After six seasons in England, the Italian international will discover the French championship under the jersey of Colomiers on the center post where competition will rage.
There is undoubtedly a form of impatience which must dawn in him. As the start of the season draws closer, Michele Campagnaro, 28, a 46-time Italian international, must stamp his feet to be able to play again after having experienced a last exercise in the frustrating Harlequins jersey, the fault of a serious knee injury which kept him out of the field for eighteen months, preventing him from fully participating in the quest for the Premiership title by the London club, he who has already known the coronation in 2017 in the jersey of Exeter .
Because the native of Mirano, very close to Venice, trained in the club of his hometown before joining Treviso has made a good part of his career across the Channel, under the jerseys of Exeter, Wasps and finally Harlequins. “Six very rewarding and interesting seasons despite my injury”, confides the Italian international who therefore made the choice to relaunch his career in France “where I have always dreamed of playing”, leaving a rugby “very structured, very organized” , to rub shoulders with this French rugby which has seduced him for a long time: “You have such a capacity here to create something from nothing. I can’t wait to discover that and to live it.”
“The Pro D2, it’s still rugby, right?”
It is therefore in Colomiers that Michele Campagnaro intends to move forward. “The contacts with the leaders went well, the presence of Edoardo Gori also counted”, confides the Italian international who did not hesitate to join a club of Pro D2. “It’s a tough championship, stronger and stronger each season, with a level that is rising. Colomiers is one of the clubs that matter and are ambitious. And then the Pro D2, it’s still rugby, right? None problem “, insists Michele Campagnaro to whom he is longing to familiarize himself with this championship” its clubs, its players, the profiles and strategies of each other. “
He will therefore have a first glimpse of it tomorrow evening, in Montauban, for the Columérins’ first outing since the start of preparation. A meeting that will allow the columérin staff to take stock of his troops, especially on the center post where, this season, there will be
strong competition between Fabien Perrin, Johan Deysel, Florian Nicot, Michele Campagnaro but also Paul Pimienta who will return to the game by the end of the month without forgetting Grégoire Maurino during the season. “Competition is normal, it is necessary”, launches Campagnaro, convinced that in Colomiers “there is a great experience to live.”
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