Cristian Raducanu

Cristian Raducanu (born Cristian Răducanu, names now also spelled Christian and Radacanu; born 2 September 1967) is a retired international rugby union player who represented Romania before his defection to the United Kingdom in 1989. He started seven international matches for the Romanian national team as well as being a replacement in four other of their internationals. Raducanu was described by Bill McLaren as a "world-class lineout exponent".

Early life and Romanian career Cristian Raducanu was born on 2 October 1967 in Bucharest, Romania. He grew to be tall, weighing , and played rugby as a and Number 8. He played club rugby for Dynamo Bucharest and at his international debut for Romania on 7 December 1985 against Italy at L'Aquila, he became the youngest player ever to have played for the country. He was one of the youngest players to have started a match in the Rugby World Cup, competing at Number 8 against Zimbabwe at the age of 19 years 233 days in Auckland on 23 May 1987. (Craig D.) Brown, the Zimbabwean fly-half in that match, was the youngest player to start a match in the entire tournament, aged 19 years 111 days. His last international was in the 32-0 defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh on 9 December 1989, at the tail-end of a brief shining for Romanian rugby. He later said that quote|Those were times long gone. Before the communist regime collapsed, big conglomerates backed the team, so they would look good in the eyes of the world. But when the gates opened, all the best players, all the cream, went elsewhere, mainly to France. There was no youth set-up, either. His move came soon after that of his compatriot Nadia Comăneci, and less than a fortnight before the overthrow of Nicolae Ceaușescu in his home country. He soon obtained his release from the Romanian Rugby Federation (RRF), allowing him to play in competitions organised by the Scottish Rugby Union. RRF officials also announced around that time that they would not object to him playing again for his country, while Raducanu had lined up an opportunity to play for the Scottish Boroughmuir club. His wife and daughter were able to escape Romania soon after. and also played for Bradford & Bingley before moving to Sedgley Park in Manchester, where he was captain and held a club record, scoring tries in six consecutive matches. He also played in the County Championship-winning Yorkshire team.

He wound down his career from around the age of 35 after having had at least 14 operations on a troublesome knee, although he was still playing occasionally for Sedgley's 1st XV and for their 2nd XV as a 40-year-old in 2007. The Scotsman described him in 2002 as being "known universally as one of the most amiable and popular men in the sport".

Later life Since 1996, Raducanu has owned a business importing, manufacturing and selling solid-wood furniture. That business involves dealings with his homeland and, in 2007, he worked with Whitgift School and the Romanian Embassy in London to arrange a scholarship for a promising young rugby player from his home country.