Martín Castrogiovanni

Martín Leandro Castrogiovanni (Italian: [marˈtiŋ kastrodʒoˈvanni], Spanish: [maɾˈtiŋ kastɾoʝoˈβani]; born October 21, 1981) is an Italian-Argentine retired rugby union player. He was born in Paraná, Argentina, but qualified for Italy through his heritage. Castrogiovanni moved to Italy as a teenager and represented the Italian national team 119 times over 14 years. In Italy he played for Calvisano between 2001 and 2006, before moving to England to play for Leicester Tigers where he played 145 games over seven seasons, winning four Premiership Rugby titles. In 2013 he moved to Toulon where he won a Heineken Cup, before finishing his career with Racing 92 in Paris.

Career

He played for Ghial Calvisano, with whom he won the Italian championship in 2005. He then signed for Leicester Tigers and, after a successful 2006/07 season, was named Guinness Premiership player of the season. He wore the name "Castro" on his shirt rather than "Castrogiovanni".

Castrogiovanni made his international debut for the Italian national team on 8 June 8, 2002, during the tour against the All Blacks, and became a regular in the national side. He played every game of Italy's 2004 Six Nations campaign and was a reliable member of their forward pack, being selected man of the match in the victory against Scotland. One of his most famous moments came in 2004, when, during the summer tour against Japan, he scored a hat-trick – a rarity for a prop forward. He led the national team for the game against Scotland during the 2012 Six Nations Championship, which Italy won 13–6, leading him to Tweet "Only unbeaten 6 Nations Captain".