Pride & Joy
MICHELE LAMARO says that for him captaincy is all about leading by example. “I can’t ask other guys to empty themselves for the shirt if I’m not doing it myself,” reasons the Italy skipper, and the stats from this year’s Six Nations suggest he is as good as his word.
No player from any country made more successful tackles than Lamaro’s 86, a tally that saw him finish some 16 clear of nearest challenger Hamish Watson, the Scotland flanker. Those numbers speak to the energy and industry that the Benetton man brings to the back row, whether in the No 8 shirt he inherited during Jake Polledri’s long injury lay-off or in the openside berth he has favoured since the childhood days when Richie McCaw was his idol.
Work-rate is one of the many qualities that convinced Kieran Crowley to make him captain when he took over as head coach from Franco
