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2023 Rugby World Cup
South Africa v Romania
Pool B
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux, France
Sunday, 17 September 2023
Kick-off is at 15h00
South Africa will set out in search of a second successive victory when they face Romania in their second Pool B match at the
2023 Rugby World Cup in France. The match is slated for Noveau Stade de Bordeaux on the afternoon of Sunday 17 September 2023.
Current Form
South Africa opened the defence of their RWC title with a dominant 18-3 triumph over Scotland in Marseille on Sunday 10 September. Tries from Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse underpinned the victory, as well as six and three points respectively from Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk.
It was a fifth straight victory for the Springboks (and an eighth from their last nine matches), who have racked up 151 points in their current winning streak.
Romania, meanwhile, suffered an 82-8 defeat at the hands of Ireland in their Pool B opener in Bordeaux on Saturday 9 September. It was a fourth successive defeat for the Oaks, who have conceded 212 points in that sequence. Their last win was against Spain (31-25) back in March of this year.
Pool B
Pool B is currently topped by Ireland (5 points) thanks to their bonus-point win over Romania (who are bottom of the log). South Africa (4 points) are second on the back of their victory over Scotland (fourth on the log), while Tonga are third and awaiting their first match of the tournament, which will be against Ireland in Nantes on Saturday 16 September.
Quotes
“It was a slippery one,” said South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber. “Scotland are ranked fifth in the world, and we could see how they pushed against France in their warm-up games, so we knew it would be a grind.
“The historical winning margin between the teams is 15 points and it was the same today. They are a tough team who get stuck in, so it was always going to be a tough battle. That said, this is the first step in the right direction. It’s going to be difficult to get out of our pool, so our only focus right now is on Romania.”
Alamy Stock Photo
“It was a demonstration, a very tough match,” said Romania lock Adrian Motoc after the defeat to Ireland. “We tried to give everything on the field. I started very well. I scored the first attempt, but then I discovered the difference in level.
“After 20, 30 minutes, we started to tire, and the Irish played from everywhere. I couldn't follow them any more. It was complicated. We have to learn from this match, make videos. I believe that it is necessary to raise our level, to be more serious in our private life, in our sports life. Especially the players developing in Romania, where the level of the championship is not very strong. It's up to them to level up. We were happy with the crowd, but when we started to tire everything became difficult.”
Head-to-head stats
In head-to-head terms, South Africa and Romania have met in just one previous international match: that was a group stage clash in the 1995 Rugby World Cup which saw the Springboks claim a 21-8 victory at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
Head-to-head (across all competitions)
Matches: 1
SA wins: 1
Romania wins: 0
Draws: 0
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