Sergio Parisse

At 41 years old, Sergio Parisse has this physical status:

Parisse played junior rugby divisions and his first senior division for Club Universitario de La Plata, at La Plata city.

In 2003, Parisse moved to Italy permanently to pursue a rugby career. He signed for Benetton Treviso where he played for four years before being lured to Stade Français by then president Max Guazzini in 2005. He had a long and successful career with the Parisian team, staying there for 14 seasons and winning two Top 14 titles. In 2019, he cut ties with the club after disagreements with the coaching team led by South African Heyneke Meyer. Although it was rumoured that he could go back to finish his career with his first professional club, Treviso, Parisse signed for Top 14 rivals Toulon.

International career

Parisse was eligible to play international rugby for Argentina, the country of his birth, and Italy, the country where his parents are from. At just 17 years old, he played for Italy U20s in the Junior World Championship in Chile. There he was spotted by Argentinian selectors and approached in an attempt to persuade him to switch his allegiance to the Pumas set-up. When asked if he had any regrets on staying on with Italy, he answered “I have no regrets at all (...) it never occurred to me not to play for Italy. My parents are Italian, we were brought up speaking Italian and returned home to L’Aquila every summer. To play for Italy was a dream, to play for my culture and my family. When you pull on a jersey, it is not just a piece of clothing for the day, a convenience. Loyalty, honour and trust - these are the things that mean a lot to me"

Parisse made his full Test debut for the Italy national team in June 2002, being capped at the age of 18 by then Azzurri coach John Kirwan, in a 64-10 defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton.

Though Italy failed to make it beyond the pool stage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Parisse played well.

Parisse continued his form into the 2008 Six Nations Championship. Parisse won his 50th cap for Italy against England in the 2008 Six Nations Championship at the age of 24. Parisse is also the Italian captain, appointed in 2008 by Nick Mallett in place of Marco Bortolami. In September 2008 Parisse was nominated for IRB International Player of the Year alongside Dan Carter, Ryan Jones, Shane Williams and Mike Blair.

Parisse missed most of the 2009–10 Top 14 season with a serious knee injury that ruled him out of the 2010 Six Nations Championship.

Parisse captained Italy in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Italy finished third in their group, one place short of qualification, after two losses against Australia and Ireland on top of their two wins against USA and Russia. Parisse scored a total of two tries at the tournament.

He captained Italy in the 2012 Six Nations Championship. Italy had a mixed championship with losses against France, Wales, England and Ireland but also victory against Scotland to avoid the wooden spoon. Parisse again captained Italy for the 2013 Six Nations Championship. The campaign started very well for the Italians when they beat France for only the second time ever, with Parisse himself scoring a try. The following week Italy lost 33–10 to Scotland in an underwhelming performance at Murrayfield. Parisse missed Italy's match with Wales on 23 February 2013 due to abusing a referee in a club game with Stade Francais. Italy struggled without their captain and lost 26–9. Parisse returned for Italy's next game against England and despite England being massive favourites Italy put in a competitive display to only lose by seven points, 18–11.

In the last week of the 2013 championship, Italy beat Ireland for the first time ever in the championship by a margin of 22–15 making it one of Italy's most successful Six Nations ever.

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