Vincenzo Bertolotto (24 April 1912 – 4 April 1992) was an Italian commercial lawyer and dual-code rugby footballer who played rugby union in the 1930s and 1940s before switching to rugby league in 1950s.
 Vincent Bertolotto and French coach Michel Boucheron | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Vincenzo Bertolotto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 April 1912 Turin, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 4 April 1992 (aged 79) Turin, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11.5 in (182 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 13 st 13 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Lock, Flanker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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For union, he played as a lock or flanker for club sides CUS Torino Rugby and R.S. Ginnastica Torino, the latter of which he captained, as well as Italy national team whom he also captained.
For league, he played as a second-row for Torino XIII and the national team, which to he captained.
He has been described as "Italy’s first great cross-code international".[1]
Club career
edit
Rugby union
editVincenzo Bertolotto was the captain of the R.S. Ginnastica Torino team that won the 1947 Campionati italiani. In honour of this, Bertolotto's name appears alongside his teammates on a plaque affixed to Motovelodromo Fausto Coppi in Turin, the squad was; eight players that would subsequently accompany Bertolotto on the 1950 rugby league tour.
Rugby league
editBertolotto was part of Torino XIII team that joined the French league.
International career
editRugby union
editVincenzo Bertolotto won caps for Italy in the 1936 FIRA Tournament against Germany and Romania, as well as the 1937 edition against the same opponents, the 1942 against Romania, and the 1948 edition, his first as captain, against France.[2]
Rugby league=
editVincenzo Bertolotto co-organised, with Dennis Chappell[3] and a Turin resident, the 1950 Italy tour of Great Britain and France which he captained.
He was part of the Italy squad that toured again in 1954.
Personal life
editBertolotto is the father of the architect Carlo Bertolotto.
References
edit- General
- Benedetto Pasqua; Mirio Da Roit, Cent'anni di rugby a Torino (One Hundred Years of Rugby in Turin), Torino, Ananke [2011].
- Francesco Volpe; Paolo Pacetti, Rugby 2012, Roma, Zesi [2011].
- Gianluca Barca; Gian Franco Bellè, La Sesta Nazione (The Sixth Nation), Parma, Grafiche Step [2008].
- Inline
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/oct/24/una-famiglia-the-diverse-roots-of-italys-rugby-league-world-cup-squad
- ^ "Statistics at espnscrum.com". espnscrum.com. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=D5FYFAWpjDNF3wgeRyE39g&scan=1