Romania legend Mihai Macovei pitches in for REC rivals

Romanian centurion Mihai Macovei will be involved with the Lobos setup, assisting the Portuguese national team when they travel to Romania in two weeks. Romania and Portugal are set to play on February 15 at Stadionul Municipal in Botosani, close to Macovei’s hometown.

The now-retired loose forward explained his involvement with Portugal to RugbyPass: “I know their strength and conditioning coach [Olivier Riego] well, as well as their head coach [Simon Mannix]. They invited me to join the team as an ambassador during their stay in Romania, and I accepted.”

With the Bucharest Arcul de Triumf unavailable for the final round of the pool stage, Romania was forced to relocate the match to Botosani, a five-hour drive from the capital.

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As the game could play a crucial role in both teams’ World Cup hopes, Macovei’s presence may provide Portugal with an advantage or at least help them acclimatize to Botosani.

According to the Romanian newspaper Monitorul, Macovei requested that the municipality of Suceava host the Lobos for three days. In exchange, Portugal will hold an open training session for fans.

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Macovei retired from international rugby in 2023, playing his last game in August, just before Eugen Apjok’s final Rugby World Cup squad announcement. A foot injury forced him to withdraw, causing him to miss what would have been his third Rugby World Cup.

Having lived in France since 2012, Macovei played for Saint-Nazaire, RC Massy, Colomiers, and Bassin d’Arcachon, accumulating more than 150 games in the Pro D2.

He officially retired as a player in December 2023 and has since begun studying for a degree in rugby coaching, which he is close to completing.