Italian
Giacomo Nicotera will be the captain of ItalRugby in the Summer Tour 2025 that will take the National Team to Namibia and South Africa
Playing for your national team is already every child’s dream when approaching a sport, becoming the captain (even if only for a friendly tournament) is the dream within the dream. In the upcoming 2025 Summer Tour, where the Italian Men’s Rugby National Team will play in Namibia and South Africa, the captain will be the current player of Stade Francais (and former Mogliano) Giacomo Nicotera.
An honor for the 28-year-old Trieste native, a hooker with 33 caps and 3 tries scored wearing the Italian jersey. The Benetton player first wore the blue jersey on March 12, 2022, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in the match won 33-22 by Scotland in the fourth round of the Six Nations. On that occasion, Ange Capuozzo also made his debut, and together they were part of the Azzurri’s historic first victory at the Principality Stadium against Wales.
Nicotera, nicknamed “Mule” within the team group, started playing rugby in Trieste, then moved through the main Venetian teams including Mogliano, San Donà, and Rovigo before switching to wearing the Benetton jersey in the 2020/21 season. Last year, he moved to Stade Francais and helped the team secure survival in the TOP14 league.
In a very young and experimental National team, alongside the player from Friuli, the vice-captains will be Danilo Fischetti and Niccolò Cannone, both with 52 caps for Italy.
The calendar
This is the schedule of Italy’s matches in the Summer Tour 2025:
27.06.25 Namibia vs Italy – Windhoek, Hage Geingob Stadium
05.07.25 South Africa vs Italy – Pretoria, Loftus Versfeld
12.07.25 South Africa vs Italy – Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
The comment
The new captain of ItalRugby commented on the news in the interview given to FIR channels:
“I received the phone call from Gonzalo Quesada in the final part of the season. It was a week off and he definitely chose the right moment. It was great news: I am very happy. My approach on the field will not change. Surely I will have some additional tasks like dealing with the referees. I will be more connected with my teammates and try to put the young players in the best conditions to perform.
There is always a bit of shyness in the first approaches of newcomers. Surely I must be present to give them a lot of energy and encourage them to “free themselves”, try to talk a little more with them and listen to them.
Since Gonzalo communicated his choice to me, I have started thinking about the speech to give to my teammates before a match. I have an idea in mind, but I believe I will let myself be guided by the emotions of the moment.
This tour must become “ours”. It will be a life experience for many young people. Sometimes there may be fear of making a mistake or thinking that one is not good enough. I would like everyone to show who they are: this is the only way to carry on, as a team, the values we want to represent.
The absence of some leaders leads to an assumption of responsibility by the group. Inexperience will not be an excuse: the same level of preparedness must be shown.
