from Grenoble to Toulouse via Cardiff, the flight of Ange Capuozzo

Before leaving for Toulouse, the back of FCG Ange Capuozzo (23) confides in his career.

“JI woke up in the morning having dreamed of having played an international match » Angel Capuozzo

Ange Capuozzo is a child of Grenoble rugby. Born in Pont de Claix, this is where he started playing at age 5 : “ I had dreams, of course, but I didn’t consciously ask myself the question ‘I want this to be my job, I want to play rugby all my life’. But first of all it was obvious. That is to say that I left classes and I went to training, it was obvious, I liked it, I wanted to continue. And then afterwards, indeed, there were dreams, but real dreams that I woke up in the morning having dreamed of playing an international match against New Zealand because the day before, I saw a match on TV All Blacks. So that, of course, I’ve always dreamed of it and it’s always motivated me to play big matches and to be able to play with and against the best players on the planet. »

His departure to Toulouse

Trained and hatched at FCG, Ange Capuozzo started in the first team three years ago in May 2019. Since then, he has established himself until he has become a major player in his training club. Courted by several Top 14 clubs, the man who became an Italian international at the start of the year finally chose to continue his career in the most successful club in France, Stade Toulousain: “ What makes me say that I have to go first is the solicitation, that is to say the fact that a club like Toulouse is calling me. Even if I hadn’t been ready, I would have run there, because it’s a club that has marked and continues to mark rugby in France and even at European level, so to have the opportunity to wear this jersey is an opportunity that will present itself perhaps once, but which will not come back again. It is so beautiful this opportunity that I could not let it pass. But the question of whether I was ready, we asked it with my relatives and I think I’m ready. I’m even sure, it certainly wouldn’t have been the case a few months or a few years ago. But today, I’m ready to get out of this comfort zone and see if what I’m doing today in Grenoble, I can do elsewhere. »

The Cardiff feat

A career choice made before Ange Capuozzo panicked Europe of rugby, one afternoon in March 2022. Freshly called in Italy team (his grandparents are from Naples), the back offers, with a recovery of which he has the secret, the squadra azzura its first victory in the Tournament for 7 years, all at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, one of the temples of this sport: What is certain is that indeed, it is reassuring. Because the 6 Nations Tournament is, I think, one of the highest levels in the world in terms of competition, it is the best players in European rugby who compete. And indeed, to have been able to “match” and to have been able to gauge myself against exceptional players in my position, such as Stuart Hogg against Scotland, that allows us to reassure ourselves to tell ourselves that if in the end I am not completely out of the way, it’s that I’ll also be able to have my say in the Top14. Personally it doesn’t change much, after that it’s the environment that changes and the demands, the way people look at me. »

” VSwas a defect, a weak point Ange Capuozzo about his size

A dazzling start to his career and yet, since his debut, many have doubted Ange Capuozzo, his ability to play at the highest level, the fault of a physique that is not in line with the standards of modern rugby. With his meter 77 and its 71 kilosthe Isérois is a small size it played tricks on him when he was younger, to the point of going for exams: ” It was a flaw, it was a weak point. My qualities were not underestimated because I was lighter, but it was still a flaw for some people. I was much smaller than the others, I was lighter and even if we fight saying no, it does not matter, these are facts. So I also wanted to be clear about it by reassuring myself. I actually went for wrist x-rays to see what growth cartilage I still had left. Turns out I was a year or two behind in my growth. So at the time I must have been fourteen, and so that made ‘I was’ twelve. Even if necessarily when becoming an adult the gap narrows, this gap I kept for a little while. Once again I like to tell myself that what happened at that time is what made me the man and the player I am today. So in the end I accept it and I’m convinced that it will also help a lot of people to take a step back on, let’s say, the standard measurements that can be given to children aged thirteen, fourteen. »

Today, after an early career crossed in his image, that is to say at full speed, Ange Capuozzo has already proved that he was the weight.