Italian club enters French local comp.

[damp squib]

On 07/09/2017 at 11:13 PM, ColT said:

Mirco Bergamasco is the younger brother of the more well known Mauro. Mirco was playing briefly for Sacramento in the US league last year after being cut from the Zebre squad.

Although Mauro's Union career had more longevity, I'd say Mirco was more well known at their peak. He was probably Italy's most high profile player after Parisse for about five years. A great name to have on board with Italia RL.

[MatthewWoody]

2 hours ago, JoneslessBishop said:

So the Roosters shouldn't be considered then trailblazers for Italian RL then. They are not at a higher level than italian domestic teams. More of a interesting geographical anomaly? If an Italian team were the enter the French structures to raise the standard the Italian players play at (like Catalan and Toulouse Gav moving into the UK system), would there be better equipppwd clubs to do so, who have some of the geographical advantages of Saluzzo?

Of course geography helps, but – back on rl terms –as I said it is a learning curve and in 2-3 years I think we'll see the result of their exposure to French RL culture. 
They're not better than the other Italian domestic team but some of team have been playing – though I reckon the season is very short – for years and years in the competition (XIII Ducato, ecc.) and their head coaches are very good and prepared. Saluzzo will grow, although their status can't be compared, atm, to the examples you mentioned. The quality of Italian domestic team coyuld be underrated by many, but they generally do well in Internationals played under domestic quota rule (see Lebanon, where they almost won, and Spain, ecc.), thanks to the increased level of the Italian coaches – They are, above Mediterranean RL nations, leaders in terms of coach/ref courses etc. 
I think Saluzzo could (should?) be the leader of RL in Piedmont and attract in their teams other players who enjoy RL so much to play it both in Winter and Summer. This, together with the habit to play rl all year long, could help the whole Italian movement but yes, I've never seen Saluzzo as the Italian version of the Catalans, ecc. 
What I love of their initiative is that they're teaching mini-rugby-league to kids, too. This could work very well, if we manage to have young players having their first contact with rugby through our code. 

[damp squib]

3 minutes ago, MatthewWoody said:

I think Saluzzo could (should?) be the leader of RL in Piedmont and attract in their teams other players who enjoy RL so much to play it both in Winter and Summer. This, together with the habit to play rl all year long, could help the whole Italian movement but yes, I've never seen Saluzzo as the Italian version of the Catalans, ecc. 
What I love of their initiative is that they're teaching mini-rugby-league to kids, too. This could work very well, if we manage to have young players having their first contact with rugby through our code. 

This is why Saluzzo are important. It's relatively easy to pull together a decent RL team in a country with plenty of Union players as we see with Ireland and Scotland. It's much more difficult to build a proper Rugby League club.

[MatthewWoody]

4 minutes ago, damp squib said:

Although Mauro's Union career had more longevity, I'd say Mirco was more well known at their peak. He was probably Italy's most high profile player after Parisse for about five years. A great name to have on board with Italia RL.

Yes, Mauro lasted more at Int level, but Mirco was one of my favourite players during his old days. 
I mean, that kick v France...
What I like of Mirco is that he really loves our code, too. He'd been cheering the Italy squad on social media in 2013 and told me he's always followed our game with passion. His skills, at his peak, were incredible. 
Btw, he's still very recognized above the Italian non-rugby-people, because he's, say, photogenic and has an intertesting character. He's partecipating to lots of tv shows (do you have Dance Dance Dance in England?) and is very active on the social media. 
I didn't attend the test v Spain in June, but a friend of mine told me Mirco and Gioele (the former Newcastle Thunder guy, not playing 1st grade in Tully/Cairns) were too strong for anybody on the field that day. ?

[MatthewWoody]

4 hours ago, damp squib said:

This is why Saluzzo are important. It's relatively easy to pull together a decent RL team in a country with plenty of Union players as we see with Ireland and Scotland. It's much more difficult to build a proper Rugby League club.

Yes, I'm with you. 
And that's why it's good to talk about them. These guys really enjoyed this code so much that they moved totally to rl. 
Their kits are beautiful, too, so if anybody here wants to buy some and help them ... ?
From what I hear, they're being professional and effective in attracting local sponsors, too. 
This 2nd year is the most crucial, imho, because it's easy to be enthusiastic at the beginning, but the real work starts now...

[MatthewWoody]

Wrote an article about them for the Red Elephant – Cultural Pulse RLWC2017 Team Italia Fan Club Newsletter: 

Italy Team News – Saluzzo North West Roosters
October 5, 2017

[RayCee]

28 minutes ago, MatthewWoody said:

Wrote an article about them for the Red Elephant – Cultural Pulse RLWC2017 Team Italia Fan Club Newsletter: 

Italy Team News – Saluzzo North West Roosters
October 5, 2017

I read the article and it was very positive. I hope they can succeed and progress. 

[MatthewWoody]

Though I must say it's hard to write in English ??

[oiseau]

Just watched a great game between Marseille Avenir v Saluzzo, the home side probably just about deserved the win but the Italians could well have pipped them but for some silly basic errors close to the French line. Top entertainment for the sparse crowd and the 26-18 defeat was seen as a good result by the Italians who seem to be heading in the right direction. Yet another 10 hur round trip for them next weekend as they play at Salon de Provence, now that's what I call dedication !!!

[MatthewWoody]

50 minutes ago, oiseau said:

Just watched a great game between Marseille Avenir v Saluzzo, the home side probably just about deserved the win but the Italians could well have pipped them but for some silly basic errors close to the French line. Top entertainment for the sparse crowd and the 26-18 defeat was seen as a good result by the Italians who seem to be heading in the right direction. Yet another 10 hur round trip for them next weekend as they play at Salon de Provence, now that's what I call dedication !!!

If you have made some pictures, just send them to me if you don't mind.
Happy to hear a so positive feedback about Saluzzo. 

[oiseau]

23 minutes ago, MatthewWoody said:

If you have made some pictures, just send them to me if you don't mind.
Happy to hear a so positive feedback about Saluzzo. 

I did take a couple  Matthew but they may not be brilliant, i'll try to send what I have.

 

[oiseau]

31 minutes ago, MatthewWoody said:

If you have made some pictures, just send them to me if you don't mind.
Happy to hear a so positive feedback about Saluzzo. 

The thing that impressed me was the sheer enthusiasm running through the club. At the end the coach (Elio ?) gave them a 'warm down' just like some of the SL sides, it was all 'professional' in attitude. Discipline is good but the errors cost them, but they don't need me to tell them that !

[langpark]

Great news!!  Thank you for the insight!!  I have been keenly following their progress online, but it's great to get someone's perspective who's watched them live.

It sounds like they might be on track to win a few matches this year!  Good luck to them!

[oiseau]

Think of them this weekend as they make the five-hour trek to Salon de Provence in three minibuses driven by themselves then the game and the long trip back.....

Speaking with the manager, Marie-Christine (the only person who speaks French, that's why she was asked to do it) and the coach and the problem isn't really money but knowledge and help with coaching methods etc They are a raw bunch who need some 'polishing' up a bit !

They could well win more matches this season but they are still up for it even when they take a pasting, the passion is amazing.

[langpark]

Arles XIII it seems are not able to travel to Saluzzo tomorrow and have forfeited.  REALLY disappointing for Saluzzo, that they would make so many trips in a season and their opponent cannot make just one to go and play against them.

 

 

[MatthewWoody]

Tough day and maybe a reality check for Saluzzo. 
But it's still a learning curve and improvements will come. 

 

 

[oiseau]

Yeah, a bit of a shock after only losing by ten points in the previous game with Marseille. Entraigues will be another big test, good luck to them.

[DoubleD]

Is Bergamasco back with them after his successful World Cup?

[MatthewWoody]

8 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Is Bergamasco back with them after his successful World Cup?

Left them well before the WC. He's played for the Leoni Veneti in the Summer. 

[oiseau]

Apparently he wanted too much to play for the Roosters.

 

[MatthewWoody]

Or the other team was closer to where he lives...

[oiseau]

No, Matthew W, I was told by a club official he asked for too much money.

[MatthewWoody]

I'm nobody to judje a professional players' requests, to be honest. 
We'll see what happens in the future but I just don't find anything strange in somebody coming from a lifelong professional career asking for some money. Of course this is not the right place to discuss this kind of matters, but I wouldn't blame him if what you've been told comes to be true. 

[B rad]

I wonder if you could have a Italian team in the English comp using a lot of the players from the RLWC side. Most of those guys are not A-grade NRL players but still very good football players coming from QLD cup and Sydney competitions. Those guys and a few of the NRL guys who are not super stars would give them a very formidable side to start off with and might push into Super League years down the track. They could create the back bone of the team with a few local players filling in the gaps until the local league got up to scratch.

A higher level of competition might be a good way to sell the game to the local supporters and media seeing the game played at a higher standard. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Italy_national_rugby_league_team_players

http://www.rlwc2017.com/teams#Italy

 

Some of those kind of players would love to get out of Sydney and play in Milan or where ever for something different. They could use the Roosters as a feeder club.

 

 

[westside]

13 minutes ago, B rad said:

I wonder if you could have a Italian team in the English comp using a lot of the players from the RLWC side. Most of those guys are not A-grade NRL players but still very good football players coming from QLD cup and Sydney competitions. Those guys and a few of the NRL guys who are not super stars would give them a very formidable side to start off with and might push into Super League years down the track. They could create the back bone of the team with a few local players filling in the gaps until the local league got up to scratch.

A higher level of competition might be a good way to sell the game to the local supporters and media seeing the game played at a higher standard. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Italy_national_rugby_league_team_players

 

Milan hasn't had a club in Italian RU's top flight for years, since 90s powerhouse Amatori Milano declined and then folded. Their ex arena is very cool, in the heart of the city and built about 200 years ago. Would be a great spot for a RL club.