Rob Irimescu (born 1 March 1996) is an American-born rugby union player who plays for CSM Știința Baia Mare in the

Liga Națională de Rugby The Liga Națională de Rugby () is a semi-professional rugby union club competition that is played in Romania. History The first Romanian competition took place in 1914 between two Bucharest team's in Tennis Club Român and Sporting Club with Te ...

and the

Romanian national team The Romania national football team ( ro, Echipa națională de fotbal a României) represents Romania in international men's football competition and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation ( ro, Federația Română de Fotbal), also ...

Club career

After playing for five years at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, upon his graduation Irimescu would sign for

Rugby New York Rugby New York, formerly known as Rugby United New York and now officially nicknamed the Ironworkers, are a professional rugby union team based in New York City that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). The team played an exhibition season in ...

, after spending time with amateur side New York Athletic Club.

Rugby New York

He joined his hometown side at the end of 2019, he went on to make his debut for the

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

side in the first round of the 2020 season, coming off the bench against the New England Freejacks.

Old Glory DC

Signing for rival side Old Glory DC in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, he went on to feature in all 16 of Old Glory's matches, being named in the Starting XV for 11 of them. He signed for CSM Știința Baia Mare to help his international ambitions.

CSM Știința Baia Mare

He joined CSM Știința Baia Mare in 2023 making his debut against CSA Steaua București.

International career

His first appearance was for Romania A against Italy A in 2023, before going on to make his debut for the national side against Poland in the

2023 Rugby Europe Championship The 2023 Rugby Europe Championship was the seventh Rugby Europe Championship, the annual rugby union for the top European national teams outside the Six Nations Championship, and the 53rd edition of the competition (including all its previous inca ...

, coming off the bench to score a try. He played in the following 2 Rugby Europe Matches against Belgium and Portugal, coming off the bench in his alternate position, as a flanker in both. He was named in the Romanian squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup warmups. He eventually came off the bench against Georgia. He went on to be named in the final 33-Man Roster, playing in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. On September 17th, he came off the bench against South Africa, making his World Cup Debut. A few weeks later he cracked the first XV for the first time against Scotland, and closed out his World Cup Campaign by coming off the bench against Tonga. In 2024, he continued his campaign for the Oaks, by being selected in the 2024 REC Squad, where he featured in 3 matches. He went on to earn his 10th cap, in his final match against Spain. In the summer of 2024, he was selected to play against the United States and Canada. He played in both games, coming off the bench. Irimescu went on to defeat his home nation in Chicago, winning the Pershing Cup, 22-20 on July 5th, 2024.

Personal life

Born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to two Romanian parents, Nicoleta and Gabriel Irimescu, who both come from

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

. His father grew up playing rugby in Constanta. He frequently visited Constanta every summer. Although he lived in the United States his whole life, he moved to Romania in January 2023 to help his international ambitions. He graduated from Penn State with a Master’s Degree in Accounting, a Bachelor’s in Finance, and a Bachelor’s in Accounting.

References

External links

Robert Irimescu
at All.Rugby

at ItsRugby.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Irimescu, Rob 1996 births Living people CSM Știința Baia Mare players Old Glory DC players Rugby New York players Old Glory DC Rugby New York Romanian rugby union players Romania international rugby union players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Rugby union hookers Sportspeople from New York City Rugby union players from New York (state)