17 - 21

Wasps announce Minozzi with 'Super Mario' mash-up

18 Feb 2019

Italy international Matteo Minozzi has signed for Wasps

Wasps have agreed to sign Italy international Matteo Minozzi for the 2019-20 season – and announced the deal in unusual fashion on Monday.

Minozzi, who can play at full-back or on the wing, joins from Zebre after it was confirmed Elliot Daly would be departing the Ricoh Arena for Saracens.

The Premiership club revealed the news with a clip uploaded to social media in which Minozzi takes the place of legendary video game character ‘Super Mario’, adding the hashtag #SuperMatteo.

Minozzi has missed much of this season with a knee injury, which has kept him out of the Six Nations, and director of rugby Dai Young hopes Wasps can provide a platform for him to shine.

“Matteo has bags of promise and already at such a young age, he’s got plenty of international experience under his belt,” said Young.

“He was tremendous at last year’s Six Nations with four tries in five games, and it’s a shame we’re not going to see him in the tournament this year.

“No doubt when he recovers he will be playing at the World Cup – and hopefully he’ll be able to give Wasps fans a taste of what they’ll be seeing at the Ricoh next season.”

? #SuperMatteo ?? pic.twitter.com/FujP2MXpNn
— Wasps Rugby (@WaspsRugby) February 18, 2019

Minozzi, who was named in the official team of the tournament and was also shortlisted for the best player award after the 2018 Six Nations, is eager to challenge himself at a higher level.

He said: “Having spoken with friends of mine at Wasps, they couldn’t speak highly enough of the club.

“It was an easy decision for me and I can’t wait to test myself in the Premiership at a fantastic club with lots of history.”

Hong Kong SVNS | Day 1

Behind the Scenes with the Australian Rugby Sevens Team in Hong Kong | HSBC SVNS Embedded | Episode 9

The Rise of Kenya | The Report

New Zealand in Hong Kong | Brady Rush | Sevens Wonders | Episode 4

When the referee is put in an impossible position? | Whistle Watch

The Fixture: How This Rugby Rivalry Has Lasted 59 Years

Boks Office | Episode 38 | Six Nations Round 5 Review

Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

Comments

0 Comments

Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Latest Features

LONG READ

The technical tweaks that could send Wales back to rugby's top table

Even though Matt Sherratt wasn't able to engineer a win, he showed tentative signs of a new Welsh way that could make them more competitive

LONG READ

Alex Masibaka: 'I was on a stag do in Barcelona when Gregor Townsend called'

The Angouleme bulldozer has charted a remarkable voyage from Western Australia to the senior Scotland squad.

LONG READ

‘You feel the interest, that motivates you too’: Guido Petti wooed by Quins' personal touch

The Pumas lock will be living in Twickenham and playing big games there later this year, but wants to leave Bordeaux on a high.

Comments on RugbyPass

SG 28 minutes ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

England have absolutely no need for him. Tom Willis and Ben Earl are better with a much higher work rate.

7 Go to comments

Thomas Walsh 33 minutes ago

Super Rugby Pacific's rebirth can finally restore the missing All Blacks edge

I’m a musician, and not long ago, I was scammed out of $12,000 by a fake music streaming service called Streamify Pro. It’s a story I never thought would happen to me, but it did, and I feel it’s important to share it, especially for other artists in the music industry who might be vulnerable to the same scam. I got an email from what seemed like a legitimate music streaming platform, offering me an opportunity to get my music on a huge new service. They promised high visibility, global exposure, and the chance to generate more revenue from streams. It seemed like a dream come true for an independent musician like me, who is always looking for ways to grow my audience. The email looked official, and they even provided testimonials from artists who’d “made it big” by using their service. They had a polished website with all the right buzzwords, making everything look very convincing. They also gave me a “special deal” on their package, offering me placement on their platform for a fee of $12,000. It was a hefty amount, but I thought it was worth the investment, considering the exposure they promised. I transferred the money, but soon after, things started to feel off. My music was never uploaded to their platform. They stopped responding to my emails, and the phone number they gave me went straight to voicemail. I tried to do some research and found that there were no actual reviews or artists talking about the service online. It hit me hard—I had just lost $12,000.That’s when I reached out to ASSET RESCUE SPECIALIST. I was feeling desperate and didn’t know what else to do. They were incredibly responsive and understood exactly what I was going through. They launched an investigation into the scam and worked tirelessly to recover the full amount that I had lost. To my amazement, they were able to recover 100% of the $12,000 I had been scammed out of. Since then, I’ve been recommending ASSET RESCUE SPECIALIST to other musicians. They did what seemed impossible, and their service was absolutely worth it. If you’re a musician or anyone in the creative industry, be cautious about these types of scams. I learned the hard way, but thanks to ASSET RESCUES SPECIALIST, I got all of my money back.DM FOR MORE DETAILS:mail: assetrescuespecialist@qualityservice.comWhatsApp:+ 1 9 0 3 5 5 9 1 7 3 3.support@assetrescuespecialist.com.

19 Go to comments

Virginia Jarrah 49 minutes ago

'Right now he is very emotional' - Scotland send veteran home after neck injury

I was drawn into investing by an FX trader I met on Instagram who promised exceptional returns. Enthusiastic about the opportunity, I invested a total of $73,000 over five weeks. However, whenever I tried to withdraw my earnings, they kept inventing excuses related to additional fees and taxes. Frustrated and feeling trapped, I eventually realized I had been scammed. During my search for help, I found a post about BOTNET CRYPTO RECOVERY, a company specializing in recovering lost funds from fraudulent schemes. Initially hesitant, I took the chance and contacted them. After sharing my transaction details, I was surprised to receive $73,000 back into my wallet within just seven hours. I’m incredibly grateful to BOTNET CRYPTO RECOVERY for their professional and effective service. If you’re in a similar situation, I highly recommend reaching out to them for help.

Contact them with the information below.

( botnet crypto recovery @ groupmail . c o m )

webssite on - www.botcryptorecovery.com

0 Go to comments

JW 50 minutes ago

'Ulster, though no one wants to admit it, isn't much more than a development province right now.'

No full games on the IRU YT channel unfortunately, all on subscription? Looks a fairly good level (1A).

Yes I mean I wouldn’t really know the local ratio of origin here, but certainly as a province with less resources mine has a ratio that veers heavily towards club rep. The club stories are often the best so get probably an imbalanced proportion of coverage to where most players actually come from though.

Those were a couple of Ulster (regional) clubs too, good good. Those clubs/size towns are very much where you find most talent coming from (compared to the big city), so your productivity depends very much on your systems in place for scouting talent. With the more wealthy and popular sport of NRL (hence more info out there) I’ve seen some interesting studies on player origins in this respect, which I think would be a very balanced base of data to draw conclusions from.

Yes I’m wondering how those names as examples compare to the likes of Bryne getting squeezed out for a lack of places. I’m only thinking of effects far down the line as a result of Irelands #1 ranking and increased publicity/interest and how Irelands system will take advantage of them.

47 Go to comments

GP 56 minutes ago

James O'Connor earns first Crusaders start against Moana Pasifika

Regarding the Crusaders side . Great to see promising young lock Jamie Hannah back in the starting team. He has certainly been through the mill since debuting for the Crusaders, even before playing for Canterbury. All his hard work has paid off. Antonio Shalfoon , who has been rested for this match has been amazing locking with AB captain Scott Barrett. I really rate Jamie Hannah as one of the best young locks of which there are a few coming through. Including his Canterbury and Crusaders team mate Liam Jack. Father is Graham Jack ,he played for Canterbury and the Crusaders in the 1990’s. Older brother of Chris, who of course was an All Black.

4 Go to comments

Andrew Nichols 56 minutes ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

Gloucester are in the market for a top-class replacement ..Well why would they then be talking to HS?

7 Go to comments

Utiku Old Boy 59 minutes ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

I include Cunningham-South. He was born in England but moved to NZ at 4 yrs and learnt his rugby there. His dad was a schoolboy coach. In recent years, Teimana Harrison was - as was Brad Shields.

7 Go to comments

GB 1 hour ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

Cunningham-South was born in the UK but raised in NZ.

Makes a good point, wouldn't walk into the English set up.

Better to roll his sleeves up and play himself into the ABs

7 Go to comments

Spew_81 1 hour ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

Not sure what the ethical issue is. If it’s going for the money, it’s either do that or NZ rugby slowly dies as all the better players leave. So it’s the more lesser of two evils. Sell out a bit more as a Union, or the players sell out one by one.

41 Go to comments

Spew_81 1 hour ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

Yes, the team was similar. But the two locks made a huge difference. Kaino wasn’t a lock and Tuipolutu has only very recently started playing close to his potential (his work rate was terrible until recently).

The Irish lineout maul wouldn’t have been the weapon it was on that day if Hansen started Whitelock and Retallick (or even two proper locks). Though they wouldn’t have been guaranteed to win.

Doing the new haka when the Irish were mourning a great of theirs didn’t help. The action at the end of that haka has been interpreted negatively and some see it as a but disrespectful.

Still if the All Blacks did their normal haka they wouldn’t have been guaranteed to win.

41 Go to comments

Koro Teeps 1 hour ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

Absolutely no certainty he would make the current English squad. He’s not in the All Black conversation either. Physical, explosive player with ball in hand but sometimes struggles to impose himself fully on all aspects of the game.

7 Go to comments

DC 1 hour ago

All Black's England switch hanging by a thread

Who are the Kiwis (plural)? The only one I can think of is Ethan Root.

7 Go to comments

Gradier Walter 3 hours ago

Don't get out over your skis on the Highlanders