The totemic number 8 favored his club, the RCT, rather than honoring the last capes with the Nazionale.
Sergio Parisse (38), legend of Italian rugby, is not in the selection of the Azzurri for the second part of the Tournament, contrary to what had been mentioned by his coach Kieran Crowley. The emblematic third-line center explained on Thursday that he preferred to decline his selection with the Nazionale to help his club, the Rugby Club Toulonnais, in great difficulty in the Top 14.
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«The list is out and I’m not on the list. I discussed it with the coach and the president of the Italian Federation. I was planning to play one more game with the selection and I hadn’t taken into account that we would have had three games late to play, he said at a press conference. I didn’t expect us to be in this position in the standings. So there are several things that made me tell the Italian team that I preferred to stay here in Toulon.»
The international farewell of the legendary Italian captain to 142 caps has been postponed several times: first by a typhoon which led to the cancellation of the Azzurri’s last match at the last World Cup in 2019, then by the Covid-19 pandemic which had prevented him from celebrating a last cape in front of the public in Italy.
Since I arrived, I always said that my priority would be the club and Italy is a bonus
Sergio Parisse
“Since I arrived, I always said that my priority would be the club and Italy is a bonus. So I decided to stay there because we have important matches to come against Montpellier and La Rochelle. I want to stay in Toulon given our situation. I want to help the club get out of this situation. Otherwise yes, I could have been available for Italy. But in agreement with the Italian team, I informed them of my decision to stay in Toulon. There is disappointment on their part, me the first too. But in life you have to make choices and this is the most coherent choice.
Will we then see Sergio Parisse again in the blue jersey of Italy? Nothing is closed, according to him. ” We never know. Three years ago I would never have thought of wearing the Toulon jersey one day. Now I’m here and even if I haven’t been here for a long time, I feel fully invested with the club. So you never know in life.” A devotion that will delight the Toulon supporters, quite upset with the results of their club. The RCT is currently 12th in the Top 14, two points ahead of 13th, Perpignan, but two games late to play. The Varois travel this Saturday (5 p.m.) to Aguiléra to challenge the red lantern, Biarritz. A match already crucial for the race to maintain.
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