Nick Mallett announces Franco Sbaraglini as replacement for injured Tommaso D'Apice – Rugby News
The Italy’s national Rugby Union team’s head coach, Nick Mallett, has announced the experienced international front row forwards’ player, Franco Sbaraglini, as a replacement for their injured hooker, Tommaso D'Apice. Mallett announced Sbaraglini as a stand
in for D’Apice in Italy’s 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) 30–man squad, on Friday, September 23.
Earlier in this week, D’Apice sustained an injury to his left knee during Italy’s last encounter against Russia on Tuesday, September 20. Later, the player went through a series of tests which diagnosed a serious ligament injury to his knee.
The doctors have given the hooker 21 days of recovery time from the injury, which has effectively ruled out his participation in any of the Italy’s remaining games in the global tournament. Italy has two more pool matches to be played against the USA Eagles
and Ireland on September 27 and October 2, respectively.
Italy is placed in pool C. They lost their 2011 RWC opener against the Wallabies but bounced back strongly to deliver a 53 – 17 defeat to the Bears.
Italy had to wait for the verification of RWC medical staff on the injury of the D’Apice to announce their replacement in the squad. The RWC medical staff officially confirmed the injury to D’Apice on Friday, September 23.
The Mar del Plata born Hector Franco Sbaraglini made his international debut for Italy against Scotland at Murrayfield in February 2008. He was initially left out of Mallett’s 30-man 2011 RWC squad. He has played five international games for the Azzurri’s,
which includes one start, while he participated in the remaining games from the bench. His first and only international place in the starting xv came during Italy’s 2009 tour of Australia, in which he made his full debut against the Wallabies at Melbourne
on June 20, 2009.
The 28-year-old Sbaraglini played his last international match against the Springboks during June 2010. He plays his club rugby for the Italian Rugby Union club, Benetton Treviso.
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