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In a bar at the Valle d’Aosta ski resort last Saturday evening, there were only two people celebrating when Tommaso Menoncello raced away to seal Italy’s first win against England in rugby union, at the 33rd attempt. One of them was on the field the day Italy beat England at rugby league. Not that Gioele Celerino told the England fans who surrounded him and his pal, offering congratulations on Italy’s historic triumph. “I was too humble!” he jokes. “In the pub, everyone came over to me and the other guy and said ‘congratulations’ like we had just finished playing!”
Celerino was part of the team that beat England in a warm-up match before the World Cup in October 2013. Steve McNamara’s star-studded England side – Kevin Sinfield, Rob Burrow, Sam Tomkins et all – were stunned by an Italy team drawn from Australia, France, Argentina and England, coached by Carlo Napolitano, the son of Salford restaurateurs.
A late drop goal by Josh Mantellato clinched a 15-14 win, England ambushed by an Azzurri team that contained five players who also earned caps for Australia: Anthony Minichiello, James Tedesco, Aiden Guerra, Paul Vaughan and Anthony Laffranchi. “We had a crazy squad too,” says Celerino. “Very crazy.” It was Celerino’s first professional match. Napolitano threw him in the deep end against an England pack featuring two of the Burgess brothers, Sam and George, plus James Graham, Chris Hill, Liam Farrell, Michael McIlorum and Gareth Hock – all of whom had great careers in the NRL or Super League.
“I remember that day very well. Everything was very new,” says Celerino, then a raw kid from Asti who went on to play in five countries. “The first ball I carried I just ran into Sam Burgess – I didn’t know who he was at the time – and he smashed me. I remember running through the field seeing stars for a couple of minutes, not even knowing my name. It was an intense experience.”
The atmosphere at the Salford Community Stadium was rather sedate compared with the rocking Stadio Olimpico last Saturday night, but the result was equally satisfying for Italy. Napolitano’s team went on to beat Wales at the World Cup in the Millennium Stadium, but their epic 30-30 draw with Scotland cost them a place in the quarter-finals.
With England expected to beat Italy easily in the warm-up match, no TV or radio station deemed it worthy of live coverage. I remember driving home from Scotland’s friendly against Papua New Guinea and listening to Dave Wood’s increasingly incredulous updates to BBC 5 Live listeners as the story developed. It remains the only time England have lost to European opposition this century.
“I vividly remember big Josh slotting a field goal to put us in the lead,” says Italy’s half-back that day, Tim Maccan. “It was such a great strike in wet conditions, sailing over the roof of the grandstand. England were so shocked.” The victory was largely ignored back home. “The Italian media weren’t ready to recognise the value of this victory,” says Celerino. “But it was unbelievable. I was living a dream, and I wished to not wake up!”
Italy’s cosmopolitan World Cup squad has since dissipated to all corners. Some are still playing: Tedesco remains a star at Sydney Roosters, Paul Vaughan is at York and Brenden Santi is back at Newcastle Thunder. Most have retired: James Saltonstall works for Yorkshire Water in Bradford and Dean Parata runs a property portfolio in Manchester, while Joel Riethmuller runs a painting business in Australia and boxes for fun. Fabrizio Ciaurro, then an amateur at Coventry Bears, is back in his native Argentina. Napolitano works for the Illawarra Steelers.
Celerino went on to represent Italy a record 25 times, but the win over England was the half-back Maccan’s only appearance for the land of his grandparents. He was a very late call-up who had never been to Italy and still hasn’t. “I remember getting the phone call at 8pm on a Sunday night at home,” says Maccan, now a teacher on the Gold Coast. “I needed to be on a 7am flight to Sydney the next day for the final training session before we flew to Manchester the next day. It was a fantastic trip. There was a great energy. We were heavy underdogs against a stacked English team, so the victory meant a lot to the staff. They had been planning a moment like that for decades and didn’t want to let anyone down. But we didn’t really realise the extent of it all. The celebration after was one I’ll always remember, though.”
Like Celerino and Ciaurro, Maccan did not play in the World Cup. It was his final professional appearance. “I had achieved all I could and gained friendships to last a lifetime,” he says. “To represent my father’s side of the family and beat England was such a great way to finish my career. I’m not complaining.”
Not that anyone can watch the match; YouTube has only a few clips. The fixture did not count as an official international as both teams used too many substitutes to give time to their players before the World Cup. It’s as if it never happened.
“That day changed my life,” says Celerino. “I didn’t know whether to continue being an average player in union or try to make a career in rugby league. That experience made me say: ‘OK, Giole, let’s do something new and interesting.’ Being with champion players like the Minichiellos, Vaughan and Tedesco was the most impactful moment of my life. I decided: ‘This is a sport I can fall in love with. Let’s try this kind of life – and maybe one day I will try to develop this beautiful game in Italy as well.’”
Celerino is doing a master’s at Turin University and working for Italy’s rugby league federation, aiming to revive the sport in his homeland. Despite winning matches at each of the last three World Cups, Italy have lost their IRL full member status and were ineligible for this year’s tournament. They will be playing Norway and the Czech Republic in Europe’s fourth-tier competition this October instead. Fifteen years ago there were two competitions, with teams scattered across Italy. Now there are just a few teams, and players who are keen to pursue the code must move abroad.
Italian fans can look back on that day in 2013 – the first, and so far only, time they have played England. There is a picture of Celerino at the final whistle with his hands on his head and a stunned look on his face. “That photo is very beautiful,” he says. “I couldn’t believe it.” He has vowed to show it to anyone who mentions Italy’s win against England last Saturday.
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