Petru_Bălan
Petru Bălan
Rugby player
Petru Vladimir Bălan (born 12 July 1976, in Suceava) is a Romanian retired rugby union footballer who played as a prop.
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Before moving to play rugby in France he played for Dinamo Bucharest in Romania, including playing for them in the 1998–99 European Challenge Cup. He played for FC Grenoble in the 2002–04 Challenge Cup and European Shield competitions. He moved to Biarritz for the 2003–04 season. He was a part of the team that won the 2004–05 Top 16 and the 2005–06 Top 14. Also with Biaritz Olimpique were runners-up to Munster in the 2005–06 Heineken Cup.
He was a part of the Romanian team at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, playing two matches throughout the tournament held in Australia.
On 14 March 2008 Bălan signed for Northampton Saints in the Guinness Premiership. He was expected to join the club for the 2008–09 season, but back problems led to his contract being voided. After finishing the season with Biarritz, Bălan was idle until he signed a two-year contract with Fédérale 1 club Saint-Jean-de-Luz.