Capuozzo set to become a giant of rugby

ANGE CAPUOZZO has always been the little one. Ever since he first picked up a rugby ball on the outskirts of Grenoble and would be tackled on the bed by his father Franck, Capuozzo has been fighting against bigger and stronger rivals.

At a little under 6ft and just over 11st, he is one of Test rugby’s smallest players in what is now a land of giants. That hasn’t stopped Capuozzo becoming one of his sport’s breakout stars.

The 23-year-old is the new face of Italian rugby with his stunning performance in Cardiff in March helping the Azzurri to their first Six Nations win since 2015. Life has not been the same since.

The number of followers on Capuozzo’s social media exploded on the back of Italy’s victory over Wales. He is now constantly in demand for interviews and has received numerous endorsement offers. In May, he and his girlfriend Emma stepped into the world of glitz and glamour at the Monaco Grand Prix.

For next season, Capuozzo will join Toulouse and add to a back-line which already contains the world’s No1 player Antoine Dupont and his fellow France internationals Romain Ntamack and Melvyn Jaminet.

‘This season has changed my life,’ Capuozzo tells the Mail on Sunday in Batumi ahead of Italy’s clash with Georgia.

‘We have started a new adventure with the Italian team and after Cardiff, my life has changed with a lot of new followers on social media and autograph and interview requests. It’s a pleasure. The first thing for me when I play rugby is to make the fans happy.’

Capuozzo has certainly done that. Here in Georgia he has been besieged by selfie hunters at Italy’s team hotel, but has impressed the Azzurri management with his intelligence and humble approach.

Perhaps that is not surprising given Capuozzo loves to paint and retains a keen interest in current affairs away from his sport. He has arrived at rugby’s top level via an unconventional route.

Born in Le Pont-de-Claix on the outskirts of Grenoble, Capuozzo represented his home city club until the end of last season.

The fact he has become a Six Nations star and earned the attention of giants Toulouse is remarkable given he’s been playing for a mid-table team in France’s second division. ‘I started to play rugby with my father on the bed when I was three years old and then on the park close to my house,’ says Capuozzo, who is fluent in French and Italian and speaks through an interpreter while occasionally bursting into broken English.

‘I played football. I had two years doing boxing and one in judo — that was just with my friends. I’m not so big, but I do like to fight! I think every person in life should have a lot of interests to switch off from their first job and try and improve. It’s about personal development. Rugby all the time is not so good.

‘I do painting and play PlayStation. I also like to look at the world and what is happening. I like to be informed. We are in Georgia and close to Russia right now. I’ve followed the Ukraine war.

‘It is awful, but we are safe where we are. The focus is on rugby.’

Capuozzo starts at fullback for Italy against a Georgian side set on victory as a means of proof they should be in the Six Nations.

‘Rugby is now more physical than in the past. There are a lot of tough players and games. The approach I have for every match is to only focus on the mind,’ Capuozzo says.

‘If I have 100 per cent concentration, I will never be scared. We know how important this Georgia match is for us. What’s happened this season is bigger than I could have dreamed.

‘It’s been such a pleasure to play with Italy and now to have joined Toulouse in the Top 14. I still have the same dream now as I did when I first started to play rugby. I’ve appreciated a lot what’s happened — for example the Wales match with Italy — but I still want to improve.’

Italy hope the talented Capuozzo can breathe new life into the country’s rugby in a nation which will likely always be dominated by football. He has already given Italian fans plenty to cheer about and he is set to give them more to celebrate in the years to come.

Keep an eye on him. He’s one to watch.