Capuozzo
Capuozzo
Ange Capuozzo (French: , Italian: [kaˈpwɔttso]; born 30 April 1999) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a full-back or a wing for French Top 14 club Toulouse and the Italian national team. Born and raised in France, Capuozzo qualified for Italy through his paternal grandparents. He began his career at Grenoble before signing for Toulouse in 2022. After previously playing for the Italy U20 and Italy A teams, he made his senior debut for Italy against Scotland during the 2022 Six Nations Championship
Capuozzo life
Born in France to French parents, Capuozzo was eligible to represent France at international level but chose to play for Italy, qualifying through his paternal grandparents. In 2019, he was called up to the Italy U20 squad for the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship,[14] and finished the competition with 2 tries in 5 games.[15] On 14 October 2021, he was called up to the Italy A national team by Fabio Roselli for the 2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals.[16] On 24 January 2022, Capuozzo was called up to the Italy national team by Kieran Crowley for the 2022 Six Nations Championship.[17] On 12 March, he scored two tries against Scotland in only 35 minutes for his senior debut.[18] One week later, he was Italy starting full-back against Wales and played the whole eighty minutes.[19] In the closing stages, he made a last-minute run, breaking a tackle before passing to Edoardo Padovani who scored the winning try, sealing Italy's first win against Wales since 2007 and ending a 36-match losing streak in the Six Nations Championship.[20] After the game, Wales wing Josh Adams gave his Player of the Match trophy to Capuozzo as a mark of respect despite being awarded for his performance a bit earlier in the game.[21] On 28 October, he was called up for the 2022 Autumn internationals. On 12 November, he scored two tries as Italy beat Australia for the first time in Italian rugby history, winning 28-27 in Florence.[22] One week later, he scored another try in a home loss against South Africa in Genoa.[23] The next day, Capuozzo was named 2022 World Rugby Men’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year at the World Rugby Awards.[24] In 2023, he was selected in Italy's Six Nations squad, starting and scoring a try in an opening defeat to France. On 22 August 2023, he was named in Italy's 33-man squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[25]