 However, this "isolation" was broken when Rowe Harding took the Welsh team Swansea touring there, to play national champions, Locomotiva.On his return to the UK, Harding spoke highly of the Romanian game, speaking of its consistently high standard and of the passion of both the fans and the players, which he thought unparallelled in Europe outside the Five Nations.The tour and Harding's praise effectively opened up Romanian rugby to the rest of western Europe, sparking a number of tours travelling to and from the country.