An ode to Martin Castrogiovanni and his memorable spell at Leicester Tigers
Tigers Martin Castrogiovanni poses with some fans following his last appearance for the club against Northampton Saints in the 2013 Premiership Final
Credit: Getty Images
There have been many fan favourites to grace Leicester Tigers in the modern era. From fearsome Kiwi prop Boris Stankovich and his all action displays, to Thomas ‘The Tank’ Waldrom and his rampaging presence around the field.
However, there was another man who played with both of the above that the Welford Road faithful took to their hearts and formed a budding romance from the get go - Martin Castrogiovanni.
During his seven years at Tigers from 2006 to 2013, you went along to any game the bearlike Italian was playing and the low rumble of ‘Caaasssttttrrrroooo’ would reverberate around the famous old stadium.
Despite the long hair, wide frame and great big bushy beard building his cult status, it shouldn’t be forgotten the tighthead was a fantastic player and walked away with four Premiership titles and two Anglo-Welsh cups during his time in England.
Here, The Flanker recalls his memorable spell in the East Midlands that brought both success and infamy.
Early impressions and building the legend
A fresh faced, beardless 24-year-old Castrogiovanni joined Leicester at the start of the 2006/07 season from Italian outfit Calvisano Rugby.
Upon his signing, then Tigers forwards coach Richard Cockerill said: "We believe he's one of the best tightheads in world rugby.
"We've seen a lot of him and know all about his ability. He's a little bit raw but we think he will thrive in a professional environment."
Before that, the young Castro actually played basketball up until the age of 18 as his mother disapproved of the rough and tumble nature of rugby.
A fight with a referee ended his on-court journey and finally led him to take up the oval game, starting out with Atletico Estudiantes in his native Argentina before being snapped up by Calvisano in 2001.
The prop elected to represent Italy in 2002, courtesy of a Sicily born grandfather, and gained 29 caps by the time he pitched up at Welford Road where he enjoyed a stellar debut season in the Premiership.
The 2006/07 was, arguably, one of the greatest seasons in Leicester’s history. Under coach Pat Howard, the Tigers romped to a EDF Cup and Premiership double as they defeated Gloucester 44-16 in the league’s Twickenham final.
They were well beaten 25-9 by Wasps in an all-English Heineken Cup final but it was still a year to remember for all around the club, despite Castrogiovanni not featuring in either showpiece game due to a knee injury.
He was named Premiership Player of the Year in his debut season, making a massive impact despite playing just a measly 11 games in the league.
On the award, he said at the time: “To win the Player of the Year award was wonderful. It is not easy for a prop to be recognised, and I still can't quite believe it happened to me."
Castro would start to believe in his ability in the years to come however, as he went from strength to strength to cement his legend.
Glory Years as Tigers dominate England
The following seasons would be fruitful for both Castrogiovanni and Tigers. From 2005 until 2013, they incredibly appeared in every single Premiership final and ended up on the winning side in four of them.
The Italian was at the club for all four of those wins, agonisingly missing out on Heineken Cups after another defeat to Leinster in 2009 in addition to the loss to Wasps in 2007.
It is no coincidence that his arrival brought a scrum dominance the likes of domestic English rugby has every seen.
Throughout the late 00s and the early 10s, they could boast front rowers of the calibre of Tom Youngs, Marcos Ayerza, Benjamin Kayser, Mefin Davies, Boris Stankovich and Logoviki Mulipola.
The talent listed above are all looseheads and hookers, made even more astonishing that Tigers legend Julian White and dual Puma/Azzurri international Alex Moreno were already at the club and competing with Castro in a stacked front row.
A bloodied Castrogiovanni on the charge against Gloucester in a 2010 Premiership match
Credit: Action Images/Reuters
It goes without saying that a young emerging talent by the name of Dan Cole was also snapping at his heels for a starting berth.
Under the leadership of coach Richard Cockerill - promoted to the top job full time after disappointing spells under Marcelo Loffreda and Heyneke Meyer - this pack would bully teams into submission, hammering them at the scrum and dominating breakdowns.
At times the Welford Road faithful seemed to enjoy Castro demolishing an opponents scrum - bellowing at his own dominance on many occasions as the opposition crumbled - than a try being scored by their team.
Although he was a monster at the set piece, the colourful and canny Italian was able to mix that power with the deftest of ballhandling touches.
Able to absorb contact and flick out an audacious pass, he looked more like a frustrated flyhalf in a cave troll’s body.
He was a man who loved the physical confrontation and it simply endeared him further to fans, not to mention his chain of Timo restaurants in Leicestershire that he opened with fellow Tiger and now director of rugby Geordan Murphy.
In his own words about the love he felt at the club, he said in 2010: “'It's like a family here and people in the crowd love me. I'm really proud of that. I want to stay here but it's not my call. Everything is here.
“I'm half Italian, half Argentina, which makes me lazy and I could have been an average player but for Leicester. They never miss anything so you can just play rugby and work on your fitness and skills.
“I would love to finish my career here and play 10 years here. I want to be recognised for what I have done here and become a legend. I don’t want to be a guy changing clubs all the time.”
As one man at The Flanker parish recently put it, he is “as mad as a box of frogs” and that unpredictability could sometimes boil over as ill discipline.
Just ask Dylan Hartley in the East Midland Derby Premiership semi-final match in 2011 after the big Italian won a scrum free kick against the future England captain and mercilessly champed him.
It was this Latin fire and his often volatile temperament that spelled the end of his tenure at Tigers in completely crazy circumstances.
All good things must come to an end
After 146 games across seven years at Leicester, he signed off his Tigers tenure by lifting the 2013 Premiership after climbing off the bench in the 37-17 victory.
And before you ask, yes it was that final where Northampton captain Dylan Hartley was sent off for using foul and abusive language just before half-time after calling referee Wayne Barnes a "f*****g cheat"
With Dan Cole now ahead of him in the pecking order for the tighthead spot, Castro moved on to big spending Toulon ahead of the 2013/14 season as he entered the final years of his career.
Speaking after the Premiership Final victory, Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: "I've got nothing but respect for Castro and what he has done for this club.
"He has had seven years here, he's a great bloke, a great player and we will miss him. He will be remembered as one of the iconic players in the club's history.
"He is 31 and wants to play as much as he can. We understand that and we wish him well for the future. Now he leaves as a Champion of England and he will always be welcome at Welford Road."
All amicable and friendly right? Wrong. After a 25-21 loss with new side Toulon at his former stomping ground against Leicester, Castrogiovanni completely lost his head.
In the post match presser, he set the record straight about claims he left Tigers for the money available in the south of France and attacked former coach Richard Cockerill.
Among many other things, he said (EXPLETIVE WARNING): “Cole gets paid half the money from the RFU and I am foreign. What the fuck you want? You have a good fucking tighthead prop playing for England and a hairy fucking Italian.
“I paid £100,000 from my pocket to leave this club because I want to play rugby. That’s it. I always love this club and I wanted to clarify and talk face to face, which is something Cockers never does.
“I never want to speak with Cockers any more. I am the kind of guy that if I hate you, if you are not clear with me or if you have been a cunt, how you say in English, I never want to speak to you any more.
“Love me or hate me. I don’t hate anyone. Peace and love. I just don’t like cunts.”
Before long, Rugby Dump made a T-shirt of the epic rant with Steffon Armitage wanting a piece of the action.
The controversy didn’t end there. During his first season at new club Racing 92, he missed their European Rugby Champions Cup semi-final against Leicester Tigers and told the club that he was in Argentina attending to family matters.
However, he was instead spotted in Las Vegas partying with players from Paris Saint-Germain, including superstar Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Racing were not impressed and ripped up his contract shortly after before going on to lose the final 21-9 to a peak Saracens team.
Martin Castrogiovanni and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an Amazon Documentary waiting to happen…
Credit: Twitter
Despite the end of career controversy, he will always have Welford Road. The boy from Argentina who pitched up at Leicester in 2006, beardless and trophyless, departed a legend with an abundance of medals.
The 119 caps he achieved in Azurri blue, amazingly finishing as Italy’s top try scorer during their 2008 Six Nations campaign, is also only bested by long time teammate Sergio Parisse.
Given the Tigers current plight, only kept off the foot of the Premiership by relegated Saracens, you can bet their devoted fans would love to be able to sing ‘Caaasssttttrrrroooo’ again and have the big man leading their scrum once more.