Chris Thau speaks with two intrepid cyclists who have stopped off in Bucharest on their 22-country voyage to the Rugby World Cup.
As the third round of the IRB Nations Cup gets set for kick-off at the weekend, two unexpected guests arrived in Bucharest en route to Bulgaria, and then the World Cup!
The two Londoners, 29-year-old Tom Hudson and girlfriend Jodie Burton, also 29, are cycling their way around the world with the declared aim of reaching New Zealand in time for the opening ceremony of the next year's Rugby World Cup.
The two members of Footscray RFC, a rugby club in South East London, were warmly welcomed to the 'Arcul de Triumph' National Stadium by the President of the Romanian Federation Alin Petrache and the IRB's Tournament Director Beth Coalter, where two sides already qualified for the World Cup - Georgia and Namibia - are competing.
Hudson and Burton set off on their global trek through 22 countries from Twickenham, South West London on 1 May.
"We started on the day of the Army v Navy match and the RFU President John Owens bade us farewell as we left Twickenham. We crossed into France, then to Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary and arrived in Romania a few days ago. We do about 100 kilometres a day and live on a daily allowance of five Euro. We aimed to be here during the IRB Nations Cup because we wanted to meet a lot of rugby people from all over the world and will leave for Bulgaria on Monday after the third round," said Hudson.
"We have been planning this for over a year and I am pleased to say that so far, it's worked to our plan. Our objective is to raise funds for the "Rays of Sunshine" charity, which helps terminally ill children," added Jodie.
"I am new to rugby but I love the culture and the people involved in it. We took part in some rugby training in Austria and I practiced some tackling, which I found quite fulfilling," she added with a chuckle.
From Bulgaria, the young travellers will cross into Turkey and then Iran, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and then to their final destination New Zealand for the World Cup.
They still don't have visas to enter Pakistan and are trying to sort that out through a friendly third party at the Pakistan High Commission in London. They tried to get their visas in Romania but were told by the Pakistan officials here that they will have to apply in London, 'which was a bit inconvenient', said Tom with a smile.
The World in Union
They plan to reach the Himalayas by 1 October and will cross the mountains on a road which runs at 5,500 metres altitude.
They also carry with them a scroll entitled "The World in Union" on which they intend to collect the autographs of leading rugby personalities from all the countries they visit.
The first to sign it was England captain Steve Borthwick, followed by Michael Owen of Wales, Namibia's Jacques Burger, Chris Wyles of the US Eagles, legendary Czech captain Eduard Krutzner, Belgium's Philippe Ernst, Claus Peter Bach of the German Union and Paul Turi, the former captain and now President of the Hungarian Rugby Union.
In Bucharest the scroll has been signed by former captain Harry Dumitras, visiting the country for the IRB Nations Cup.
"I have been playing rugby since I was a kid and I am passionate about the game," added Hudson. "I've never been a good player, but I love rugby and what it stands for, that's why we have embarked on this expedition.
"What better way to make a statement about our love for rugby than to reach the World Cup in New Zealand, a symbol of everything that is great about rugby."
To find out more, or to donate to Tom and Jodie's ride, go to www.cyclingtotherugbyworldcup.com
