Andrea Masi
 | |||
| Full name | Andrea Masi | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 30 March 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb) [1] | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Fullback / Wing / Centre / Fly-half | ||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1997–2003 2003–2006 2006–2009 2009–2011 2011–2012 2012– |
L'Aquila Viadana Biarritz Olympique Racing 92 Aironi Wasps |
103 44 45 33 8 49 |
(159) (50) (20) (20) (0) (20) |
| correct as of 28 August 2015. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1999 - | Italy | 95 | (65) |
| correct as of 19 September 2015. | |||
Andrea Masi (born 30 March 1981) is an Italian rugby union footballer. His usual position is in the centres but he has also played at fly-half and at full-back. He currently plays for the English Premiership club Wasps.[2] As to September 2012 Masi won also 69 full caps for the national team, and was a part of their squad at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France and the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Masi was born in L'Aquila, Abruzzo. He was recognized as a talented player at an early age, and he made his debut for L'Aquila at the age of 16. He was soon called up for national selection, and made his international debut for Italy against Spain in 1999. He became a regular in the Italian squad, but did not feature in the Six Nations until 2003 when he appeared against England.
He joined Viadana in 2003 and was also included in Italy's squad for the World Cup in Australia that year. He had his 2005 season disrupted by injury. In the 2008 Six Nations Championship, new coach Nick Mallett played Masi at fly-half, a role he had not played before but many experts believed this move was unsuccessful and he was moved to full-back for the start of the 2009 Six Nations Championship.
In March 2011, Masi was named the 2011 Six Nations Player of the Championship. Masi scored Italy's late try in their first ever Championship win against France.[3][4]
In June 2011 he joined the Pro12 Italian franchise Aironi then, when the team was discontinued in 2012, he eventually joined Wasps.[2]
References
- ↑ "FrenchRugbyClub Racing-Métro 92 squad". FrenchRugbyClub.com. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
- 1 2 "Wasps sign Italy centre Andrea Masi from defunct Aironi". The Guardian. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
- ↑ "Masi wins Six Nations player award". Irish Times. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- ↑ "Italy's Andrea Masi voted Player of the Six Nations". BBC News Sport. 23 March 2010. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.