Romania head coach Lynn Howells has suggested that his team would deserve a place in the Six Nations if they can beat Italy at the Rugby World Cup.

The Eastern European side edged out Canada 17-15 in midweek and could finish third in their pool with victory over the Azzurri.

However, Howells, who formerly coached Welsh club Pontypridd, has called for Romania to play against the world's best teams on a regular basis.

He is quoted by The Telegraph as saying: "We want to be playing against more tier one sides, and we want to play them more often. Ideally we would be playing them at least once a year.

"We have already achieved what we came here to do, which was to win a match against Canada and to compete with a tier one nation.

"That shows that the players have worked very hard, and they deserve it. They have been preparing for this for the last four months."

Italy were narrowly beaten by Ireland last Sunday.