Ignacio Saul ("Nani") Corleto (born June 21, 1978 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

) is a retired Argentine rugby union player.

Club career

He began his rugby career in the local

Club Universitario de Buenos Aires Club Universitario de Buenos Aires, commonly known for its acronym CUBA, is an Argentina, Argentine sports club located in Buenos Aires. Universitario hosts a large variety of sports and activities, including aikido, mountaineering, basketball, ...

, known as CUBA, where he played from 1997 to 2000. He moved afterwards into professional rugby signing with French club

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

, where he played from 2000/01 to 2001/02. He moved to

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

, where he played from 2002/03 to 2007/08. He won three French championships, in 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2006/07. He had a serious injury in 2008 which meant the end of his career, even if it was only officially announced in 2010.

International career

Corleto participated for the Junior teams in a South American Championship and in two Southern Hemisphere Tournaments with the U21 representative team. He had 37 caps for

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, from 1998 to 2007, scoring 14 tries and 1 drop goal, 73 points on aggregate. He has his debut at the 44-29 win over

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

at 15 September 1998, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, in a friendly game, aged only 20 years old and playing as a wing. He played at the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's History of rugby union#The professional era, professional era. Four a ...

, in three games, without scoring. He was called once again for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, playing in two games and scoring a try and a drop goal, 8 points on aggregate. He was a member of the Argentina squad that reached the 3rd place in 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 ...

, their best result ever so far, playing in all the seven games and scoring 3 tries, 15 points on aggregate. Corleto scored the memorable try at the 17-12 historical win over

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 ...

in the opening game of the competition. The historical win over France by 34-10 in the game for the 3rd and 4th place at 19 October 2007, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, was his farewell for the national team. Overall in three Rugby World Cup finals, he played in 12 games, scoring 4 tries and 1 drop goal, 23 points on aggregate. He also participated in the

Rugby World Cup Sevens Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) was the former quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it consisted of men's and women's tournaments, and was the highest level of competition in the sport ...

in 2001 which was played in the city of

Mar Del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

in Argentina.

Honours

* French Rugby Union Championship/Top 14: 2002–03, 2003–04

References

External links

*
Ignacio Corleto
on ercrugby.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Corleto, Ignacio 1978 births Argentine rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks Living people Rugby union players from Buenos Aires Stade Français Paris players Argentina international rugby union players Argentina international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players Club Universitario de Buenos Aires rugby union players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players Argentine expatriate rugby union players in France 21st-century Argentine sportsmen 20th-century Argentine sportsmen