Giovanni Vigna (born ) is an Italian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level 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 ...

and Combined Nationalities, and at club level for

Torino XIII Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, as a .

Playing career

Italy

Vincenzo Bertolotto co-organised (with Dennis Chappel

from

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

, and a

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

resident), and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ed the

(RL) tour of 1950 to France (3 matches), England (including; 28-49 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on Saturday 26 August 1950,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown, Huddersfield, Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Giants, Huddersfi ...

on Wednesday 6 September 1950, St. Helens at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

on Thursday 16 November 1950), and Wales (including; 11-29 defeat by South Wales XIII at

Brewery Field Dunraven Brewery Field () is an 8,000 (1,100 seated) capacity sports stadium in Bridgend, Wales. It is the home ground of the rugby union team Bridgend Ravens. Bridgend Athletic RFC often use the ground for their home matches, as well as the ...

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

on Saturday 2 September 1950). The

(RL) squad was; *

Guido Aleati Guido Aleati (born ) is an Italian rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for R.S. Ginnastica Torino, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Italy, a ...

(previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), *

Sergio Aleati Sergio Aleati (born ) was an Italian rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for R.S. Ginnastica Torino, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Italy, ...

(previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), *

Roberto Antonioli Roberto Antonioli (born ) is an Italian rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for R.S. Ginnastica Torino, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Ita ...

(previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), *

Angelo Arrigoni Angelo Arrigoni (16 February 1923 – 27 September 2014) was an Italian rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Italy, and at club level for ...

(previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), * Vincenzo Bertolotto (previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), *

Michele Bietto Michele Bietto (born ) is an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a . Playing career International honours Vincenzo Bertolotto ...

, *

Giovanni Bonino Giovanni Bonino (born ) is an Italian rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Italy, and at club level for R.S. Ginnastica Torino, as a flanker ...

(previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), *

Luigi Bosia Luigi Bosia (born ) is an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a . Playing career International honours Vincenzo Bertolotto co-o ...

, *

Giuseppe Cannone Giuseppe Cannone (born ) is an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a . Playing career International honours Vincenzo Bertolotto ...

, *

Pasquale Cannone Pasquale Cannone (born ) is an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a . Playing career International honours Vincenzo Bertolotto ...

, *

Delio Caron Delio Caron (March 24, 1924 – July 16, 2002) was an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a . He died in 2002. Playing career In ...

, *

Gabriele Casalegno Gabriele Casalegno (born ) is an Italian rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for R.S. Ginnastica Torino, and representative level rugby league (RL) for It ...

(previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), *

Amerio Chiara Amerio Chiara (born ) is an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy national rugby league team, Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a , or . Playing career Inter ...

, *

Giorgio Cornacchia Giorgio Cornacchia (born c.1925) is an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a , or . Playing career International honours Vincen ...

, *

Guido Cornarino Guido Cornarino (born ) is an Italian rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for R.S. Ginnastica Torino, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Italy ...

(previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), *

Fabrizio Faglioli Fabrizio Faglioli (born ) is an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a . Playing career International honours Vincenzo Bertolott ...

, * Enzo Francesconi, *

Giuseppe Franco Giuseppe Franco (born 27 March 1927) was an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a . Playing career International honours Vincen ...

, * Aldo Guglielminotti (previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), * Giovanni Orecchia, *

Luigi Pignattaro Luigi Pignattaro (born ) is an Italian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s. He played at representative level for Italy, and at club level for Torino XIII, as a . Playing career International honours Vincenzo Bertolott ...

, * Franco Pipino, * Giorgio Rassaval, *

Giorgio Rubino Giorgio Rubino (born 15 April 1986 in Rome) is an Italian race walker, bronze medal in the 20 km walk at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Biography The medals of some of the athletics world championship races in 2009 were otherwise aw ...

, * Giovanni Tamagno (previously of R.S. Ginnastica Torino (RU)), * Oreste Tescari, * Giovanni Vigna.

(RL) toured again in 1954, they were known as Federazione Amatori Italiani – Gioco di XIII (Federation of Italian Amateurs - Game of thirteen) because they were prevented from using the term "

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

" by the

Federazione Italiana Rugby The Italian Rugby Federation () or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby. (All other members of the Six Nations have two seats ...

(Italian Rugby (Union) Federation), the squad included; Baldassin ( for

Carpentras XIII RC Carpentras XIII are a semi-professional rugby league club based in the city of Carpentras, Vaucluse in the south of France. Formed in 1938, they play in the Elite Two Championship in France, which is the 2nd tier. Their home ground is the S ...

who attempted

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

s without a run up), Vincenzo Bertolotto, Giovanni Vigna, the squad arrived in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

on Tuesday 6 April 1954, to play six games in fifteen days, Giovanni Vigna scored three tries, and Baldassin scored three

s from eleven attempts in the initial 18-67 defeat by

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

in front of a crowd of 7,000 under

Floodlights A floodlight is a broad-beamed, gas discharge lamp#High-intensity discharge lamps, high-intensity artificial light. It can provide functional area lighting for travel-ways, parking, entrances, work areas, and sporting venues to enable visibil ...

in the evening on Wednesday 7 April 1954, the Bradford Northern team was;

Joe Phillips Joe Phillips is an American artist, known for his gay-themed illustration, erotic animation, and his earlier work on superhero comic books. Early life Phillips was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1969. He attended Northside School of the Arts, whe ...

, D Knorpf,

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

Mageen, E. Jenkins, W. Seddon, Jack McLean,

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...

Haley, P. Goddard, G. Jones, N. Carter, N. Haley, W. Jones,

Trevor Foster Trevor John French Foster MBE (3 December 1914 – 2 April 2005) was a Welsh rugby footballer, and coach. He played rugby union for Newport and rugby league for Bradford Northern. Trevor Foster was a Sergeant Physical Training Instructor in ...

, A. Story, Brian Radford,

Ken Traill Kenneth Traill (7 September 1926 – 25 March 2002) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and coached in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England a ...

, the initial match was originally scheduled to be an amateur international at

, this was rescheduled to later in the tour at

, and Bradford Northern agreed to play despite only having played Halifax on Monday 5 April 1954. Giovanni Vigna played at in

's 15-37 defeat by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

1959–60 Kangaroo tour The 1959–60 Kangaroo tour was the tenth Kangaroo tour, in which the Australian national rugby league team traveled to Europe and played thirty-seven matches against British, French and Italian teams, including the Ashes series of three Test matc ...

match at

Stadio Euganeo Stadio Euganeo is a multipurpose stadium located in Padua, Italy. Primarily used for football, it is also used for athletics events, concerts, rugby league and rugby union matches. The stadium replaced the old and historically significant Stadio ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

on Saturday 23 January 1960.

Combined Nationalities

Giovanni Vigna played at and scored a try in Combined Nationalities' 15-19 defeat by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Stade de Gerland The Stade de Gerland (known for sponsorship reasons as Matmut Stadium de Gerland and otherwise known as Municipal de Gerland or Stade Gerland ) is a stadium in the city of Lyon, France, which serves as home to Top 14 rugby club Lyon OU. It has a ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

on Sunday 3 January 1954.

Club career

Following the

(RL) tour of 1950 to France, England, and Wales, a

featuring Giovanni Vigna joined the French league.

References

Sources

*Benedetto Pasqua; Mirio Da Roit, Cent'anni di rugby a Torino (One Hundred Years of Rugby in Turin), Torino, Ananke

011 International direct dialing (IDD) or international subscriber dialling (ISD) is placing an international telephone call, dialed directly by a telephone subscriber, rather than by a telephone operator. Subscriber dialing of international calls t ...

*Francesco Volpe; Paolo Pacetti, Rugby 2012, Roma, Zesi

*Gianluca Barca; Gian Franco Bellè, La Sesta Nazione (The Sixth Nation), Parma, Grafiche Step

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...

External links

Search for "Vigna" at espnscrum.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigna, Giovanni 1920s births Combined Nationalities rugby league team players Italian rugby league players Italy national rugby league team players Possibly living people Rugby league second-rows Year of birth uncertain Torino XIII players