Valentin Niculae Ursache (born 12 August 1985 in Târgu Neamt) is a Romanian former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. Ursache played in Romania for Contor Zenner Arad, Steaua Bucharest and CSM Baia Mare. He also played in France for

Pays d'Aix RC Provence Rugby ( oc, Provença Rugbi) is a French rugby union club currently playing in Rugby Pro D2, the second tier of France's league system. They were promoted back to the second level for the 2018–19 season after 2 seasons in Fédérale 1. ...

and

Oyonnax Oyonnax () is the second most populated commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Oyonnax lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains in the far north of Ain. It is near the Parc naturel régional du Haut- ...

, from where he retired in June 2022. Ursache has 55 caps for

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, since his debut at 26 June 2004, in the historical 25-24 win over

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, in a test match. He played twice at the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

, coming on both times as a substitute. He was called into the squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, playing in three matches. He also played in four group stage matches of Romania's

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

campaign. On 29 April 2013, Ursache was named honorary citizen of

Honours

Club

;Steaua București *Romanian Cup: 2007 ;CSM Baia Mare * SuperLiga Champion: 2009, 2010 ;Oyonnax * Pro D2 Champion:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2016–17

References

External links

* * * * 1985 births Living people People from Târgu Neamț Romanian rugby union players Romania international rugby union players București Wolves players CSA Steaua București (rugby union) players CSM Știința Baia Mare players Provence Rugby players Oyonnax Rugby players Rugby union locks Romanian expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in France Romanian expatriate sportspeople in France Sportspeople from Neamț County {{Romania-rugbyunion-bio-stub