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

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 () is a French rugby union club currently playing in Pro D2, the second tier of France's league system. They were promoted back to the second level for the 2018–19 season after two seasons in Fédérale 1. Based in Aix-en-Provenc ...

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 Hau ...

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

, 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 ...

, 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 organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

, 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 World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

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

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 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 ...

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, 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 ...

, 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 in France 21st-century Romanian sportsmen Sportspeople from Neamț County 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players {{Romania-rugbyunion-bio-stub