Rugby-Small beer after Romania comeback kings sink Canada

By Nick Mulvenney LEICESTER, England, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Romania coach Lynn Howells will allow his players some beer to toast the biggest comeback in Rugby World Cup history, but it will only be a couple given their fourth Pool D match is only a few days away. The Oaks delighted their passionate supporters when they rallied from 15-0 down early in the second half to beat Canada 17-15 on Tuesday, centre Florin Vlaicu curling the winning penalty through the posts in the 77th minute. "I don't think it was ever in doubt really, was it?" Welshman Howells told reporters with a smile. "With the short turnaround that these teams have, everybody understands that if you can stay within reach until the last 20 minutes of a game, you are always in with a chance. "They'll have a beer, but it's not going to be to any great extent," he added. "It will be in the team room and we'll have full control on what they do drink." Although hopes of progression to the quarter-finals were washed away in defeats by France and Ireland, the victory meant the Romanians can still finish third in the pool and qualify for the 2019 World Cup. Howells had likened the Canada match to a semi-final and Sunday's clash with Italy at Sandy Park in Exeter to a final in the context of their campaign goals. "Semi-final won, now we play the final," he said. "There is still an opportunity, in rugby anything is possible. Against Italy the players understand they are playing a tier-one nation and they have to lift their game." Lift their game the Romanians certainly did after being clearly second best for the first 44 minutes of Tuesday's match at Leicester City Stadium. Ramping up their forward effort in the rolling maul and taking complete control of the scrum, however, they scored two tries through number eight and captain Mihai Macovei before Vlaicu delivered the coup de grace. "The disappointing thing for me is that we played so poorly in the first half and that is not something that is acceptable," said Howells. "We had to stop the quick ball and I think we became more effective at that in the second half. Also, I think Canada made more mistakes and it allowed us to get the scrum game going, driving game going. That really changed the game." Macovei paid tribute to scrum coach Marius Tincu and not just for helping build a unit that blew away the Canadian pack and earned the decisive penalty. "We want to thank Marius Tincu because his mother died three days ago and he decided to stay with the team," he said. "All of us had our thoughts and hearts with him." (Editing by Ed Osmond)