Fabio Gaetaniello (born 25 August 1958 in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

) is a former Italian rugby union player and coach. He played as a centre.

Club career

He started his career at CUS Pisa, like his brother Fabrizio, who also would be an international player, where he played until 1977/78. He moved afterwards to Rugby Livorno 1931, being at their squad from 1978/79 to 1981/82. He had his debut at Italian Championship in 1978. He moved to

Rugby Parma F.C. 1931 Crociati Parma Rugby F.C. are an Italian rugby union club. They are based in Parma in Emilia-Romagna. They were founded in 2010 by the merger of Rugby Parma F.C. (''Overmach Parma'') and F.C. Rugby Noceto and disbanded in 2014. Rugby Parma ''Rug ...

, where he played from 1982/83 to 1987/88. Once again, he returned to Rugby Livorno 1931, his team from 1988/89 to 1993/94, where he finished his player career. Gaetaniello never won an important national title during his player days.

National Team Career

He had 30 caps for

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, from 1980 to 1991, scoring 5 tries, 20 points on aggregate. His first game was at the 18-13 win over

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, at 21 December 1980, for the 1980–81 FIRA Trophy, aged 22 years old. He was called for the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two semi-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 mat ...

, playing in three games, without scoring, and for the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup () was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Six Nations Championship, Five Na ...

, playing in three games and scoring a try in the 30-9 win over the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

, at 5 October 1991. That would be the second win and the best result to date of Italy at the competition. His last game came at the 21-31 loss to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, at 13 October 1991, aged 33 years old, as Italy exited competition at the 1st round.Fabio Gaetaniello International Statistics
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Coaching career

Gaetaniello become a coach, after ending his player career, being in charge of Rugby Livorno 1931, from 1994/95 to 2003/04. He was the coach of Italy Sevens national team for two seasons, from 2004/05 to 2005/06. He was in charge of Cavalieri Prato, with Andrea De Rossi, from 2006/07 to 2010/11, achieving the promotion to the Super 10 in 2008/09, and being runners-up of the Italian Championship in 2010/11.

References

External links

* 1958 births Living people Italian rugby union players Italy international rugby union players Italian rugby union coaches Rugby union centres Sportspeople from Livorno Rugby union players from Tuscany 1987 Rugby World Cup players 1991 Rugby World Cup players Rugby Livorno 1931 players Crociati Parma Rugby FC players {{italy-rugbyunion-bio-stub