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A pair of American forwards will be part of international squads in Europe this weekend. Tighthead prop Roman Salanoa has been called up to Ireland’s Six Nations training squad, while hooker Robert Irimescu has been named on the bench to make his test debut for Romania against Poland on Saturday.
Originally from Hawai’i, Salanoa represented USA at u20 level before moving to Ireland in 2017. The 25-year-old now qualifies under the five-year residency requirement. Strong form with Munster saw him named in the Emerging Ireland squad this past fall. He has now joined the senior squad as a replacement for the injured Tadhg Furlong and is on emergency standby for the test against Wales.
Irimescu is from New York and earned Collegiate All-American honors while at Penn State. After three seasons of Major League Rugby with New York and DC, the 26-year-old opted to pursue international honors abroad and appeared for Romania ‘A’ against Italy ‘A’ two weeks ago. He speaks fluent Romanian and qualifies for the Oaks through his parents, who are both from Constanta.
