The Athlete of the week – Rugby Player Florin Vlaicu

Florin Vlaicu helped Romania win last weekend's match against Russia

Florin Orban, 12.02.2013, 13:19

Romania’s national rugby team have had an auspicious start in the international competition season. In the first two legs of the European Nations’ Cup, the Romanian record was a win-all one. On February the 2nd they defeated Portugal away from home, 19-13, while this past weekend the Romanians defeated Russia, 29-14.

We won’t fail to say, however, that since Portugal was no easy meat for the Romanians, the forecasts for the game against Russia have rapidly become more cautious. Head-to-heads reveal that in recent years Russia has succeeded a string of wins against Romania, even in Bucharest.

This past Saturday in Bucharest the Russians had a better start with a more coherent game and less mistakes than the Romanians. At half time, the guest team had a 11-6 lead, following a try and two successfully converted penalty kicks. Although they attacked more and dominated the created and loose scrums, the Romanians managed only two penalty kicks, through Florin Vlaicu.

In the second half of the game the Romanians managed to turn the tables, since the power of their forward pack and a significantly smaller number of unprovoked mistakes got them have the upper hand on the pitch. Florin Vlaicu was the man of the match. He succeeded 24 out of Romania’s final number of 29 points. Florin Vlaicu’s record proudly includes the most beautiful moment of the game. As one of the Russians’ attacking bouts was in full swing, the Romanian spectacularly intercepted the ball and succeeded a try, after a race of about 30 meters.

For his very special performance and his significant contribution to the Romanians’ win in the game against Russia, Radio Romania International has designated Florin Vlaicu the Athlete of the Week.

Florin Vlaicu was born on July 26, 1986 in Bucharest, and throughout his career so far he has been playing for Steaua Bucharest. On and off, Vlaicu was included in the lineup representing Romania in the Amlin Cup, actually for the Bucharest Wolves. Florin Vlaicu made his debut in the national squad as a substitute in the match against Ukraine. He was a regular player in Romania’s team in the two editions of the World Cup, the one in 2007 and the 2011 edition, respectively.