Date of birth | 30 October 1977 | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place of birth | Focșani, Romania | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||||||||||||||||
Weight | 222 lb (101 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
|
Costica Mersoiu (born 30 October 1977) is a Romanian former rugby union international. [1]
Born in Focșani, Mersoiu was a back-rower and earned 39 Test caps for Romania, debuting in 2000. [2]
Mersoiu received a two-year prison sentence in 2001 for manslaughter, having beaten to death his mother's live-in lover. [3] Released from prison early for good behaviour, Mersoiu was rehabilitated back into the national team. [4]
At club level, Mersoiu played locally for Steaua Bucarest and won a national title with the team in 2003, after which he competed in France with CA Périgueux and then AS Béziers. [5]
Mersoiu scored a try in Romania's surprise win over Tier 1 team Italy in 2004. [6] Due to injuries, Mersoiu missed both the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups. He served for a period as national captain in 2007 and 2008. [7]
Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.
The Georgia national rugby union team, nicknamed The Lelos, represents Georgia in men's international rugby union. The team is administered by the Georgian Rugby Union and takes part in the annual Rugby Europe Championship and the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years.
The England men's national rugby union team represents the Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions, winning the Grand Slam 14 times and the Triple Crown 26 times, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three further occasions.
Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.
Neil Jenkins, is a Welsh former rugby union player and current coach. He played fly-half, centre, or full back for Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors, Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Jenkins is Wales' highest ever points-scorer and is the fifth highest on the List of leading rugby union test point scorers. He was the first player to score 1,000 points in international matches.
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
The France national rugby union team represents the French Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union matches. Colloquially known as Le XV de France, the team traditionally wears blue shirts with a Gallic rooster embroidered on the chest, white shorts and red socks in reference to the French national flag. Les Bleus mostly play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship along with England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. France have won the tournament on 26 occasions, winning the Grand Slam 10 times.
The Italy national rugby union team represents the Italian Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri. Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946.
The Romania national rugby union team represents Romania in men's international rugby union competitions. Nicknamed Stejarii, the team is long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations. They have participated in all but one Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the European Nations Cup, which they won in 2017. Rugby union in Romania is administered by the Romanian Rugby Federation.
Henry Rangi Paul is a rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union player. A dual-code international, Paul won 24 caps for New Zealand in rugby league and 6 for England in rugby union, as well as rugby sevens. Paul played as a loose forward, stand-off, fullback, and occasionally as a hooker, and as a centre and fly-half in rugby union.
The Rugby Europe International Championships is the European Championship for tier 2 and tier 3 rugby union nations.
Frédéric Michalak is a former French rugby union footballer. His early career was spent playing for his hometown team, Toulouse, in the Top 14 and in the Heineken Cup. He moved to South Africa to play for the Sharks in the Super 14 after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but after just one year with the Sharks he moved back to Toulouse. He has also played over 70 tests for France to date, and is the country's leading Test point scorer, achieving that milestone in 2015. Michalak originally played scrum-half but has played mainly at fly-half. He has appeared in advertisements for companies such as Nike and Levi's.
Juan Martín Hernández is an Argentine retired rugby union player. A mainstay of the Argentina national team The Pumas. He played for the club Toulon in the French Top 14 competition. His 2010 move to Racing brought him back to the city where he had begun his professional career in 2003 with Stade Français. He has also played in the South African Currie Cup with the Sharks, and was slated to play with the Sharks in Super Rugby in 2010, but suffered a back injury that knocked him out of the Super Rugby season. Hernández is a "utility back" capable of playing at fly-half, centre, or fullback, though he generally prefers fly-half.
The Spain national rugby union team, nicknamed Los Leones, represents the Spanish Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union competitions. The team annually takes part in the European Nations Cup, the highest European rugby championship outside the Six Nations. The national side is ranked 20th in the world.
The Morocco national rugby union team are a national sporting side, representing Morocco in rugby union. The team is also known as the Atlas Lions. Morocco is governed by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Rugby. Morocco competes in the Africa Cup annually. The team has won the competition in 2003 and 2005. They usually play their internationals in Casablanca.
Rugby union is a moderately popular team sport played in Romania with a tradition of more than 100 years. In past eras, the game had been more popular and Romanian national teams had been relatively highly ranked in world rugby, but their standing declined since the dawn of professionalism and the end of communism. The Romanian men's national team are currently 20th in the World Rugby Rankings as of 19 March 2023.
The Romanian Wolves is a professional Romanian rugby union team that competes annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup.
Lynn Howells is a Welsh rugby union coach, who until March 2018 was the head coach of the Romanian national team, having been the manager of the national side for 10 months prior to his appointment. Howells, born in Maerdy in Rhondda Valleys, played flanker at his nearest club Tylorstown RFC, before playing for Penygraig RFC. There he was noticed by Pontypridd RFC, and represented one of the top clubs in Wales in 1971.
Kieran James Crowley is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who is the former head coach of Italy. He has also coached the New Zealand Under-19s in the 2007 World Championships as well as coaching provincial side Taranaki. He previously served as head coach of Canada. He also spent five seasons coaching Benetton Rugby.
Mark Anscombe is a New Zealand rugby union coach, having played rugby spanning across 15 years. Anscombe has been a rugby union coach since 1994, coaching various ages and styles in both hemispheres. He is a former head coach of the Canadian national team.