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Italy’s first World Rugby Hall of Famer is from Argentina. World Rugby announced Sergio Parisse as one of five inductees to the Hall of Fame in 2024. Parisse will be Inductee No.169 and the first to have played for Italy. World Rugby’s announcement notes that Parisse is arguably Italy’s greatest player and one of the best number eights the game has ever seen.
Parisse is the first player to captain a team in 50 or more matches in Six Nations history. A career highlight saw Parisse captaining Italy to historic wins over South Africa and Australia. As a professional he was a Top 14 champion with Stade Français on two ocassions.
Parrise was born in Argentina, raised in Argentina and is a rugby product of Universitario de La Plata. His family moved to Italy during the Argentine financial crisis when Sergio Parisse was 17. He was both professional player and capped by Italy as a teenager.
Parisse debuted for Italy in 2002 against New Zealand as an 18-year-old. He retired with 142 caps making him the fourth most capped player in history behind Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones and New Zealanders Samuel Whitelock and Richie McCaw.
Parisse is the first Italian test player in the Hall of Fame and the fifth player from Argentina. He is also the first forward from Argentina. He follows backs Hugo Porta, Agustín Pichot, Felipe Contepomi and Juan Martín Hernández. Porta was inducted in 2008, Pichot in 2011, Contepomi in 2017 and Hernández in 2023.
The five inductees for 2025 are Emilee Cherry (Australia), DJ Forbes and Chris Laidlaw (New Zealand), Donna Kennedy (Scotland) and Parisse (Italy). The ceremony will take place alongside the 2024 World Rugby Awards in Monaco on November 24.
