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Worcester sign Italian international Renato Giammarioli

Italy's number eight Renato Giammarioli (C) runs with the ball during the autumn international rugby union Test match between Italy and New Zealand at Stadio Olimpico in Rome (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)

Worcester Warriors have signed Italian back row Renato Giammarioli from Zebre – the club have confirmed.

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Giammarioli is the second Italian signing of the Steve Diamond era at Sixways, with fellow Azzurri Hame Faiva also on his way to the club.

The 6’2, 111kg No.8 is the seventh signing by ‘Lead Rugby Consultant’ Diamond, who will next season takeover from Alan Solomons as director of rugby.

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      Diamond has already signed Curtis Langdon and Cameron Neild from Sale, Fergus Lee-Warner and Santiago Medrano from the Western Force, hooker Hame Faiva from Benetton and Russian prop Valery Morozov from Bath.

      “Renato is a great addition to the squad. He is a very ambitious player who has a fantastic skillset. His dynamic carrying and confrontational defence will serve Warriors next season,” said Diamond.

      Giammarioli, 27, made his Italy debut in the 2017 Autumn Internationals as a replacement against South Africa. His most recent international match was against New Zealand in Rome in November.

      After playing junior rugby for Frascati, Giammarioli moved on to Calvisano to play club rugby before joining Zebre.

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      In 2014 and 2015, he represented Italy at the Under-20 level before moving on to the Emerging Players squad and eventually becoming a senior international.

      “I am very glad to start this new chapter of my career with Worcester Warriors,” Giammarioli said.

      “I am sure it will be an amazing experience that will develop my life skills both as a player and a man.

      “I am looking forward to meeting my team-mates and experiencing the glorious English rugby culture.”

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      The looseforward has already played against Worcester Warriors, facing them in the Challenge Cup earlier in the year.

      Speaking previously about his recruitment tactic, Diamond said: “The players that are coming in are not massive names. But the skill of this job is making people into big names, not buying them.

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      “Worcester have been tempted to do that plenty of times, just big household rugby names who haven’t really delivered. That’s not my bag. My bag is to bring players with experience with domestic rugby and international rugby, who are solid dependable players who you can hopefully get 20 to 25 games out of a year.

      “It’s got to be an age profile as well. You want people who are between 24 and 28, if you can, in their prime, who played 75 per cent of the games where they’re been before.”

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      MS 1 hour ago
      Why Blair Kinghorn should be nailed on as the Lions starting 15

      I can see arguments for both Kinghorn, and Keenan starting for the Lions. But I’m less convinced by some of the claims (clearly partisan) supporters are using to argue the merits of one over the other.


      For example, a number of Ireland supporters have suggested Kinghorn is ‘defensively weak’. That’s patently false - or at least on the evidence of this 6N, he’s certainly no weaker there than Keenan is, who is presumably the comparative standard they’re using. Keenan was both shrugged off in contact, and beaten on the edge for pace, a number of times during this competition.


      Equally, Scotland supporters arguing Kinghorn is the more capable ‘rugby player’ seem to have overlooked the (frankly sizeable) body of evidence demonstrating that Keenan is an excellent ball in hand distributor and decision maker. So that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny either.


      I don’t think there’s all that much to choose between them, and either would be a strong choice. I think it would be really interesting from a pure rugby perspective to see Keenan playing a ‘Scotland-esque’ style of high tempo attacking rugby. Either coming into the line more routinely as first receiver, or being swung as a pendulum and getting the ball on the edge against a stretched defence.


      That’s assuming Andy Farrell goes that route, of course. He may well just opt for his Ireland system instead, and populate it with the likes of Henshaw, Ringrose, Lowe and Keenan. I’m sure that would win the series. Quite what effect it might have on a Lions audience who were expecting something other than ‘Ireland on tour, but wearing red’ would remain to be seen.


      As for the debate at FB, the only ‘eye test’ difference I feel exists is in the pace of rugby Kinghorn (Toulouse? Scotland?) tends to play. His passing/offload game feels crisper and higher tempo than Keenan’s - and as we saw in Paris, his pace and eye for a gap from deep are superior.


      But again, that will only prove a decisive factor if Andy Farrell wants to play that way. If all he wants from his FB is to sit deep, field high balls, and mop up then there’s little between these two equally excellent players.

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