Oakwood Toothpicks

The national rugby team is currently participating in the Rugby World Cup in France and is keeping us on the edge of our seats. There are good chances that they won't be the weakest team at the tournament, especially after Namibia lost to France by a larger margin than the Oaks did against South Africa and Ireland.

However, we shouldn't relax until after the match with Scotland. In terms of sports performance, the tricolor oaks often appear more like toothpicks made from the wood of this tree in their confrontations with opponents. What's worse, at certain moments, they give the impression that they are not very familiar with the intricacies and rules of the game, nor are they very friendly with each other.

On the brighter side, they look good and sound good, and they have also started to borrow a thing or two from the "craftsmanship" of those who revolve around this sport and have no other concern than to offer lessons to others, especially those in the football sphere. Some of these lessons are now coming back like a boomerang from the southern hemisphere, a place where high-quality rugby is played. Despite assurances that there is no room for surprises at this level, we are pleased to observe that surprises do occur, and with sadness, we realize that our team is not capable of providing a pleasant one anytime soon.

On another note, immediately after the final tournament, the leaders of domestic rugby will return to what they excel at, fighting incomprehensible battles for the administration of the Arcul de Triumf stadium, naturalizing athletes who do not add any value to the national team, and explaining to us that footballers are paid far too much and are very far from the "civilization" of rugby players, even though it is known that pears have no business worrying about what apples do. Alin Petrache, the president of the Romanian Rugby Federation, a man who seems destined to be in charge for life, should know that modesty doesn't harm anyone, especially those involved in a sport that is slowly sinking into the mud in our country.

In sports, it's important to participate, but how you do it matters as well. You can't jump into the swimming pool for the 100-meter freestyle and abandon the race halfway due to fatigue, or step onto the handball court and try to score with your left foot.

Defeat is part of sports; being made a laughingstock is not.