Bogdan Bălan (born 11 February 1980 in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

) is a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer who played as

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

. Balan began his rugby career playing for Brăila in his home town. He then played for Timişoara, U Cluj and Bucharest Wolves. After that he moved to France and played for Bègles Bordeaux who were in

Fédérale 1 The championnat de France de rugby à XV de 1re division fédérale (), a.k.a. Fédérale 1 (), is a French rugby union club competition, it is the elite of amateur rugby in France. The competition has been organised by the Fédération Français ...

at the time. He helped them get promoted to the

Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

, and then joined

US Montauban US Montauban () is a French rugby union club that currently competes in Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They have also competed at the top level, Top 14, in the past, most recently between 2007 and 2010. The ...

in 2005. Montauban was promoted from the Pro D2 to France's premier competition the Top 14 following Balan's first season with them. He also played for

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, helping them win two

Rugby Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

titles. Bălan was first selected for Romania in 2003 when he played against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

on 30 March that year. He has participated in the European Nations Cup, and in the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

Honours

;Club ;Montauban :

(1): 2005–06 ;Lyon :

(2):

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2013–14 ;International ;Romania : European Nations Cup (1): 2006

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bălan, Bogdan 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Brăila Romanian rugby union players Rugby union props SCM Rugby Timișoara players CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca (rugby union) players Lyon OU Rugby players Romania international rugby union players Romanian expatriate rugby union players in France 21st-century Romanian sportsmen US Montauban players CA Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde players 2007 Rugby World Cup players