Ovidiu Tonița

"Toniţa" redirects here. For the painter, see Nicolae Tonitza

Ovidiu Toniţa

Georgia vs Romania at 2011 Rugby World Cup
Date of birth	6 August 1980 (1980-08-06) (age 31)
Place of birth	Bârlad, Romania
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	101 kg (15 st 13 lb)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Flanker
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2001-2002 2002-2004 2004-	FC Grenoble Biarritz Olympique USA Perpignan
correct as of 1 Sept 2007.
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
2000-	Romania	22	(20)
correct as of 1 Sept 2007.

Ovidiu Toniţa (born August 6, 1980) is a Romanian rugby union footballer. A former lock and presently a flanker and number 8, he plays for the French side USA Perpignan and for the Romanian national team. He is noted for his size, which is considered unusual for his position on the field.^[1][2][3] His supporters are known to have compared him to the Australian footballer John Eales,^[2] and he is often seen as Romania's key player.^[2][4][5]

Born in Bârlad, Toniţa worked as a soft drinks distributor for The Coca-Cola Company from age 15, and played rugby as an amateur in his native country.^[3] He moved to France, where he played in the Top 14, originally for FC Grenoble (2001–2002), and later for Biarritz Olympique (2002–2004).^[2][6]

In 1999, at the age of 19, he made his international debut as a reserve for the Romanian national team, being one of the youngest players at the 1999 Rugby World Cup.^[3][7] His test debut was against the Netherlands national team in 2000.^[1][3] He won his first 14 caps as a lock, and established himself as a flanker after moving to Perpignan.^[1]

He was present on Romania's squad at the 2003 World Cup, was injured for three months in early 2005,^[8] and took part in the 2007 World Cup, where he was Romania's vice-captain.^[3] During the latter event, as Romania prepared to face the Scottish side, Toniţa was deemed "perhaps [Romania's] one world-class player" in a Scotsman article.^[9] An analysis of the Romanian squad, published by The West Australian, noted that Toniţa "is a class act in the scrum", while arguing that, given Romania's poor results: "The sad thing for him is that he is playing with the wrong generation of players."^[10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Ovidiu Toniţa at Planet Rugby; retrieved September 19, 2007
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Romania Country Profile at Planet Rugby; retrieved September 19, 2007
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} (Romanian) Radu Constantin, "Ovidiu Toniţa: 'Autobuzul din Carpaţi' ", at Rugby.ro; retrieved September 19, 2007
4. ^ "Prop Balan makes Romanian squad", at BBC Sport; retrieved September 19, 2007
5. ^ David Ferguson, "Party Time Is Over as Skipper Socol Vows to Avenge November Loss", in The Scotsman, September 18, 2007; retrieved September 19, 2007
6. ^ (French) "Rugby: la fiche de Ovidiu Toniţa", at L'Équipe; retrieved September 19, 2007
7. ^ Romania squad for World Cup 2003 at Rugby.ro; retrieved September 19, 2007
8. ^ (Romanian) "Ovidiu Toniţa accidentat trei luni", at Netsport.ro; retrieved September 19, 2007
9. ^ David Ferguson, "Sorin Ready to Soc It to the Scots at Murrayfield", in The Scotsman, September 14, 2007; retrieved September 19, 2007
10. ^ "Rugby Union. Rugby World Cup 07. Pool C", in The West Australian; retrieved September 19, 2007

External links

• (French) Ovidiu Toniţa at Rugbyrama.fr
• (Italian) Ovidiu Toniţa at ERCRugby

Persondata
Name	Tonita, Ovidiu
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 6, 1980
Place of birth	Bârlad, Romania
Date of death
Place of death