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Sergio Parisse reveals why he would have rather played for Italy ahead of All Blacks
By Online Editors
Former Italy captain Sergio Parisse says he would rather have played for Italy than for the All Blacks, despite his nation's lengthy unsuccessful run in the international game.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the 142-test No. 8 made the claim as his wait to cap off his test career with one final appearance for the Azzurri continues following the cancellation of matches over the past 12 months due to Typhoon Hagibis and COVID-19.
Of those 142 matches, Parisse has captained Italy 94 times, leading them to victory just 18 times, but the Argentina-born loose forward has no regrets about committing himself to his adopted nation.
“People say to me, 'Don’t you wish you had been an All Black and had all that success?' Well, no. Being Italian is who I am," the 36-year-old told The Telegraph.
“Maybe I’d have won more games but would I have the same emotions, the same experiences, the same camaraderie, the same joy?
“The most important thing in life is how you feel. If you feel a failure, then sure, that is not a good thing. But I look at my career, and I am proud of it.”
Parisse said he never thought about playing his international rugby for Argentina despite being born there, as he instead opted to ply his trade for his parent's nation of birth.
“It never occurred to me not to play for Italy,’’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
“My parents are Italian, we were brought up speaking Italian and returned home [to L’Aquila] every summer. To play for Italy was a dream, to play for my culture and my family.
“When you pull on a jersey, it is not just a piece of clothing for the day, a convenience. Loyalty, honour and trust - these are the things that mean a lot to me.’’
The third-most capped player in international rugby history will look to sign off his test career once the COVID-19 outbreak is maintained after being denied multiple opportunities to do so over the last year.
Typhoon Hagibis at last year's World Cup in Japan forced the cancellation of Italy's pool clash with the All Blacks in what was initially slated to be Parisse's swansong from the national team.
His farewell was then scheduled to be Italy's last match of this year's Six Nations campaign against England in Rome, but that fixture was also canned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Latest Comments
There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.
Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.
Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.
They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.
Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.
Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen
Go to commentsWas it? I just brought it up in some of my posts to rub it in that the AB last year nearly put 100 on a top 6N side lol
I agree to be honest. The biggest key to me that they might be jadded was none of them had mom performances, or even as good as their last three games.
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