'You need to get me': Tizzano's bold phone call from Turkey that landed a Super Rugby deal

Carlo Tizzano was “born and bred in Perth.” With scaffolding around the venue at the then-called nib Stadium, Tizzano used to watch the Force play as a youngster and dreamt of one day following in the footsteps of his rugby heroes.

Tizzano climbed through the rugby ranks out west and was later picked as the sole member from his home state in an Australian Schoolboys team in 2017. That squad included the likes of Angus Bell, Ben Donaldson, Jordan Petaia, Noah Lolesio and Harry Wilson.

The young flanker continued to chip away and realised one dream of pulling on the Force’s jersey. But this wasn’t at Super Rugby level, it was in a title-winning National Rugby Championship side in 2019.

Tizzano’s journey to play for the Western Force in Super Rugby, much like the team’s return to the competition itself, is unique. It took some time and there were speedbumps and mountains to climb along the way.

But Tizzano knows how much rugby means to people out west.

This is a rugby story like no other.

Tizzano, now 24, got a start in Super Rugby with the Waratahs. The flanker took the almost five-hour flight east in a move to Sydney and may have ruffled some feathers by saying he wanted to take Michael Hooper’s No. 7 jersey.

But when Hooper took a sabbatical in 2021, Tizzano was thrust into the starting side and didn’t look out of place. Sporting a buzz cut, the backrower led Super Rugby for tackles made with 136 after just seven matches – including 27 against boyhood club the Force.

It was an opportunity that Tizzano had taken with both hands, but returning home with the Western Force was always the goal. Eventually, it would happen, just not right away.

While negotiating with the New South Wales side, Tizzano wanted to return home to Perth “but it didn’t work out.” The hard-hitting defender stayed in Sydney for another year before heading to England after signing with Championship side Ealing.

“There weren’t many contracts available in Australia and the Tahs didn’t want to keep me on,” Tizzano told RugbyPass in February.

“It was getting to the point where I wanted to play consistent footy and Ealing were supposed to be promoted to the Premiership.

“At the end of the day the footy wasn’t great but I was supposed to be in the Premiership, I wasn’t… but I made the most of that experience.

“Just to be able to travel and play a different style of footy. It made me appreciate the game more. You appreciate Super Rugby in Australia when you’re playing in zero degrees on some cabbage mud patch.

“You really, really appreciate what you had previously.”

As Tizzano explained, it “was a process” to eventually secure a deal with the Force. During his time at Ealing, the Western Australian got in touch with coach Simon Cron.

Tizzano had never met Cron before but he had “nothing to lose” when asking the popular coach to catch up over a coffee during the Christmas period back in Perth.

“I was loving living in England and travelling and actually having a bit of fun because I’d been so serious since I was 17,” Tizzano explained. “But I was like, ‘No, I want to be playing Super Rugby. I want to be playing for the Western Force.’

“I’d obviously heard stories about Cronno so I thought I’d shoot my shot and I messaged him saying, ‘Hey mate, I’m in Perth, you keen to catch up?’ He replied, we caught up on the 2^nd of Jan in 2023 and we had a really good yarn just picking each other’s brains.

“I asked him, ‘So when am I coming home?’ He was just saying, ‘We’ll have to see what happens. It’ll be for 2024.’

“I called Cronno during their bye week in 2023, I was actually in Turkey, and I said, ‘Mate, you need to get me here. Get me here now.’ He goes, ‘Yep no dramas, you’ll have a contract tomorrow.’

“I woke up (with the) contract there. I told Ealing I wanted to leave. I got the contract on Thursday, flew on the Friday and first day on the Monday.”

Tizzano’s unwavering persistence and passion for the Force had paid off. Years after watching the team play as a young fan, the flanker was now in line to contribute during a Super Rugby campaign.

But this wild story got that much more incredible for Tizanno after an unfortunate injury to starting openside Ollie Callan. After only just arriving in Perth, coach Cron asked Tizzano to play.

After years of manifesting and “talking to my ancestors," Tizzano started in the No. 7 jersey against the Reds, Crusaders, Fijian Drua, Brumbies, Rebels and Chiefs that season.

“Ollie was having a good year but then he got injured. That first week I got back I just did a couple of rehab runs because I’d just come off ankle surgery, like I’d done two weeks of rehab running (and was) completely underdone.

“Then Ollie hurt his neck his first week there, so the next week Cronno goes to me, ‘You ready?’ I’m like, ‘Born ready mate.’

“Then played 80 minutes for the last six games and my body was ruined but it was the most fun I’ve had in terms of… so cool to be back representing the jersey. I was manifesting this moment for me to come back here to play Super Rugby when I was younger.

“Then when the Force came back into Super Rugby, just manifesting it every single night. It kept me up a few times that’s for sure.

“Talking to my ancestors for a bit trying to figure out how to get home,” he quipped. “But eventually did it and it’s been awesome. I absolutely love playing here and love representing the jersey and the state. It means a lot to me.”

Tizzano has continued to shine bright with the Western Force during the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season so far.

The flanker has started every match to date and was especially impressive during a try-scoring 80-minute performance in the shock win over the Queensland Reds at Perth’s HBF Park on Saturday.