Latest news with #Vintcent
IOL News
05-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Negri, Vintcent living the Italian dream but haven't forgotten their South African roots as they tackle the Springboks
I caught up with the pair at their Sandton hotel in Johannesburg between training sessions. The likeable pair are roommates, with the 31-year-old Negri — a veteran of 65 Tests — taking 23-year-old Vintcent under his wing. Negri qualified for Italy through his Italian father, and Vintcent has an Italian grandfather. Flanker Sebastian Negri and No 8 Ross Vintcent were schooled at Hilton College in the KZN midlands and Bishops in Cape Town, respectively, and while they could not be prouder to be wearing the blue of the Azzurri, they can't deny their Mzansi roots. Tonight, two members of the Italian team will be forgiven if they have a tear in their eye during the South African national anthem before kick-off against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld. 'It will be a bit strange hearing the SA anthem because I grew up watching the Boks every Saturday," the baby-faced Vinctent said. 'Wherever I was in the world, I'd watch the Springboks and I would be singing the anthem. 'It will be a bit of a weird feeling,' Vintcent continued. 'I am trying not to think about it too much and am focusing on the rugby, but it will be quite an emotional game for me.' Negri added.'I grew up a massive Bok supporter and still am. Our job is to play for Italy, and I take huge pride in that privilege, but when Italy is not playing, I am a full-on Bok supporter. 'I will have a few goose bumps listening to the SA anthem because that is what we grew up listening to,' Negri added. 'I also owe a great deal to South Africa. That makes it sentimental for me.' Vintcent is originally from Joburg and moved to the Cape when he was in grade 10, where he encountered future Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. 'Everyone knew Sacha would become a Bok,' he said. 'When I arrived at Bishops, he was the biggest thing at our school. He had the confidence of a future Springbok, but he wasn't arrogant. He did some amazing things at schoolboy level, stuff that was too good for the opposition.' Negri was born in Zimbabwe, and his family suffered the trauma of the government's brutal land reforms. 'It was hectic. I was still quite young. Dad came into the house one day and said, 'Pack a small bag.' We left home and never saw it again. We lost three farms in the space of a day or two,' Negri explained. 'In our time of crisis, our Italian family in Harare helped us massively. That is what makes it special every time I put on an Italy jersey. I know that I am not only representing myself and my close family, but the extended family that was there for us when we needed help. That makes it extra special for me. 'The big thing for my parents was to get us into the best schools, and South Africa was a good option,' Negri said. 'I went to Clifton Prep in Nottingham Road. That is where my passion for rugby got going. I got a sports scholarship to Hilton, and the rugby grew and grew. 'I grew up as a Sharks fan, watching the likes of John Smit, Keegan Daniel and Butch James,' Negri recalls. 'I watched the Sharks every weekend when I wasn't playing sport. My dad and I would be the first in the queue at Kings Park to get tickets.' Interestingly, both Negri and Vintcent were backline players at school level before moving to the forwards. Negri was a fullback and flyhalf until the age of 15. 'I've still got the moves!' Negri laughed while Vintcent rolled his eyes. 'Those Hilton breakfasts and the SA food made me grow, and I went to the forwards.' Vintcent, who plays for the Exeter Chiefs in England, said progress in the gym resulted in a switch to loose forward. 'I played scrumhalf and flyhalf until I got to Bishops, and Sacha was the flyhalf, so taking him out was a bit hard,' Vintcent chuckled. 'So I played for the U16 B at flyhalf. In my matric year, the coach said, 'Vintcent, you have been hitting the gym hard, how about transferring to No 8?' I said, 'Sure, I will give it a go.' 'We played Paarl Gim and narrowly lost. I loved it in the back row and it stuck.' Vintcent studied for a degree in economics at Exeter University. Not long ago, he was delivering pizzas to augment his income. He learned the Italian national anthem by Google Translate, but is now close to fluent in Italian. Negri has been in the Italy set-up since 2016. He was at Hartpury University in England at the time. He played against the Springboks in a fierce pool game at the 2019 World Cup. 'That was very physical!' Negri said. 'I played them recently in Genoa, too. Physically, the Boks are the toughest team in world rugby.' The Italians have had their challenges in the Six Nations but over the last two seasons are on the up under coach Gonzalo Quesada, the former Argentina flyhalf. 'I have been in the system for a long time. I see a bright future for the Italian national team. There is a core of young guys playing very good rugby. They will take the team forward,' Negri said. 'This tour to South Africa is about exposing younger guys to what it is like playing against the best. These Tests are like World Cup games — you are playing the best in the world. These two Tests in Pretoria and Gqeberha are about giving everything we can, and whatever happens, happens. It will be a great experience for everyone. Vintcent adds, 'I love playing as the underdogs. I prefer it when there is no expectation. You have nothing to lose and can express yourself. That makes us dangerous.'
Telegraph
06-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Inside Italy's South African scouting network
When Ross Vintcent made his Italy debut last year he already had an interesting back story, delivering Domino's pizzas while studying at Exeter University before exploding into the Premiership with Exeter Chiefs. However, Vintcent is also the first player to benefit from a system set up by the Italian Rugby Federation [FIR] to scout for players in South Africa with Italian heritage, who could then move north to become part of the country's national academy. Vintcent, who qualifies through his maternal grandfather, found himself at a crossroads following the end of his time in schools rugby at Bishops in Cape Town. He made contact with the FIR and was soon training with the Under-20s. The back-row was such a success that a previously unofficial arrangement between the FIR and Tom Negri, Vintcent's agent, turned into a formalised program in 2023. If Negri's name sounds familiar that is because his younger brother, Sebastian, has been one of Italy's best players for the past decade. Negri works for a sports agency called Octagon and the FIR are now one of their clients, with Negri scouring South Africa for young players with Italian ancestry before recommending them. These are not potential project players looking to qualify on residency – they only deal with those who have Italian parents or grandparents. And even once a player is put forward by Negri, they must undergo an FIR vetting process to ensure they have the right profile. Two players have recently followed in Vintcent's footsteps; Patrick de Villiers, a centre from Pietermaritzburg who has represented Italy Under-20s and Under-23s, and prop Luca Veronesi from Durban who played for the Under-19s. Unfortunately, Veronesi has since picked up a serious back injury which could end his career. 'If you look at South Africa, there are about 50,000 Italians here, so it's quite a big population,' Negri tells Telegraph Sport. 'I saw it as a chance to offer another option for boys who might not get the right opportunity here in South Africa, because there is such a big talent pool. It was just presenting them with another avenue to ultimately achieve their goals of wanting to become professional players and on the international stage. 'The trust from the Italians came from my background and Seb being his own success story with the national team. My Italian heritage through my father and grandfather also means I have a big passion for the country and would like to help wherever possible.' For Negri, the talent identification work starts at Under-16 level. Grant Khomo week, the Under-16 provincial tournament featuring South Africa's best players in that age group, 'is when a lot of the top junior players are signed up'. This is stating the obvious, but the level of schools rugby is far superior in South Africa compared to Italy. The build-up to the local schools derby in Paarl – between Paarl Boys' High and Paarl Gimnasium – starts on the Wednesday and attracts crowds of 25,000 on the Saturday. Rugby's popularity in Italy is increasing but it still lags far behind football, emphasising the need to put the best structures in place at academy level. The national system is set for another revamp this summer. Stephen Aboud, the highly-regarded head of technical performance, is set to return to the FIR after two years as Canada's high performance director. During Aboud's first stint, a national academy was established for players between the ages of 16 and 20, with an Under-20 squad of around 40 players then competing in Serie A, the Italian domestic second tier. Taking players at the age of 16 to join one of the four academies in Rome, Prato, Milan and Treviso, who could then only play for the national academy, was not universally popular with the clubs who helped to develop them at youth level. But, the national side benefited. Aboud's departure coincided with a move to a different model, with more flexibility meaning players were instead signed to academy contracts with Benetton Treviso and Zebre, the two pro teams, and could also turn out for clubs in the second tier. The return of Aboud will mean reverting to the previous national model, with Italy's best Under-20 prospects living, training and playing together. Negri sees this as a positive. 'Stephen coming back from Canada is fantastic. The last few years there has still been a very competitive Under-20 side, but in terms of the union not having full control of the players because they're in franchise academies, that hasn't quite helped with the players' development after finishing with Italy Under-20,' Negri explains. 'If Italy are going to continue to have success and move up the world rankings they have to keep thinking outside the box and have the right people at youth level, because they are going to compete against some big team sports. Rugby is the fifth-most popular team sport in Italy, so they have a constant battle.' One or two quality players sent every year The objective now for Negri is to try and send over 'one or two quality players every year into the system' from South Africa. Those players may have visited family in Italy beforehand but tend to have no grasp of the language, going straight into Italian classes. 'They could be finishing school here and don't have the right opportunity to stay in South Africa from a rugby or studying perspective and want to go and have that experience, or might be someone who has tried the South African academy system and it hasn't worked out. Or they could be 20 or 21, Italian qualified, have now graduated from university and maybe were not ready at 18.' Obviously there are potential benefits for the Azzurri in the long run adding talented players into the national side, but one overlooked factor is the impact of those young players with experience of South Africa's elite schoolboy rugby on their new peers in the Italian system. '[South Africa is] probably the best in terms of schoolboy rugby – it is unbelievable in terms of talent and how competitive it is here,' adds Negri. 'I think Italy have obviously noticed that and now with Ross and Patrick, have seen that the players coming over have had a good first stage of development in South Africa. These players are coming over and both having an impact in the Italian system and assisting Italian players in the same age group.' Vintcent may have been the first success story from the new pipeline between South Africa and Italy, but he should not be the last.
