To watch Ange Capuozzo gliding around a pitch is to be reminded that rugby union can still be a sport where waifish athletes thrive among giants by living on their wits.
Years before establishing himself in a bold Italy team, who will aim to “roll the dice” and upset New Zealand on Friday in Lyon, Capuozzo’s intrepid attitude led to a big break.
When the Italy Under-20 side played a friendly at Grenoble, where Capuozzo had been since the age of 10, he introduced himself to the coaches of the national age-grade team.
“I wanted to go and speak to them but to remain humble; not to say that I was definitely going to play for Italy but to let them know that I was available,” he remembers. “I wanted to make that connection respectfully.”
Though born in Le Pont-de-Claix and raised in the French Alps, Capuozzo’s paternal grandparents hail from Naples. Italian food and music were part of his childhood. Capuozzo, who also has Madagascan heritage courtesy of his maternal grandfather, trialled various positions before settling at full-back.
Prior to that, scrum-half had been viewed as his most likely ticket to a professional career. But he shifted to the back three on the suggestion of the Italy set-up and credits Stephane Glas, the 37-cap France centre, for plying him with starts for Grenoble during the 2019-20 Pro D2 campaign.
Vincent Clerc, who also came through at Grenoble, and Mirco Bergamasco of Italy were two heroes. Capuozzo also name-checks the late Christophe Dominici and Jason Robinson as a pair of “special” role models. Diminutive in stature, at least relative to most peers on the field, either could cause a game – any game – to burst into life.
Steve Borthwick, the England head coach, often speaks about the “super-strengths” of players. For Freddie Steward, that unique selling point is his presence under the high ball, which is indebted to both technique and courage, but also his towering frame. When it comes to an aerial contest, a good big ‘un will beat a good little ‘un. And that truism can be applied across different facets of rugby union.
Capuozzo stands 5ft 8in tall and weighs more than five stone less than Steward, yet has a different “super strength” as an evasive, will-o-the-wisp runner. That asset suits the Italy template very nicely. Neither Cheslin Kolbe (5ft 7in) nor Kurt-Lee Arendse (5ft 10in) are giants, yet appear to have cracked South Africa’s first-choice side.
Borthwick has expanded England’s attacking horizons by trialling an alternative full-back in Marcus Smith (5ft 9in), who pinpointed 2003 hero Robinson as evidence that good little ’uns can still influence games. Robinson and Dominici, each of them 5ft 8in, inspired a young Capuozzo. In turn, the impish Italy talisman has captivated observers.
“It’s true that rugby can be a sport that puts a lot of onus on size and physical ability and it can be very difficult to stand out when you are younger if you do not have those attributes,” Capuozzo ponders.
“But one of the beautiful things about rugby is that with different positions there can be different physical attributes [that are important], so it is essential that rugby keeps those values.
“I did find it difficult trying to stand out when I was younger, but I am proud of myself and of what I have been able to achieve in what is a combat sport, where you need those physical attributes.”
A distinctive mentality helps, too. While slight of frame, Capuozzo clearly harbours steely self-belief.
“To play the way that I play, I need to be clear and free in my head,” he explains. “In certain moments, you have to follow structure. But as a player, I feel I need that freedom to express myself on the pitch.”
Capuozzo has certainly shone over the past 18 months, beginning in March 2022 with the slaloming break at the Principality Stadium that set up Edoardo Padovani’s match-winning try. He calls that moment his favourite of a whirlwind rise, because of what the last-gasp victory over Wales, which broke a run of 36 Six Nations defeats, meant to Italy.
Later that year, Capuozzo beat Henry Arundell, Mack Hansen and Dan Sheehan to land World Rugby’s breakthrough player award. A move from Grenoble to Toulouse, tracing the steps of Clerc, followed and Romain Ntamack has been particularly “inspirational” as a new team-mate. While successive scapula injuries derailed last season after a sparkling display at Twickenham in which he beat 14 defenders, Capuozzo and Italy have a fascinating fortnight ahead.
Kieran Crowley’s side bagged seven tries in a 52-8 thrashing of Namibia and then pushed through a sticky period against Uruguay, turning a 17-7 half-time deficit into a 38-17 triumph. They have never come remotely close to overturning New Zealand, but will qualify for a quarter-final if they spring an upset on Friday evening.
If not, the last group game against France gives them one more shot at the knockouts. Italy are sure to give it a crack. Crowley has fostered a free-flowing, expansive style embodied by the intuitive Capuozzo.
“We have a group that is very difficult, but they are all difficult at the World Cup,” the 24-year-old says. “The tournament as a whole is difficult. We’re going to go out there and be true to ourselves and play the way we play. We are going to try to entertain the supporters; roll the dice and maybe scare the All Blacks and France.”
Italian Rugby works with UK-based Aramis Rugby, the world’s leading rugby equipment manufacturer. Aramis provides training and scrummaging equipment to all of Italy’s national teams.
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