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Ange Capuozzo

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Ange Capuozzo
Capuozzo playing for Italy in 2022
Date of birth (1999-04-30) 30 April 1999 (age 25)
Place of birthLe Pont-de-Claix, France
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight70 kg (154 lb; 11 st 0 lb)[1]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback, Wing
Current team Toulouse
Youth career
2005–2010 US Deux Ponts
2010–2019 Grenoble
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2019–2022 Grenoble 52 (90)
2022– Toulouse 31 (75)
Correct as of 30 October 2024
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2019 Italy U20 5 (10)
2022– Italy 21 (60)
Correct as of 30 October 2024

Ange Capuozzo (French: [ɑ̃ʒ kapwɔdzo], 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.

Early life

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Ange Capuozzo was born on 30 April 1999 in Le Pont-de-Claix, in the outskirts of Grenoble, France to French parents.[2] His father is of Italian descent; Capuozzo's paternal grandparents were from the Naples area and arrived in Isère after World War II when they were children.[3][4] His maternal grandfather is Malagasy while his maternal grandmother is French.[5]

Capuozzo grew up and started playing rugby in his hometown.[6] In 2010, he joined professional club Grenoble's youth system.[7]

Club career

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Grenoble

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On 18 May 2019, Capuozzo made his senior debut with Grenoble in an away game at Pau, playing his only game of the 2018–19 Top 14 season.[7] On 6 December, he scored his first try in a home win against Rouen in the 2019–20 Pro D2 season.[8]

In the 2020–21 Pro D2 season, he scored 10 tries in 21 games and finished as the league's top tryscorer.[9]

Toulouse

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On 13 May 2022, Capuozzo signed for Toulouse on a three-year contract.[10] On 11 September, he made his club debut in a 28–8 home win against Toulon.[11] Two weeks later, he scored his first try for Toulouse in a home win against Racing 92, playing as a wing.[12]

On 29 January 2023, he scored his first brace against Top 14 defending champions Montpellier.[13]

International career

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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]

International tries

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# Date Venue Opponent Result Score Competition
1. 12 March 2022 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy  Scotland Loss
22–33
 2022 Six Nations
2.
3. 12 November 2022 Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy  Australia Win
28–27
 2022 November Internationals
4.
5. 19 November 2022 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy  South Africa Loss
21–63
 2022 November Internationals
6. 5 February 2023 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy  France Loss
24–29
 2023 Six Nations
7. 19 August 2023 Stadio Riviera delle Palme, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy  Romania Win
57–7
 2023 RWC Warm-Ups
8.
9. 9 September 2023 Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France  Namibia Win
8-52
 2023 Rugby World Cup
10. 29 September 2023 Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon, France  New Zealand Loss
96-17
 2023 Rugby World Cup
11. 25 February 2024 Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France  France Draw
13-13
 2024 Six Nations
12. 21 July 2024 Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan  Japan Win
14-42
 2024 July Internationals

Honours

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Club

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France Toulouse

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ange Capuozzo player profile". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  2. ^ Ripert, Chloé (25 September 2022). "Top 14. Quatre choses à savoir sur Ange Capuozzo, le nouveau feu follet du Stade Toulousain". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  3. ^ Perotto, Thomas (3 February 2023). "Pourquoi Ange Capuozzo, révélation internationale de 2022, ne joue pas pour le XV de France". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ Campistron, Laurent (6 October 2022). "Ange Capuozzo : « Une espèce de magie se dégage de ce club »". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  5. ^ Mazella, Clément (21 September 2022). "Son idole, son meilleur ami, fan de football... voici Ange Capuozzo (Toulouse) en 8 anecdotes". Actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  6. ^ Perotto, Thomas (31 January 2023). "Rugby : Ange Capuozzo, guide de l'Italie face aux Bleus". Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b Martucci, Donato (19 March 2022). "Ange Capuozzo, il napo-francese che dopo 7 anni regala la vittoria all'Italia del rugby". Corriere del Mezzogiorno (in Italian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Grenoblois le conquérant". FC Grenoble (in French). 19 March 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  9. ^ Vidal, Dorian; Poquet, Jules (2 June 2021). "Le XV des pépites de la saison". Rugbyrama (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  10. ^ @StadeToulousain (13 May 2022). "Ange Capuozzo, nouveau joueur du Stade" (Tweet) (in French) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Top 14 : Toulouse ne laisse aucune chance à Toulon et prend la tête du championnat". France Info (in French). 11 September 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  12. ^ "VIDÉO. L'interception et l'essai épatant d'Ange Capuozzo avec le Stade Toulousain". Ouest-France (in French). 25 September 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  13. ^ Larroquette, Thomas (29 January 2023). "Top 14 : Toulouse renverse Montpellier avec un doublé de Capuozzo". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Italia U20, gli Azzurrini per il World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina". Federazione Italiana Rugby (in Italian). 15 May 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Ange CAPUOZZO: profile and stats". All.Rugby. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Italia A, gli Azzurri convocati per il match contro la Spagna". Federazione Italiana Rugby (in Italian). 14 October 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  17. ^ Mazella, Clément (24 January 2022). "6 Nations. La pépite de Grenoble, Ange Capuozzo, appelée pour disputer le Tournoi". Actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  18. ^ Daveau, Romain (12 March 2022). "Tournoi des Six Nations : Ange Capuozzo, le Franco-italien qui a passé deux essais en 13 minutes à l'Ecosse". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  19. ^ Reid, James (19 March 2022). "Late Padovani try seals stunning Italy win". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  20. ^ Gallan, Daniel (19 March 2022). "Padovani's late try gives Italy historic Six Nations win against turgid Wales". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Le Gallois Josh Adams donne sa médaille d'homme du match à Ange Capuozzo (Italie)". L'Équipe (in French). 19 March 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Ange Capuozzo inspires Italy to historic first win over Australia". The Independent. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  23. ^ Heagney, Liam (19 November 2022). "South Africa storm to victory in Italy with seven second-half tries". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  24. ^ Smith, Ben (20 November 2022). "Black Ferns star and Italian fullback named Breakthrough Players of the Year". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  25. ^ "ITALIA, I 33 AZZURRI PER LA RUGBY WORLD CUP "FRANCIA 2023". Federazione Italiana Rugby (in Italian). 22 August 2023.
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