Rugby-Romania realistic after brutal opening World Cup fixtures

Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - Pool B - South Africa v Romania - Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux, France - September 17, 2023 South Africa's Steven Kitshoff in action with Romania's Adrian Motoc REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - Romania are using the World Cup to blood young talent and did not expect to compete with tier one nations, their head coach Eugen Apjok said, after suffering their second crushing World Cup defeat in a row on Sunday.

While some of the tournament minnows such as Uruguay and Portugal have stepped up to offer real competition to more established teams, Romania looked broken after they followed an opening 82-8 loss to Ireland with an even heavier 76-0 defeat to South Africa.