11 OCTAVIAN MORARIU
RUGBY EUROPE CHAIRMAN
NEW ENTRY
After winning five Romania caps, Octavian Morariu moved into sports administration and helped rugby become an Olympic sport once more. Now top of his agenda is pushing the case for Georgia and Romania in Europe… Why did you move into sports administration? Rugby and its values shaped my life. I couldn’t stay away after retiring, so I joined the Romanian federation and it went from there. It’s a big responsibility. Tell us about getting rugby back into the Olympics… It’s been a dream for more than a decade and Bernard Lapasset deserves huge credit for it. With my Olympic connections (he was president of Romania’s National Olympic Committee, 2004-14), I helped to lobby for sevens in Rio. The decision was historic. How confident are you that the sevens will be a success? I’m very confident. It’s important for the growth of the game. Rugby is well respected by the Olympics committee because its values are Olympic values: integrity, sportsmanship and solidarity. You have very exciting players taking part, so I’m sure there will be big TV audiences. Should Romania and Georgia play in the Six Nations? There’s been much discussion about promotion and relegation – a very big step. The Six Nations is over 100 years old and is about tradition. Could you imagine no Calcutta Cup? I don’t think so.
I favour a gradual enlargement, firstly with the U20s and this is being explored. Everyone knows that rugby has to keep moving forward, so in three or four years we must have an option for a remodelling of the competition. How can the lower-tier countries develop further? Tier Two and Three countries need regular games against Tier One sides to improve. Argentina are the greatest example of a side being given a chance to play Tier One nations and taking the next step. The Olympics can also add an incentive. Look at Spain making Rio when everyone expected Samoa to qualify. What’s needed to create a stronger global product? We must be more courageous, even aggressive, in developing the game. We need to look for new markets to build a network of competitions – the women’s game is a real area of growth.
Rugby cannot become a global game without a global vision. One of our biggest challenges is the ownership of the game. We have all these sporting bodies – SANZAAR, the Six Nations, Super Rugby, Top 14, EPCR – but if we don’t work together towards a common aim then we’ll have no chance.