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Montpellier sign rising Italian flyhalf star Paolo Garbisi
By Ian Cameron
In a blow for Italian club rugby and a coup for Philippe Saint-André, Montpellier have signed rising star Paolo Garbisi.
The Treviso flyhalf has been a standout for both his club in the PRO14 and for the national side, having already amassed 10 caps for the Azzurri. His kicking abilities mean that he will go some way to filling to void left by the departure of Alex Lozowski and Johan Goosen from the club.
Saint-André describes the 21-year-old as Italy's best player in this year's Guinness Six Nations.
"Paolo was the best Italian player of the last 6 Nations tournament. He is a bit like the nugget of Italian rugby.
"He really wanted to take up the challenge of progressing and playing for a big club. We, with the departure of Alex Lozowski and Johan Goosen we really needed a player like him, able to play 10, 12, 15, kicker."
He signed a two-year contract with MHR, who finished a lowly 10 in this year's Top 14.
"He really has wanted to come with us, to grow, to train in a professional structure."
Garbisi (6ft, 88kg), for his part, is looking ahead to a new adventure in a new league and country.
“I am really happy to join a big club like Montpellier!" said Garbisi. "I can't wait to resume the season and start this new chapter of my career in a new country."
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Good summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
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