Sport tours are ALWAYS a blast - whether it’s for the actual sport or the off-field shenanigans.
Most come with a few hiccups, but I guarantee none have ever had quite the stitch-up like Dorchester Gladiators’ 3rd XV - a wee rugby club from the UK who were mistaken for a professional team during a trip to Romania back in 2000.
This mix-up saw them accidentally playing Steaua Bucharest, the reigning, 24-time Romanian champs.
How the fuck does that happen, you ask? Well, it’s quite the story, so let’s take a trip down memory lane.
Touring was a big part of Dorchester Rugby Club’s identity, which included plenty of trips to Eastern Europe.
Club Chairman Tony Foot said it was “simply because it’s a lot cheaper - especially the beer”. Fair, it does sound like a solid enough reason to bugger off on tour.
One of the fellas was a Royal Marine with army contacts around the world, which is how they landed the invite to Romania.
Unfortunately, a language barrier caused a slight misunderstanding. The Dorchester Gladiators were described more as “a motley crew of over forties” - they were NOT professionals.
Even co-captain Rod Thomas admitted they played the sport for the social aspect as much as the game itself.
To put it nicely, they were a roughly assembled group of beer bellies and receding hairlines.
The alarm bells began to ring when Steaua’s coach picked them fellas up in a “swish coach” and asked if they wanted to “train at the stadium” that evening.
Their first thought was ‘Is that a bar?’, and that’s when the penny started to drop.
In what was deemed as Gladiator’s true fashion, they were up til the wee hours of 5am ahead of the 11am kick off. And what unfolded at the stadium on their arrival is never to be forgotten.
They rocked up to ‘Stadionul Arcul de Triumf’, surrounded by cameras and TV crews. A bit odd, but the Gladiators shrugged it off as a big game following theirs, and even contemplated sticking around for it.
Once they got inside, “that’s when it became crystal clear there had been a cock-up.”
While the Romanians warmed up like the pros they were, Gladiator members were lighting up ciggys on the touchline, proving some strange point that they were just a bunch of lads essentially on a ‘boys trip’.
Steaua scored their first try within the opening five minutes, and that served as some kind of foreshadowing.
To the surprise of probably every single human involved and/or watching, the Gladiators scored two tries, and the final score was only 61-17. It could have been a helluva lot worse.
The story went absolutely viral, hitting front pages worldwide. Some legendary headlines included:
They thought we were bath - but we were shower - The Mirror
Rugby Gladiators thrown to Romanian lions - The Guardian
Slip-up puts veteran pub Gladiators to the sword - Evening Standard
Now, 25 years on, the Gladiators club remains active and thriving.
They're even planning an anniversary tour to Montenegro, with 53 players in tow.
Let’s hope this one doesn’t hit headlines again..
