WORLD RUGBY NATIONS CUP 2016
UNDER THE APPROACH OF MARS

-text and photos Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
design Florin Alexandru Stancu-

Oh beautiful memories…

One of them goes back to the 10th edition of the World Rugby Nations Cup
(the 9th in Bucharest), contested in June 2016 on the National Rugby Stadium
(near the Triumph Arc and the Casin Church).

An admirable edition with 6 participants from 3 continents,
in spite of a strange experiment
(6 points for a try and only 2 points for penalty kicks and drop-goals,
regulations that pushed
to a more offensive spectacle, on a hand,
and to more defensive accidents, on the other hand).

On June 9
I witnessed how Romania played the winner of the Africa Cup
(a competition without the “classical” Springboks - South Africa),
Namibia,
and won (20-8) under a fantastic sunset, followed by the crescent Moon.

The most beautiful memory for an astro-haiga:

Around the second match,
against the vice-champion of South America, Uruguay,
the weather was stormy (June 11-15), so the match was played on two days
(the first round on June 13 and the second round on June 14).

Romania won again (40-0)
and I photographically caught a few celestial sequences from those days
(but not from the stadium).

June 18 was the day of the finals,
but for me the fever began on the evening of June 17,
when I caught the Moon near Mars, which, largely considering,
was still in the period of opposition.

(Certainly, the Red Planet came closer to Earth
to see the World Rugby Nations Cup, too).

Then Uruguay beat Spain (16-0) for the 5th place,
Namibia beat Emerging Italy (38-26) for the 3rd place,
and for the 1st place Romania beat (20-8) Argentina XV
(the selected team of the Argentinean championship nominally replacing
former Argentina Jaguars,
winner of the International Rugby Board Tbilisi Cup in 2014
and the Americas Rugby Championship in 2016,
combined now with a few players from Argentina Pampas,
winner of the World Rugby Pacific Challenge in 2015;
it is to remember that the Argentina Pumas team,
semifinalist at the 2015 Rugby World Cup,
is usually composed of players from European clubs).

Astronomically, during the great final,
I remarked an interesting sunset over the stadium,
and I also ran after the (almost full) Moon,
sometimes confounding it with the rugby ball.

And the most beautiful memory for an astrohaiga
from the great final…

WORLD RUGBY NATIONS CUP 2016 UNDER THE APPROACH OF MARS

WORLD RUGBY NATIONS CUP 2016
UNDER THE APPROACH OF MARS