By Joel Morgan, Date: 27/7/13
After the very successful championship finals that were played at CONI Acqua Acetosa (Rome) on July 13 and 14 achieving national television and .major newspaper coverage for the activity registered by the FIRFL.
Last Saturday, another event of great importance aiding in the growth of the Rugby 13 movement was reached in Avezzano, in fact, the federation staged the first all national youth event for rugby league. The National Under 17 major event was organised by coach Sebastian Velazquez, assistant Gigi Ferraro and National Coordinator of Youth Activity Massimo Nicotra.
After the training and a development meeting in the morning, in the afternoon in front of a good audience the first match for a youth national team selection of the Federazione Italiana Rugby Football League was played that was composed of players from under 17 level. These players were selected though various clubs that participated in the r-Evolution League” which saw the Rome Gladiators confirmed champions of Italy for the fourth year in a row.
Selected from various regions (Sicilia, Lazio, Abruzzo, Tuscany, Marche and Emilia Romagna), they were divided into two teams called “Italia probable” and “Italia possible” (the lastst winners 46-24), creating an exciting and hard fought match, which gave good indications that ill help to better evaluate the physical and technical conditions of the youth players. A match that gave great satisfaction to all the technical staff of our youth sector and the coordinator Maximum Nicotra:
“This is not a goal, but the first step in a long journey for the 13-a-side aimed at youth movement.” A few days earlier at Civitavecchia there was a pre-gathering that had helped select the talents from the Lazio area for rugby league. “A beautiful day with almost forty guys present” – underlined Velazquez – who did a training session later and physical tactics. “The work on these guys and that will come to Avezzano concerns especially those born in 1996, but in 1997 and 1998: the objective is to give continuity to our project and expand youth Azzurri selections to other age groups.”
