second period, the outcome of the match was never in doubt.
Scotland A 49-7 Russia
Scotland A marked their debut in the IRB Nations Cup with an emphatic 49-7 win over an ambitious Russia in the second match of the six-nation tournament.
The Scots scored nine tries to Russia's solitary effort in the closing stages of the game, which was far more balanced and hard-fought than the score tends to suggest.
Often the Russians took up the offensive with ball in hand but unforced errors and mistakes doomed their better efforts.
"It is disappointing to see how much good work goes down the drain due to these unforced errors," said Russia coach Steve Diamond.
"You pay for your errors straight away, no matter how much hard work you put into it. We will have to go back to lick our wounds, look at what we did right and what we did wrong and be ready for the next match on Tuesday."
Unlike the Russians, whose enthusiasm sometimes got the better of their finer judgement, the Scots showed remarkable composure, individually and collectively and punished their opponents' every error with merciless efficiency.
They scored 30 unanswered points in the first half and added a further 19 in the second half, with full back Jim Thompson the top scorer with a brace of tries. The new Scotland coach, Andy Robinson was pleased with the team performance and identified offloading from the tackle as one of the main areas of improvement.
"I was pleased with the way the team performed," he said. "Nothing is perfect but it was a solid performance, which showed a collective understanding of the game, it was a composed performance, which was quite pleasing."
The Scotland coach also praised the performance of Alex Grove, Rob Dewey, Jim Thompson and of course the outstanding contribution of the 44-test cap skipper and scrum half Chris Cusiter. Robinson believes that Cusiter has benefitted from his time with the Perpignan club in France, pointing out the very significant role the scrum half plays in the French domestic game, where the inside half is more often than not the team captain and playmaker.
Regarding the Russians, Robinson pointed out that they "will go home taking a lot of positive from what they did. This kind of tournament is doing them good. They will learn a lot about themselves but also about the other nations," Robinson said.
Uruguay 11-17 Romania
The third match of the day between Romania and Uruguay was attended with a great deal of anticipation by both teams who felt, for different reasons, that the match would not only test their potential to the full, but could also provide them with a launching pad for the rest of the three-match campaign in the IRB Nations Cup.
They were right, and the 17-11 scoreline in favour of the hosts reflects succinctly the closeness of the encounter.
It was a match of contrasting halves, the first 40 minutes controlled by the Romanians and the second 40 by the much-improved Uruguayans, who increasingly tested the resolve of their hosts. If both teams can build on the positive aspects of this match, they will certainly enjoy the tournament.
The Romanians, captained by the blockbusting Brive back-rower Alexandru Manta, started well and within 25 minutes had scored two tries, one by full back Voicu and the second by Manta himself, showing both composure and finishing power.
Their star-studded pack of forwards, which included several of their France-based players - the likes of Petru Balan, Ovidua Tonita, Alex Manta and Sorin Socol as well as new London Irish prop Paulica Ion - seemed capable of securing possession at will from any phase of the game, with the backs occasionally displaying some flashes of class.
However, the Uruguayans - previously thought of as one dimensional purveyors of a limited forward game - surprised their opponents with an attacking flair and the ability to turn limited possession into scoring opportunities.
Los Teros counter-attacked at every opportunity and managed to score a try through their live wire scrum half Juan Campomar to earn a well-deserved bonus point.
