Petru Vladimir Bălan (born 12 July 1976, in

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

) 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 retired

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 a

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 ...

. 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 The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

. He played for

FC Grenoble The Football Club de Grenoble Rugby (FCG) is a French rugby union club based in Grenoble and founded in 1892. FCG was champion of France in 1953–54 French Rugby Union Championship, 1954 and runner-up in 1992–93 French Rugby Union Championshi ...

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 Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

in the

2005–06 Heineken Cup The 2005–06 Heineken Cup was the eleventh edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. 24 teams from 7 countries took part, with the opening game played on Friday October 21, 2005. Munster won the tournament, beating Biarritz ...

. He was a part of the Romanian team at the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, playing two matches throughout the tournament held in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. On 14 March 2008 Bălan signed for

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

in the

Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

. 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 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 ...

club Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

Honours

;Club ;Dinamo Bucharest * SuperLiga **Champion: 1999–00, 2000–01 *Romanian Cup **Winner: 1999–00, 2000–01 ;Grenoble *

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 ...

**Runner-up: 2001–02 ;Biarritz *

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

** Champion: 2004–05, 2005–06 *

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

**Runner-up: 2005–06 ;Timișoara * SuperLiga ** Champion: 2011–12 ;International ;Romania * European Nations Cup (3):

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, 2001–02, 2004–06

External links

Petru Balan
on ercrugby.com
Petru Balan
on rwc2003.irb.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Balan, Petru 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Suceava Rugby union players from Suceava County Romanian rugby union players Rugby union props CS Dinamo București (rugby union) players FC Grenoble Rugby players Biarritz Olympique players US Dax players CA Brive players SCM Rugby Timișoara players Romania international rugby union players Romanian expatriate rugby union players in France 21st-century Romanian sportsmen 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players ROC La Voulte-Valence players