Cristian Raducanu

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".

Raducanu later played rugby in England. He made four 1st XV appearances for Leeds in the 1998-1999 season and also played for Bradford & Bingley and Sale 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.

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.

Advised by the Refugee Council, Raducanu initially kept a low profile in Scotland and was upset by reports that he had abandoned his wife and baby daughter in Romania, making it known that he was telephoning them daily. Rowan gave him work on a construction site, and he made his Boroughmuir debut on 20 January 1990, although it was unclear at that point whether he intended to stay in Scotland on a permanent basis. His wife and daughter were able to escape Romania soon after.

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".

Cristian Raducanu was born on 2 October 1967 in Bucharest, Romania. He grew to be 1.98 metres (6 ft 6 in) tall, weighing 106 kilograms (234 lb), and played rugby as a lock 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. As of 2011, he still held the record as the youngest Number 8 to have started a Rugby World Cup match. 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