Alexander R. Corbisiero (born 30 August 1988) is an English retired
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player who played as a
loosehead prop.
Early life and education
Born 30 August 1988, Alexander Corbisiero is the great-grandson of Riccardo Corbisiero, who emigrated from
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
to the United States in 1923 and established Riccardo's – a restaurant known for its continental cuisine – in
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...
in the early 1950s. Alex was born in New York City to the restaurateur's grandson and his English wife Lorraine Collins.
He immigrated to England with his parents shortly before his fifth birthday.
Corbisiero was first educated at
Hall School Wimbledon, then
Reed's School, finally graduating from
ACS Cobham International School in 2006, where he was also captain of the school's Cougars rugby team. He studied at the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
.
He then studied for a BA in history at
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...
beginning in 2009.
Club career
He was introduced to rugby at
KCS Old Boys RFC as a mini at the age of 5
where he stayed for seven years before going on to represent London Scottish and then Cobham before joining the London Irish Academy in August 2005, making his professional club debut against
London Wasps in the
2008 London Double Header.
Corbisiero was a used replacement in the final of the
2008–09 Guinness Premiership.
On 16 January 2013, Corbisiero left London Irish to sign for
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union.
It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...
for the 2013/14 season. In 2014 Corbisiero played as a replacement as Northampton beat Saracens to win the
Premiership final.
Corbisiero left Northampton Saints in January 2016 due to an injury plagued time at the club.
International career
Corbisiero represented England at Under-18, Under-19 and Under-20 level.
He competed for England at the
2007 Under 19 Rugby World Championship.
In 2008 Corbisiero was a member of the
England under-20 team that won the grand slam
and reached the final of the
2008 IRB Junior World Championship
The 2008 IRB Junior World Championship was the first annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. All players who were twenty years of age or under on 1 January 2008 were eligible for selection.
This competition repl ...
.
Corbisiero was eligible to represent either England, Italy, Ireland or the US at senior level, but having been raised and educated and having played all his rugby in England, he cast his lot with England when he made his debut for the
England Saxons against
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
at the
2010 Churchill Cup.
Corbisiero made his senior debut for
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
against Italy on 12 February 2011 after
Andrew Sheridan was ruled out of the match with a back injury.
He went on to feature in four of England's five tests as they won the
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...
, with injury ruling Sheridan out for the rest of the tournament.
Corbisiero represented England at the Rugby World Cup 2011. He was also a regular in the team during 2012, both in the Six Nations championship (four victories and one defeat) and in the summer and autumn internationals (including two losses to South Africa and a victory over New Zealand.)
Injury ruled him out of the 2013 Six Nations championship, and seemed to have ruled him out of initial selection for the
British & Irish Lions squad for the
2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia
The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-Test match (rugby union), test series against Australia national rugby union team, Austra ...
. However, on 5 June, he replaced Irish prop
Cian Healy after Healy was injured during the second tour match against
Western Force
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby, Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competitio ...
. Corbisiero started the first Test against Australia on Saturday 22 June. Corbisiero scored the Lions' first try in their victorious third test against Australia which clinched the series.
Further injuries to shoulder, neck and back dogged his career, and he played only two more international matches, against Argentina in November 2013, then one more appearance two years later, coming off the subs bench against France in August 2015, in a warm-up match for the 2015 World Cup. Recurrent injuries prevented him being part of the World Cup squad.
Sabbatical and retirement
Corbisero experienced a succession of injuries in 2013-15, particularly of a knee. In December 2015 (at age 27) Corbisiero announced he would taking a year out from Rugby, saying he was 'mentally drained', but that he envisaged returning to play.
In early 2018, while guest hosting on the Rugby Pod podcast, Corbisiero acknowledged it was unlikely he would be returning to professional rugby. This decision was affected by the attractiveness of continuing his media work with NBC, and his concern about possible injury damage from an extended playing career.
Media career and other interests
Corbisiero was an analyst for
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...
coverage of the
Aviva Premiership along with
Leigh Diffey.
Corbisiero also has interests in a student placement agency and in rugby coaching.
Coaching career
On 27 October 2020, Corbisiero was appointed Scrum Coach for the
Los Angeles Giltinis for the 2021
Major League Rugby
Major League Rugby (MLR) is a professional rugby union competition in the United States. The league comprises 11 teams. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned ...
season.
Health issues
Corbisero was diagnosed with testicular cancer in November 2019 and is receiving further treatment after the cancer spread to his lymph nodes.
References
External links
Alex Corbisiero profileat Northampton Saints
Alex Corbisiero profileat the RFU
at It's Rugby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbisiero, Alex
1988 births
Living people
Rugby union players from New York City
Rugby union players from New York (state)
English rugby union players
England international rugby union players
American people of English descent
American people of Italian descent
American people of Irish descent
English people of Irish descent
English people of Italian descent
Sportspeople of Italian descent
American emigrants to England
Italian British rugby union players
Rugby union props
London Irish players
Northampton Saints players
People educated at Hall School Wimbledon
People educated at Reed's School
Alumni of the London School of Economics
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England
2011 Rugby World Cup players