Rugby Europe President Octavian Morariu said that England "must play regular fixtures against lesser European nations after hosting the best ever World Cup," according to Will Kelleher of the London DAILY MAIL. Morariu believes that Argentina reaching the semifinal "proves that exposure to matches against the top nations catapults the smaller unions to glory." And he is campaigning for the Six Nations teams finally to recognize Georgia and Romania, by organizing matches against them, "whether they like it or not." Morariu said, "I would say to [Rugby Football Union CEO] Ian Ritchie you must go to Tbilisi, you must go to Bucharest if you want this game to develop. Small nations must feel that if they work hard they can be rewarded. This World Cup proved that Georgia and Romania deserve not only more recognition but more competition. It is only from competition at a high level that countries can improve and establish themselves as competitive nations." The last time Romania played a Tier One team outside the World Cup was versus Scotland in '06, and Georgia has "only three matches against Ireland to show for" in its 26-year history. Morariu: "Countries like England should travel to the Tier Two nations whether they like it or not. It’s about developing the game -- we will not develop the game without this. It is compulsory, if we want to grow the game." Morariu, also an IOC member and former Romanian rugby president, "has ideas for a pan-European league akin to the PRO12, which could give smaller clubs access to the Challenge and Champions Cup." It "is all part of a vision to improve the structure of European rugby -- a vision that he hopes World Rugby shares" (DAILY MAIL, 10/26).
