Massimo Cuttitta (; 2 September 1966 – 11 April 2021) was an Italian professional rugby union player and coach. He used to play as a prop. He was the twin brother of Marcello Cuttitta.

Early life

Cuttitta was born at Latina. His family moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in the late 1960s, where the Cuttitta brothers, including older sibling Michele, started to practise rugby. He attended High School at

Pinetown Boys' High School Pinetown Boys' High School (also known as Pinetown Boys', or PBHS) is a public school for boys in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. History Pinetown High School was founded in 1955 as a co-educational, dual-medium school. It was sited at ...

along with his brother.

Club rugby

After the return to Italy, Massimo and Marcello started to play at a more serious level at

L'Aquila Rugby L'Aquila Rugby 1936 was an Italy, Italian rugby union club based in L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo. The official colours of the club were black and green, the colours of the city of L'Aquila. The club went into liquidation and disbanded in 2018. ...

. In 1988, they both moved to

Amatori Rugby Milano Amatori Rugby Milano were an Italian rugby union team based in Milan founded in 1927 and disbanded in 2011. Founded in 1927 as part of the association football, football team F.C. Internazionale Milano, Ambrosiana-Inter of Milan, the club won ...

, where Massimo played until 1997. He won four titles of Italian Champion, in 1990/91, 1992/93, 1994/95 and 1995/96, and the Cup of Italy, for 1995. He later went to play for

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of ...

, 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 ...

, for the season of 1997/98. Returning to Italy, he played for

Rugby Calvisano Rugby Calvisano is an Italian rugby union club currently competing in the Top12. They are based in Calvisano (Province of Brescia), in Lombardy. They were founded in 1970 by a group of players: Tonino Montanari, Gianluigi Vaccari and Alfredo Ga ...

(1999/2000), Rugby Bologna (2000/2001), Rugby Roma Olimpic (2001/2002), Amatori Rugby Alghero (2002/03), Rugby Bologna (2003/04), for a second time, and Rugby Leonessa 1928, that he represented from 2004/05 to 2005/06, being his last team.

International career

Cuttitta made his debut 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 ...

in 1990 against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and went on to gain 69 caps, scoring six tries and captaining the side 22 times. He played at the

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

finals, in 1991 and 1995, this time as the captain. He won the title of the

FIRA Firá (, pronounced , official name Φηρά Θήρας - ''Firá Thíras'') is the modern capital of the Greece, Greek Aegean Sea, Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). A traditional settlement,http://www.visitgreece.gr Greek National Tourism Or ...

Cup, in 1995/97, winning against

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 final. He played in the first game for Italy in the inaugural Six Nations, in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, which his side won 34–20 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 ...

Coaching career

He started a coaching career, after ending his playing days, becoming the coach of Amatori Rugby Milano, for 1996/97. In 2004, he took charge of Rugby Leonessa, for the following two seasons, moving then to

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

, in Scotland. After a season, he moved to L'Aquila Rugby, where he had started his player career. He also worked for six years as scrummaging coach for the Scotland national team.

Death and legacy

Cuttitta died in hospital in Rome on 11 April 2021, having been admitted with symptoms of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In his honour and to celebrate his contributions to rugby in both nations, starting from the

2022 Six Nations Championship The 2022 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, ...

the Cuttitta Cup is awarded to the winner of the match between

and

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuttitta, Massimo 1966 births 2021 deaths Italian rugby union players Italian rugby union coaches Rugby union props Rugby Roma Olimpic players Italy international rugby union players Italian twins Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Lazio Sportspeople from Latina, Lazio Rugby union players from Lazio 1991 Rugby World Cup players 1995 Rugby World Cup players Harlequin F.C. players