Romania Wins IRB Nations Cup Opener while Canada Wins Again in IRB Pacific Nations Cup

On a ‘Super Saturday’ of international Rugby that saw Samoa’s fist ever victory over Scotland and an unprecedented number of Test matches, Romania began their IRB Nations Cup campaign in fine fashion with a 30-20 victory over Russia in Bucharest.

In front of a capacity crowd at the Stadionul National Arcul de Triumf for the eighth running of the key IRB-funded competition, the hosts had to come from behind to score a psychological blow to their Rugby World Cup 2015 qualifying rivals Russia.

In the afternoon’s other match, Emerging Italy made the best of the wet conditions to defeat the Argentina Jaguars 26-6 in a match that should have been closer had the Jaguars kicked their goals.

The matches are in the first of three double-headers over the next fortnight with further rounds on June 12 and 16 when the champions of the eighth hosting of the IRB-funded Nations Cup will be crowned.

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Meanwhile, Canada maintained their impressive run in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup with a 36-27 victory over Tonga in a physical encounter in Kingston.

Following their third straight win in the competition, the Canucks are now six points clear of Fiji and Tonga at the top of the PNC standings having played one match more than the Islanders.

Tonga will dust themselves down and focus on the match with USA in Carson, California on June 14. It promises to be an intriguing affair after USA’s narrow 15-12 defeat to Ireland on Saturday evening. The programme concludes with the Japan leg on June 19 and 23.

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Today, attention turns to the IRB Junior World Championship in France where the future stars of Rugby will be in action. You can catch every tackle, pass, kick and try AT www.irb.com/jwc and fans can keep up to date with all the latest news via @IRBjuniors on twitter.

With the IRB Tbilisi Cup, IRB Nations Cup, IRB Pacific Nations Cup and a programme of Tier 1 test matches for Japan, USA, Canada and Samoa in the June window, there is an unprecedented volume of international matches for the world’s up-and-coming teams, underscoring the IRB’s commitment to close the competition gap between Tier One and Two Unions.