Petru Vladimir Bălan is a Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 footballer, currently playing for Biarritz Olympique

Biarritz Olympique

Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...

 in the top level of French rugby, the Top 14 competition. He is also a Romanian international, and has played for his national team

Romania national rugby union team

The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...

. His usual position is as a prop.

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

European Challenge Cup

The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...

. He played for FC Grenoble

FC Grenoble

Football Club de Grenoble Alpes Rugby is a French rugby union club which, until recently, competed in the top level of the French league system. They play at Stade Lesdiguières . They wear red and blue.-History:...

 in the 2002-04 Challenge Cup and European Shield

European Shield

The European Shield was a reprechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup in 2002-03 and 2003-04. The name "European Shield" had previously been used for the now renamed European Challenge Cup....

 competitions. He moved to Biarritz for the 2003-04 season. He was a part of the team that were runners-up to Munster

Munster Rugby

Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...

 in the 2005-06 Heineken Cup

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 different countries took part, with the opening game played on Friday October 21, 2005...

, and won the 2005-06 Top 14

2005-06 Top 14

The 2005-06 Top 14 was a French domestic rugby union club competition that ran from August 2005 to June 2006.The 2005-06 season saw attendance records broken. 79,502 spectators attended the Round 9 clash between Stade Français and Stade Toulousain at the Stade de France, shattering the attendance...

.

He was a part of the Romanian team at the 2003 Rugby World Cup

2003 Rugby World Cup

The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...

, playing two matches throughout the tournament held in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

On 14 March 2008 Bălan signed for Northampton Saints

Northampton Saints

Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....

 in the Guinness Premiership

Guinness Premiership

The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...

. He was expected to join the club for the 2008-09 season, but back problems lead to his contract being voided. After finishing the season with Biarritz, Bălan was idle until he signed a two-year contract with Fédérale 1

Fédérale 1

Le championnat de France de première division fédérale, a.k.a. Fédérale 1, is a French rugby union club competition, the highest level of amateur rugby. The competition has been organised by the Fédération Française de Rugby since 2000, when it replaced the B2 Group...

 (Third Division) club Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

External links

• Petru Balan on ercrugby.com
• Petru Balan on rwc2003.irb.com