Italy prop Riccioni signs for Sarries

Saracens is delighted to announce Italy prop Marco Riccioni will join the club from Benetton Rugby ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

The tighthead has put pen to paper on a two-year deal which will see him stay at StoneX Stadium until at least 2023.

“We have been hugely impressed by Marco’s desire to take his game to the next level."

Riccioni captained his country’s Under-20s and was labelled one of the most promising young talents in Italian rugby with Rugby World claiming him to be ‘the most impressive tighthead to have come through the Italian U20 side in the last five or six years’.

He featured at back-to-back Junior World Championships before signing for Benetton and his performances in green and white earned a call-up to the Italy national squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup where he made three appearances.

The 23-year-old featured in the 2020 Six Nations and started Italy’s opening two games of the 2021 tournament against France and England – coming up against eight of his future teammates in the latter.

“When Sarries called me, it was an easy decision for me,” Riccioni said.

“The club has a lot of international players who I’ve played against and being able to train and play with those guys every day will help me see where I am, help me with where I want to go and what I want to achieve.

“I can’t wait to play with them and give my best for the team.”

Director of Rugby Mark McCall said: “We have been hugely impressed by Marco’s desire to take his game to the next level and as a 23-year-old tighthead, there is no question that he has the ability to add real value to our club in the years ahead.

“We will do everything we can to make his time at Saracens as rewarding as possible.”