Cristian Alexandru Stoica, also known as Alessandro Stoica (born 1 August 1976, in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

) is a Romanian-Italian 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 centre.

Career

Stoica played for the youth Steaua Bucharest team in his first years, from 1984/85 to 1988/89. He moved to Italy in 1989 with his family. He later became a naturalized Italian citizen. He played for CUS Pavia (1995/96),

Amatori Rugby Milano Amatori Rugby Milano were an Italian rugby union team based in Milan founded in 1927 and disbanded in 2011. Founded in 1927 as part of the association football, football team F.C. Internazionale Milano, Ambrosiana-Inter of Milan, the club won ...

(1996/97), in the National Championship of Excellence. He moved to France, where he would play for

RC Narbonne Racing Club de Narbonne Méditerannée (also known as RCNM) is a French rugby union club that play in the third-level Nationale. They are based in Narbonne in the Aude '' département'' of Occitania. They were founded in 1907. They play at P ...

(1997/01). He spent a season at

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

(2001/02), returning afterwards to France, where he played for

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique (, ) is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They pla ...

(2002/03), Montpellier Hérault (2003/08), where he won the

European Shield The European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was a repechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup. As such, it formed Europe's third-tier club rugby union competiti ...

in 2004, and SC Mazamet (2009/10), where he finished his career. He had 71 caps for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, from 1997 to 2007, scoring 11 tries, 55 points on aggregate. He was called for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's History of rugby union#The professional era, professional era. Four a ...

, playing in three games but without scoring. He was called once again for 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 in three games. He played in the

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

from 2000 to 2006; he had 28 caps, with a try scored.Cristian Stoica International Statistics
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Honours

Club

;Narbonne *

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 ...

runner-up: 2000–01 ;Castres Olympique *

: 2002–03 ;Montpellier Hérault *

: 2003–04

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoica, Cristian 1976 births Living people Rugby union players from Bucharest Romanian emigrants to Italy Italian rugby union players Naturalised citizens of Italy Rugby union centres Amatori Rugby Milano players RC Narbonne players Gloucester Rugby players Castres Olympique players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Italian people of Romanian descent Italy international rugby union players Italian expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in England CSA Steaua București (rugby union) players Romanian rugby union players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players