We look back at the World Rugby Nations Cup as the first round of home matches for the European sides kicked off, with wins for Georgia, Portugal and Spain in front of their home crowds.
Stejarii were close from clinching a second win
Romania and Tonga delivered the most entertaining contest of the opening weekend of November's Nations Cup window, with the hosts losing 43-38 at Arcul de Triumf. David Gérard's side were the first to get ahead, thanks to a sensational solo play from Marius Simionescu, who pulled a sensational side-step before gloriously sprinting and diving over the try line.
Despite the strong start, Romania lost control of their discipline in the next fifteen minutes, allowing Tonga to clinch three finishes and build a 19-5 lead with 20 minutes to go until the break. Iulian Hartig and Tudor Butnariu crossed the line before half-time, while the Pacific Islands visitors added a penalty goal to take a steady 22-17 lead.
The game's chaotic, exciting nature meant fans in the stands had the chance to celebrate another six tries over the next 40 minutes, as Romania did everything they could to take back the lead.
Tonga claimed another from a spectacular carry by winger Anzelo Tuitavuki, with Romania's lock Logan Weidner brushing off a few tacklers before scoring from close range. Efitusi Maafu and Tomaakino Taufa nailed two more for the visitors, and Gheorghe Gaijon, with a brace, clinched another two for the hosts.
In the end, Patrick Pellegrini's six of eight kick attempts made the crucial difference, with Tonga kicking off November with a bonus-point win, while Romania landed two points in their pursuit of the European-African table of the Nations Cup.
The main highlights for the Stejarii were Marius Simionescu, Taylor Gontineac, Logan Weidner and Gheroge Gajion, with the former putting in one of his best performances since returning from injury. He won 80 metres, scored one try, made one try-assist, broke the line twice, gathered six kicks, and beat eight defenders, showing he is the leading voice in Romania's backline.
Lelos dominate Canada
Georgia pulled a convincing 59-14 win over Canada, reinforcing their first-place position in the European-Africa pool of the Nations Cup with two rounds to go.
In the opening 25 minutes, Canada briefly held the lead after two converted tries, while Georgia trailed by two points after Luka Matkava failed to convert Dachi Papunashvili's inaugural try, with Akaki Tabutsadze bagging his side's second.
However, by the half-hour mark, the Lelos rolled up their sleeves and asserted total dominance on all fronts, with their scrum and driving maul forcing the Canadians to concede several penalties, allowing the home side to turn the score in their favour. As Davit Niniashvili and Luka Tabatadze crossed the finish line in those final ten minutes of the first half, the locals went to the break leading 24-14.
In the second 40 minutes, Georgia returned with the same energy they showed in the 10 minutes before halftime, collecting four more finishes, while Canada never found a way to respond or truly fight for the win.
Akaki Tabutsadze banked his first brace of the year, while Davit Niniashvili and Dachi Papunashvili looked as impressive as ever, running a stellar show from the back and tearing the Canadian defence apart at every turn.
Lobos's insatiable attacking hunger overcomes Chile challenge
Portugal claimed their third consecutive win in the Nations Cup after defeating Chile 36-15, with the likes of Raffaele Storti, Rodrigo Marta, Tomás Appleton and Samuel Marques proving pivotal.
Interestingly, Chile took the early lead, with Matías Garafulic finding enough space in the Portuguese defence to ground the ball in the in-goal area. Manuel Cardoso Pinto riposted two minutes later, after a stupendous team play that culminated in Samuel Marques punting a short kick to set his winger up for a try.
Marques nailed the conversion and claimed another, plus a penalty kick, before half-time. Chile retook the lead through a Raimundo Martinez finish, but two minutes before the break, David Wallis scored from a corner, following a break from Raffaele Storti, to give Portugal a 17-15 lead at half-time.
Fortunately for the defending champions of the Men's Rugby Europe Championship, they upped their rhythm in the final 40 minutes and scored an additional three tries, two from Raffaele Storti, who turned the Chilean defence to cinders. The South American opposition couldn't mount a comeback, with Portugal still hot on the heels of Georgia in the race to be champions on this side of the Nations Cup bracket.
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Los Leones survives a gritty affair with Uruguay
It went down to the wire, but Spain were ultimately victorious in their bid to defeat Uruguay, with the Spanish hosts securing an 18-12 win, thanks to a heroic play from Gauthier Minguillon.
For most of the game, both contestants were deeply locked in a tense contest, with the breakdown and set-piece arising as the main areas of the game. Although Spain converted the game's first points from Iñaki Mateu's tee, the Teros crossed the whitewash first as Justo Ferrario claimed his first of two finishes of the afternoon.
The locals regained the lead from former HSBC 7s superstar Alejandro Laforga, giving his side a 1-point margin at the break. Los Leones extended their lead in the 55th minute, thanks to another successful penalty at goal from Mateu.
With everyone on the edge of their seats, Uruguay pulled off another comeback, as Ferrario found his way to a second five-pointer, shifting all the pressure onto Spain, who needed something special to unlock the path to a win.
Camped out in the Uruguayan half, Spain moved the ball around consistently until a pinpoint pass from Matthew Foulds found Gauthier Minguillon, who simply had to sprint to reach the try line.
Spain controlled the pill until the full-time whistle, getting back on track after conceding a loss to the USA in July's last Nations Cup Test. Concerning player highlights, Matthew Foulds was simply outstanding, as the experienced flanker clinched two turnovers, twelve tackles, two dominant tackles, one try assist and two lineout steals, proving that class is forever.
