Romania punished for using Tongan 7s player [1]
Wednesday, May 16, 2018 - 20:11
Romania has lost its qualification spot at the 2019 Rugby World Cup after it was today subjected to ‘point deductions’ by the World Rugby as punishment for fielding an ineligible player, Sione Faka’osilea – a former Tonga Rugby 7s representative.
The punishment was the result of an investigation conducted by the World Rugby’s “Dispute Resolution Commission”. Faka’osilea was deemed ineligible by the Commission because he had previously played for the Tonga Rugby 7s team.
Faka’osilea played 13 internationals for his adopted nation Romania since his debut last year. In what was a successful qualifying campaign, Faka’osilea helped Romania top a European qualification tournament in March to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.
But now with the point deductions in place, originally second placed Russia have topped the pool and hence the qualification spot.
The Romanian Rugby Federation has formally objected to the decision and announced that it will appeal.