Cherif Traoré
CHERIF TRAORÉ has some very clear objectives. “I want to be a reference point in the teams I play for,” explains the 26-year-old Benetton and Italy prop, now recovered from the facial injury that kept him out of the Autumn Nations Cup. “My goal is to become one of the best front-rows not just in this country but in Europe. I don’t say this out of egotism – it has always been my aim.”
Sidiki Conde had big plans too. Like Traoré, his family had moved to Italy from Guinea when he was a child, in search of a better life. Like Traoré, he had found fun, friends and purpose at Viadana rugby club, where he was a rising star of the U14s.
The two families were close. Sidiki would mine Traoré for information on the game. The bigger lad was already part of the FIR academy near Pisa, and Sidiki had every intention of
