Ricky Riccitelli

Ricky Riccitelli
Date of birth (1995-02-03) 3 February 1995
Place of birth Durban, South Africa
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight 102 kg (225 lb)
School Francis Douglas Memorial College
University University of Otago
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Hooker, Prop
Provincial/State sides
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2015– Hawke's Bay 8 (0)
correct as of 26 February 2016.
Super Rugby
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2016– Hurricanes 4 (0)
correct as of 17 March 2016.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2015 New Zealand under-20 7 (0)
correct as of 20 June 2015.

John "Ricky" Riccitelli (born 3 February 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays in the hooker position for Hawke's Bay and the Wellington based Super Rugby side the Hurricanes.[1]

Early life

Riccitelli was born in Durban, South Africa. He then migrated to New Zealand when he was four-years old after his mum got a job in the country. He grew up in New Plymouth where he attended Francis Douglas Memorial College.[2] Riccitelli, was the school's sportsman of the year in 2012. He represented Taranaki at under-14, 16 and 18 levels and gained Hurricanes under-16 tournament team selection in 2012. While studying at Otago University for the past three years, Riccitelli had played for the Southern club in Dunedin. He also excelled at cricket representing Taranaki through the grades, his school's 1st XI for four years as well as the Central Districts under-19 squad.[3]

Domestic career

Hawke's Bay

While there was interest from other provincial unions for Riccitelli, he signed a two-year deal with Hawke's Bay after coach Craig Philpott confirmed the signing in May 2015. Philpott was impressed with his performance after noticing him at the New Zealand under-20 trial camps.[3] He made his debut for the province in 2015, playing the season's first two out of three Ranfurly Shield matches against Horowhenua-Kapiti and Mid Canterbury.[4] He made a further six appearances during the 2015 ITM Cup season.

Hurricanes

Riccitelli joined the Hurricanes after being called up into the squad to replace the injured Dane Coles. He made his Super Rugby debut when being announced in the squads 23-man team to play the Brumbies in their season opener.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Ricky Riccitelli Hawke's Bay Profile". 2 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Focus now on Ranfurly Shield for Ricky Riccitelli". Stuff. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Rugby: Magpies sign young gun". Hawke's Bay Today. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Will it be lucky number 14 for the Ranfurly Shield challengers?". ITM Cup. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "New Hurricanes captain Dane Coles has to wait to lead the team out". Stuff. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.