Martin Castrogiovanni

Martin Castrogiovanni

Martín Leandro Castrogiovanni (born October 21, 1981) is an Italian Argentine rugby union footballer. He played for Ghial Calvisano, with whom he won the Italian championship in 2005. He has since signed a new contract with Leicester Tigers, and after a successful 2006/07 season with them was named Guinness Premiership player of the season. He wears the name "Castro" on his shirt rather than "Castrogiovanni"

A native of Paraná, Argentina, Castrogiovanni made his international debut for the Italian national team on June 8, 2002, during the tour against the All Blacks, and since, has become a regular in the national side. He played every game of Italy's 2004 Six Nations campaign and was a reliable member of their forward pack, being elected man of the match in the victory against Scotland. One of his most famous moments came in 2004, when during the summer tour against Japan he scored a hat-trick, a rarity for a prop forward. He has since led the national team during the 2012 Six Nations Championship for 1 game in which Italy won versus Scotland 13-6, leading him to Tweet "Only unbeaten 6 Nations Captain".

Castrogiovanni and Marcos Ayerza signed three-year contract extensions with the Premiership champions in January 2008. In 2011 after much speculation about a move to France he declared "money isn't everything" and renewed his contract with Leicester Tigers, much to the relief of the Leicester fans as he is a firm fans favourite where the chant of "Castro" is heard often.

During the 2008 Six Nations Championship, Castrogiovanni was Italy's top try scorer.

When Castrogiovanni was younger, he played basketball, but quit after punching the ref in a match. "Well, not a punch exactly – it was part punch, part push. Whatever it was, I knew I wouldn't be playing much more basketball; I didn't even turn up for the disciplinary hearing to find out the length of my ban."