Marco Bortolami (; born 12 June 1980) is a

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 ...

coach and retired

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

international player, whose career includes experience playing in the national top-level Italian (

Petrarca Padova Petrarca Rugby is a professional rugby union club from Padua, Italy, currently competing in the top tier of the Italian rugby union, the Serie A Elite. Founded in 1947, the team is the rugby union branch of the Unione Sportiva Petrarca, an omn ...

), French (

RC Narbonne Racing Club de Narbonne Méditerannée (also known as RCNM) is a French rugby union club that play in the third-level Nationale. They are based in Narbonne in the Aude '' département'' of Occitania. They were founded in 1907. They play at P ...

), and English (

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

) championships, before joining the then recently-born

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

(with Aironi Rugby and then

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...

). Praised for his leadership skills, he captained all the teams he played for at professional level. At international level, he also captained the Italian side since 2002 till 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 ...

, before being replaced in the permanent role by

Sergio Parisse Sergio Francesco Parisse (; born 12 September 1983) is an Italian-Argentine former rugby union player. He is currently the lineout coach for French club Toulon. He played for the Italy national team from 2002 until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Pari ...

. He currently serves as head coach for

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

Club career

Bortolami began his playing career with the team of his native

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 ...

, making his debut as a second row aged only 18. After a two-year spell with

in the French

Top14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

, in the summer of 2006 he joined English Premiership side

when he was considered by many to be one of the best players in the world around the time, being selected into the starting team for their first game of the season and immediately taking the role of captain. At Gloucester he made up a formidable partnership with Alex Brown and shared captaincy with Peter Buxton. Due to injuries and his

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

commitments, the 2007–08 season ended up not being as consistent in performance and he lost the Italian captaincy to Italian No. 8

, but continued to put in powerful performances for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. His outstanding leadership qualities meant he retained captaincy. He made 23 appearances for

in 2008–09. In 2010 he returned to Italy signing for the new

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 ...

team which started to compete in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

from the 2010–11 season. After Aironi folded due to financial problems, Bortolami signed for the new franchise

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. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

for the 2012/13 season. On 7 May 2016, Bortolami announced his retirement from professional rugby with immediate effect.

International career

Bortolami was made captain of Italy's Under-21 side, before making his international debut at elite level against

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

in June, 2001, when he was just 20. At the age of 22, Bortolami was made Italy's youngest ever captain by then coach John Kirwan. In his first-ever

start, against

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

, he suffered an injury and missed the decisive group-stage match against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, which saw the Azzurri eliminated from the competition. After impressing 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 ...

, he was once awarded the full captaincy for the 2005 Summer tour of

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 ...

by coach

Pierre Berbizier Pierre Berbizier (born 17 June 1958) is a French former rugby union footballer and a current coach. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played 56 times for France. Biography Berbizier was born in Saint-Gaudens. He made his international d ...

. After this tour he joined

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 ...

. In the

2007 Six Nations Championship The 2007 Six Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the international championship. Fifteen ma ...

, Bortolami led Italy to their first away win in the competition against

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 ...

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

, which was also the first time Italy have won more than one game in a single

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

. At the

, he led the Italian team to a decisive final group-stage match against

, again missing access to the knock-out stage. With the

2008 Six Nations Championship The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...

, under new coach

Nick Mallett Nicholas Vivian Haward Mallett (born 30 October 1956) is a former South African rugby union player who played for the Springboks, South Africa's national rugby union team, in 1984. He also coached the Springboks between 1997 and 2000 and was th ...

, Bortolami was replaced as Italian skipper by

. Bortolami suffered an injury against Australia in June 2012, but in May 2013 it was announced that he would be returning to the international stage.

Coaching career

Bortolami left

at the end of the

2015/16 season, and became Assistant Coach at Benetton Treviso starting with the 2016/17 season, before being appointed as head coach in 2021. In February 2025 it was announced he was to part ways with the club at the end of the 2024–25 season to become the Head Coach of

in the

Gallagher Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

starting in the 2025/26 season.

Other information

In an interview in 2006, Bortolami stated that he wished to become a mechanic for

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

after retiring from professional rugby, using his mechanical skills he had picked up in college. Shortly after this interview was published, he received a letter from Ferrari offering him a position upon ending his rugby career. However, something must have changed since, as in fact, after his last match on 7 May 2016, Bortolami begun coaching the forwards of Benetton Treviso in Italy. Despite never been considered a violent player, his rough and direct playing style, together with his at times conflictual relationship with referees, have led Bortolami to collect seven yellow cards in his long international career, surpassed in this unenviable ranking only by the Australian Michael Hooper and the Georgian

Viktor Kolelishvili Viktor (Vito) Kolelishvili (born 9 October 1989) is a Georgian rugby union player. His position is flanker, and he currently plays for Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14 and the Georgia national team. He played for Georgia in the 2011 Rugby World ...

, both with eight.

References

External links

Zebre Profile

Gloucester Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bortolami, Marco 1980 births Italian rugby union coaches Italian rugby union players Living people Rugby union players from Padua Rugby union locks Aironi players Gloucester Rugby players Italy international rugby union players Petrarca Rugby players Zebre Parma players Italian expatriate rugby union players in France Italian expatriate rugby union players in England 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players RC Narbonne players