Romania took a big step towards the cross-continental play-off to determine the 20th and final qualifier for Rugby World Cup 2011 with a 33-3 defeat of Ukraine at the Spartak Stadium in Kiev on Saturday.
The victory means Romania, who finished third in the European Nations Cup top tier behind Russia and Georgia, are on track to meet Tunisia in July for the right to meet either Uruguay or Asian 5 Nations runners up Kazakhstan in the final play-off.
The recent results are reflected in the IRB rankings as Romania have climbed one place to 17th as a result of the away victory, swapping places with USA who they had been below by less than a thousandth of a rating point. Ukraine drop two places to 28th, although this is due to gains by Brazil and Kazakhstan.