Romeo Gontineac

Romeo Gontineac
Date of birth	18 December 1973 (age 50)
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Weight	90 kg (198 lb; 14 st 2 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Position(s)	Centre
Senior career
Years	Team
1993–1996	Universitatea Cluj
1996	South Western Districts
1996–1997	FC Grenoble
1997–1998	Pau
1998–2010	Aurillac
International career
Years	Team
1995-2008	Romania
Coaching career
Years	Team
2010–2011	Romania
2020–	Aurillac

Romeo Ștefan Gontineac (born 18 December 1973 in Hlipiceni, Botoşani) is a Romanian rugby union coach and former player who played as a centre. He currently coaches Aurillac.^[1]

Gontineac played for Universitatea Cluj (1993–96) in Romania, South Western Districts (1996), in South Africa. He moved to France, where he played for FC Grenoble (1996–97), Section Paloise (1997–98) and Aurillac (1998–2010), where he finished his playing career.

Gontineac has 76 caps for Romania, with 13 tries scored, 68 points in aggregate. He played all the matches for Romania in four Rugby World Cup finals, in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007. He also captained his country on several occasions.^[2]

In May 2010, he was appointed as head coach of the Romanian national team replacing Serge Lairle of France. Gontineac called upon the services of former All Blacks Steve McDowall to be his assistant coach in the qualifyings for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Romania qualified but disappointed at the finals, being unable to win a single match for the first time since 1995.^{[citation needed]}

His son Taylor is also a professional rugby union player.^{[citation needed]}