Rugby World Cup
Fercu's withdrawal comes under fire
ESPNscrum Staff
September 4, 2011
Romania's Catalin Fercu looks to make a break, Italy v Romania, Stade Velodrome, France, September 12, 2007
Romania would have hoped to have called upon Fercu's experience come the World Cup © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Catalin Fercu | Cristian Petre
Tournaments/Tours: Rugby World Cup
Teams: Romania

Catalin Fercu's team-mates have criticised his decision to withdraw from the Romanian World Cup squad.

The winger opted to sit out the World Cup due to a fear of flying - a decision which has riled the other 29 member of the squad. And Romanian vice-captain Cristian Petre has spoken on behalf of his team-mates saying: "I would say more than half the team are angry at him, not just disappointed with him. We feel like he just gave up. Some of the team feel like he just abandoned us when we needed him most."

Fercu - who has 22 tries in 52 Test appearances - spoke of his decision at the time and admitted his regret at the withdrawal. "It is an old problem and I cannot get over it," he said. "After the last flight I made, I swore I would never get on a plane again.

"I said this earlier, at the start of training, telling the federation leaders and the coach Romeo Gontineac, but perhaps I was not taken seriously. I will consider playing for the national team again, but only if I can travel by road. The games in Europe I do not think would be such a problem because the distances are not so great."

But while Petre accepted the reasoning behind Fercu's withdrawl, he concedes that other members in the side are not so sympathetic. "If you make someone fly against their will, they could have a panic attack and that would be worse," Petre added. "A lot of the team don't understand his decision and that's why many are angry at him. They feel like he could have made an effort to try and be with us."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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