Fabio Ongaro (born 23 September 1977 in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

) is an Italian

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 ...

footballer. Although he now plays as a hooker, he played in the Italian youth teams as a flanker.

Career

Ongaro first played for Rugby Casale (1994/95-1997/98), spending the most prolific time of his career at Benetton Treviso (1998/99-2005/06), where he won 5 Italian Championships (1998/99, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2005/06), a Cup of Italy (2004/05) and a Supercup (2006). He moved to

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, in

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 ...

, where he played from 2006/07 to 2009/10. He has played for

Aironi Aironi Rugby (, "herons") was an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the Pro12 and the Heineken Cup, representing the Italian regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. It lost its status as a regional side at the end of the 2011–12 ...

since 2010/11. Ongaro won his first cap in 2000 when the Azzurri played against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune in the region of Veneto, Northeast Italy, the capital of the province of Rovigo, eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Veni ...

, in a 17–22 loss. Ongaro played every match for Italy in the 2003 World Cup. He scored the crucial try that helped beat

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

20–14 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in the

2004 Six Nations Championship The 2004 Six Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy national rugby union team, Italy. Overall, this was the 110th series of the inter ...

. His rise to the top peaked in November 2004 when he was named as Italy captain in place of the injured

Marco Bortolami Marco Bortolami (; born 12 June 1980) is a rugby union coach and retired Italy, Italian international player, whose career includes experience playing in the national top-level Italian (Petrarca Padova), French (RC Narbonne), and English (Glouces ...

. He played 2 matches at the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

. He has been a regular player at the Six Nations since 2003. He played his last international match for Italy against Scotland on 17 March 2012.

Coaching career

Ongaro became Assistant Coach at Benetton Treviso from the start of the 2016/17 season and until 2024/25 season.

Doping allegations

In 2003 Ongaro, alongside fellow international

Gianluca Faliva Gianluca Faliva (born 26 December 1973) is a retired Italian rugby union player. He played as a loosehead prop forward. Early career Gianluca Faliva was born in Camposampiero, Padua, Italy, and did not start playing rugby until he was 20, when ...

, had been accused of having made use of

Epoetin beta Epoetin beta ( INN), sold under the brand name Neorecormon among others, is a synthetic, recombinant form of erythropoietin, a protein that promotes the production of red blood cells. It is an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) that is used ...

(NeoRecormon) for doping purposes. In 2009 the trial was concluded with a sentence of absolution for Faliva and Ongaro, as no proof of either of them using or detaining the doping substance could be presented.

References

External links

RBS 6 Nations profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ongaro, Fabio 1977 births Living people Rugby union players from Venice Italian rugby union players Rugby union hookers Benetton Rugby players Saracens F.C. players Aironi players Italy international rugby union players Drugs in sport in Italy Italian expatriate rugby union players Italian expatriate rugby union players in England 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players