Cherif Traorè (born 10 April 1994) is a

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

-born Italian

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer. His usual position is as a prop, and he currently plays for

Stade Montois Stade Montois is a French rugby union team that currently is playing in Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They were founded in 1908 and play in yellow and black. They are based in Mont-de-Marsan, the capita ...

in French

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

Background

Traorè was born in

Kindia Kindia ( N’ko: ߞߌ߲ߘߌߦߊ߫) is the fourth largest city in Guinea, lying about 85 miles northeast of the nation's capital, Conakry. Its estimated population in 2008 was 181,126. Kindia serves as the capital and largest city of Kindia Prefe ...

. He has two brothers and a sister. His brothers Mohamed Lamine and Abdoulaye both play

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

professionally. When Traorè was young, his father immigrated to Italy before bringing his family over to join him. Traorè was seven years old when he arrived in Italy. His father had emigrated to Europe earlier and "because he missed his wife and children so much, he decided to move us all over". Traorè arrived speaking French but had no knowledge of Italian or the country. He made friends at school who invited him to their homes and helped him adjust. After passing through the Viadana youth academies, he was then selected for the F.I.R. Academy.

Professional

In 2013 he was hired by I Cavalieri Prato for whom he made his debut in the Italian championship of Excellence and in the European Challenge Cup. After a season in Prato he returned to Viadana where he played in the 2014-2015 championship. In 2015 Traorè was signed by Benetton Rugby for whom he made his debut in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

and in the European cup. After a season in which he made 9 appearances in the Pro12 and Champions Cup, in December 2016 he was hindered by a shoulder injury that forced him to miss most of the season. Returning from injury after an operation, in the 2017-2018 season he increased his playing time while almost always starting from the bench as a frontline change, scoring his first try in the Pro14 victory against the Southern Kings. In the following season, following his debut in the senior national team and though limited by an injury, he confirmed himself as a first team regular. He played for Benetton in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

until 2022−23 season.

International

Traorè was part of the

Italy national under-20 rugby union team Italy's national under-20 rugby union team has competed in both the IRB Junior World Championship and IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy. They were one of four teams relegated in 2009 to the Junior World Trophy after finishing at the bottom of the tou ...

from 2012 to 2014. At the age of 19, the Parma player joined the Under 20s and participated in the Six Nations tournament in 2013 and 2014 and was called up for the editions of the world championship in the same years. He has also been part of the Italy national team squad since 2018. After participating in training for the

2018 Six Nations Championship The 2018 Six Nations Championship (known as the Natwest 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 19th Six Nations Championship, the annual international rugby union tournament for the six major European rugby union nations. The championship wa ...

, Traorè was called up by technical commissioner Conor O'Shea for the summer tour of the Italy national team in Japan where he made his international debut, replacing Andrea Lovotti in the victory against Japan on June 16 in Kobe. He then also played in all the autumn test matches. On the 14 October 2021, he was selected by

Alessandro Troncon Alessandro Troncon (born 6 September 1973 in Treviso) is a former Italian rugby union player. Troncon is the 6th most capped player in Italian rugby union history, and the first Italian to gain 100 caps. The veteran scrum-half made his Italy deb ...

to be part of an Italy A 28-man squad for the

2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2021 end of year rugby union tests, also referred to as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were rugby union test matches during October and November 2021, mainly involving countries from the Northern Hemisphere hosting those f ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Traorè, Cherif 1994 births Living people Italian rugby union players Italy international rugby union players Guinean emigrants to Italy People from Kindia Rugby union props Rugby Viadana players Benetton Rugby players Sportspeople from the Province of Reggio Emilia Rugby union players from Emilia-Romagna Stade Montois Rugby players Italian expatriate rugby union players in France