REVEALED: 119-cap Italy legend was 'never qualified' to play for them
Rugby NewsWednesday, 03 August 2022 at 07:58
One of Italy's best players of the modern era, who played in four World Cups over a 14 year international career, has admitted only his great-grandfather was Italian.
During his playing days, you never quite knew what to expect from martin Castrogiovanni, who won 119 Italy caps across 14 years before retiring in 2016.
After that, for five years, Castrogiovanni disappeared off the face of the rugby earth after he was sacked by his club for going to Las Vegas with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
In an exclusive interview with Rugby Champagne, he revealed: "“Grandpa Castro was born in Argentina, his name was José María. The one who was Italian was my great-grandfather, Ángel, who was born in Sicily, in Franco Forte”.
Reacting to the news, one fan wrote: "Eligibility rules are a mess. He should not have been eligible for Italy."
However, another added: "The eligibility rules were different in each country at the time, not yet unified by World Rugby. I think to remember Italy allowed for third-generation emigrants to play for Italy."
But a third added: "Case for kicking Italy out of the world cup??'
"He was never qualified then and they should strip of is honours," another commented.
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Fine list at amateur rugby club makes hilarious reading
As any amateur rugby club chairman is well aware, it takes a great deal of sacrifice and financial juggling to keep a club afloat.
The best chairmen are always searching for new ways to balance the books including shirt sales, sponsorship, raffles, open days and garage sales.
Another way of raising money internally is club fines. At first glance, some of the offences on the list seem quite reasonable.
#1. Urinating in the shower - £5
#2. Missing training - £2.50
#3. Missing a match - £5
#4. Using someone else's shower gel - £1
#5. No cakes on Birthday - £20
#6. No jewellery to be worn during training - £5
#7. Being a dickhead - £5
#8. Items Left in Changing Room - £1
#9. Being late for a game - £1 for every 10 minutes
#10. Dirty boots on match-day - £3
#11. Phone not being on silent in changing room - £2
#12. Not attending team nights out - £10
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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