Player Profile: Riccardo Crepaldi
Every year players from around the world come to Marist St Pats to build their skills and get an authentic Kiwi rugby experience. Riccardo Crepaldi has recently arrived from Italy and has been involved in the offseason training programme. We caught up with Riccardo to learn more about him and his initial experiences at Marist St Pats.
Tell us about home?
I come from a small city called Rovigo in northern Italy where rugby is the main sport and not football. My mother, father and sister all still live there. During high school, I was invited to join the Verona Rugby Academy and then the Benetton Treviso Rugby Academy.
What brought you to New Zealand?
At the end of high school, I had to make a decision: enrol at university or take a gap year and experience a foreign country. My family and I decided that the gap year would be the best thing for me and why not come to a country where rugby is the national game. So here I am!
I have also known former Marist St Pats premier player Luke Mahoney since when I was 8 years old. He played for my local rugby club Rovigo and used to be my coach as a junior. When I decided to travel to New Zealand, I contacted him and he suggested I move to Wellington and play for MSP.
How have you found Marist St Pats?
I have found MSP like a home away from home because all the people I have met since the day I arrived have been really friendly, welcoming and helpful. The skill level is high and I can’t wait for the upcoming season.
A funny story
On one of my connecting flights over to New Zealand from London to Singapore, I started talking to the man sitting next to me and told him that I was moving to Wellington to play for a club there. It turned out that that person was former Marist St Pats club captain Mike Renouf who is also friends with Luke Mahoney who I was going to be living with when I arrived for a few weeks. The world is so small!
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