LONG READ 'I could skip homework if I went to rugby training': Marius Simionescu, the reluctant player who became Romania's kingpin

Goosebumps. There’s no other way to describe listening to Marius Simionescu, a beacon of the Romania team, map out his rugby journey. The full-back talks with burning passion about what the game has given him, as he left home and familiarity behind to chase his dreams and represent his country.

The 29-year-old was born in the town of Erbiceni and raised mostly in Ia?i, a region in the far eastern corner of Romania. His parents moved to Italy to earn a better living for their family and Simionescu spent much of his childhood under the care of his grandmother. He was 14 when rugby found him, persuaded by renowned Romanian coach Gabriel Popa to join a local team.

“The man who would become my first coach came to our school and was asking kids if they wanted to play rugby,” Simionescu recalls. “I said, ‘No, it isn’t for me,’ but he convinced me by saying he would fill out paper telling the school not to give me homework if I came to rugby practice.”

Although his academic load lightened, Simionescu found rugby unconvincing. For the first three months, training only the basics, the game did not captivate him.

“For a few weeks, I skipped training, and then Mr Popa came to the school asking me why. I explained, and he said, ‘Come tomorrow and let’s see if you get bored.’

“I got there, and awaiting me was a friendly match, but with 1995-born players. I was born in 1997, so I was two years younger than them. I played 10 minutes, and in that moment, I started to love rugby.”

From then, Simionescu’s rise was meteoric. He was selected to represent Romania at age-grade level just eight months later. Then his life would change dramatically. In 2014, Simionescu was invited to sign for Timi?oara Saracens, a side which had won the Liga Na?ional? de Rugby three times.

“When I finished high school in Ia?i, Mr Popa told me the head coach from the Timi?oara Saracens had called him, asking for four players. He told me to go, as he was certain I had what it took to reach the top. To keep chasing my dream, I had to move 665 miles from home.”

My parents moved to Italy to find work so they could support me, and Mr Popa was like a second father.

For Simionescu it meant leaving behind his grandmother, friends and, of course, Popa, who still plays an important role in his life.

“I was lucky enough to have someone like Mr Popa in my life. My parents moved to Italy to find work so they could support me, and Mr Popa was like a second father. He still calls me today to discuss my performance in a game. He has always been there for me.

“I have so many funny stories with him; some weren’t that funny at the time, though. Once, we were playing away and stayed at a hotel. Mr Popa told us to go to bed at 10, but you know how young kids are… we stayed awake until late, wrestling, shouting. And then Mr Popa opened the door. His room was just next to ours, so he heard everything. I can’t tell what followed next, but, well, yes, since that day we didn’t break our curfew.”

Between 2014 and 2016, Simionescu played mostly for Timi?oara Sarcens U20s, waiting until December 2015 to make his debut off the bench in a friendly match against a local team.

“Several moments are deeply imprinted in my mind, but my first final for Timisoara in 2017 was unreal. We faced Baia Mare and won 17-16. I can’t describe how big the last moment was because nothing has been close to it. I saw in that moment how rugby can really give unique emotions.”

Although he spent much of his time on the wing, as Romanian legends Gabriel Conache and C?t?lin Fercu were the first-choice full-backs, Simionescu was grateful for the opportunities he received and the invaluable lessons he learned.

His performances during the 2017 title charge were enough to convince Romania head coach Lynn Howells to include him in the Stejarii’s July tour squad. Yet as he celebrated this immense milestone, he was mourning one of the most important figures in his life.

“It was a bittersweet moment for me, as I had just lost my grandma when I was called for the national team,” Simionescu says. “She raised me. Lynn Howells called me and said he wanted me to join the team for July so I could be taken away from the pain for a little bit. It wasn’t easy, but my mother told me to go, and so I did.”

The Stejarii faced Japan, Canada and Brazil over three weeks, with Simionescu earning his first cap in a five-minute stint against the North American side before featuring in the starting XV against Brazil a week later.

“Those were an incredible early day for me, but my favourite game was against Samoa later in the year. I started and was named player of the match. I still have goosebumps about that evening, as we won in the 79^th minute at Stadionul Arcul de Triumf.”

It is a high-intensity environment, with the team working closely for a long time. And look where we are right now.

Simionescu had made it. There were detractors when he first made the move to Timisoara, but nobody was questioning his class anymore.

“They said I lacked the physique and skills to be a rugby player. I remember going back to Ia?i and telling Mr Popa, and he just said, ‘Go to practice and prove them wrong.’ Twelve years later, and I’m here because of my parents, my sister, Mr Popa and all of those who supported me.”

Now a cornerstone of the Romania team and a key leader, Simionescu explains being part of his nation’s history and rugby tradition is about far more than himself.

“It’s about the jersey, who played before and who will get to defend it after. When I got here, everyone knew that Fercu was the best full-back, and I just hope I can show that I deserve to wear the same number after him.”

Simionescu missed a year of rugby through injury, missing the July and November fixtures in 2025, and returning two months before the inaugural Nations Cup.  Despite losing their opener to Chile, Romania clawed their way back to draw with Uruguay before scoring a sensational last-minute try to beat Samoa.

“I didn’t believe it when I checked the final score,” Simionescu says. “We started off well, then Samoa fought back, and we were trailing. But then we lost all fear of losing and, in unison, wanted to win it. We had a pen in front of the posts, and all the players said, ‘We will do it!’ and, well, we actually did it!”

With Romania having improved significantly in the last year, Simionescu firmly believes the Nations Cup was key to helping the Stejarii unlock their true potential.

“It is an excellent competition, as we have more top-level games to prepare ourselves for tournaments like the Rugby World Cup or the Rugby Europe Championship. It is a high-intensity environment, with the team working closely for a long time. And look where we are right now.”

Reinvigorated by Romania’s performances in July and eager for the challenges that await in November, when Tonga, USA and Canada visit Bucharest, Simionescu is already looking ahead, outlining the goals he hopes to achieve over the coming years.

“I would like to win the Rugby Europe Championship and make the impossible become real. Yeah, the Springboks are at another level, but we have to pour our hearts and souls into this jersey and cause. I want people to see who we are and understand we want to win.”

Throughout it all, the full-back is quick to credit the coaching staff, led by David Gérard, whose hard work and dedication have given Romania every opportunity to compete and earn the respect of the global rugby community.

“David Gérard and his staff have been very important to us, as they have inspired us to wake up from a slumber. We are improving because we are playing more games; because we are listening to the staff and to each other; because the team is getting on the same page.”

Ia?i, Popa, his family, Timi?oara Saracens, the Stejarii, Howells, Gérard and trusted team-mates in Vlad Neculau and Marius Iftimiciuc have all played a role in Simionescu’s rugby journey, a world that became his home, his livelihood, and his greatest passion.

Beyond the player of the match awards, the trophies, the last-gasp victories, the heavy defeats, the training sessions in torrential rain and snow, injuries and the journeys across the globe, Simionescu can only express gratitude to a sport that transformed his life.

“It means everything. Everything. I can’t see my life without rugby. I don’t know what I will do after this. Everything I know is just rugby and nothing else. I give 100% at every session, go home, be with my family, eat dinner, sleep and go back to my rugby journey again. Rugby has given everything to me.”