Leonardo Ghiraldini
| Full name | Leonardo Lorenzo Ghiraldini | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 26, 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Padua, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 99 kg (218 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Hooker | ||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2004–2005 2005–2008 2009–2014 2014− |
Petrarca Calvisano Benetton Treviso Leicester Tigers |
71 70 18 |
(15) (20) (0) |
| correct as of 8 March 2015. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2006– | Italy | 75 | (20) |
| correct as of 21 March 2015. | |||
Leonardo Ghiraldini (born 26 December 1984 in Padua) is an Italian rugby union player for Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership. Ghiraldini's position of choice is at Hooker.
Club career
Ghiraldini began his career with Petrarca Rugby in his hometown of Padua before moving to Rugby Calvisano in 2005 where as captain he won the Super 10 (now National Championship of Excellence) once in 2008 and was a runner-up with them in 2006. In 2009, Ghiraldini moved to Benetton Treviso, which joined the Celtic League in 2010.
On 21 May 2014, Ghiraldini moves to England to join Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership from the 2014-15 season.[1]
International career
Underage & 'A' Level
Ghiraldini played for the Italian U-18, U-19 and U-21 teams before playing for the Italy A Team. Ghiraldini was regarded as one of Italian rugby's stars of the future.
Italy national team
Ghiraldini played his first international game against Japan during Italy's 2006 summer tour. Ghiraldini was called up to the Italian squad for the 2007 Six Nations Championship and the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he made his World Cup debut against Portugal. He was called up to the Italy squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship, playing as starting hooker in all five games of the tournament.[2] For the 2010 Six Nations Championship, Ghiraldini was named Italian captain after Sergio Parisse was ruled out of the tournament with an injury.[3]
Honours
Calvisano
- Super 10 winner (1): 2008. runner-up (1): 2006
References
- ↑ "Leicester Tigers sign Italy hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini from Benetton Treviso". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ↑ "Parisse handed Italy captaincy". BBC. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ↑ "Mallett turns to Ghiraldini". Sky Sports. 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
External links
| Preceded by Sergio Parisse |
Italy Captain 2010–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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