Luke McLean
Encyclopedia
Luke McLean is an Italian Australian rugby union
footballer who plays at fullback and fly-half for Treviso
in Italy
. He has also represented the Italy national rugby union team
.
. His mother's parents are both Italian; however, his grandfather was forced to give up his Italian citizenship
in order to buy land in Australia.
McLean attended St. Laurence's College
, in South Brisbane, during his schooling years. He was College captain in 2004.
in the Australian Rugby Championship
before joining Italian
team Calvisano
in 2007, turning down a training contract with Western Force
.
, being his country of birth, and Italy
, due to his Italian grandmother. He represented the Australia under-19
side, helping the side to win the World under-19 championships.
He made his international debut for Italy against 2007 Rugby World Cup
winners South Africa
on 21 June 2008 in Cape Town
. Italy were defeated 26–0.
McLean scored his first international points on his Six Nations
debut in the 36–11 defeat to England
at Twickenham
on 7 February 2009. He scored two penalties
in the first-half. He then played against Ireland
on 15 February, scoring all of Italy's nine points, converting three penalties in the 38–9 defeat at Stadio Flaminio
, Rome
. McLean scored a further three points kicking a penalty in the 26–6 defeat to Scotland
at Murrayfield
on 28 February. He featured in Italy's 20–15 loss to Wales
on 15 March 2008 at Stadio Flaminio
, failing to score any of Italy's points. McLean played in Italy's last Six Nations 2009 match against France
on 21 March, losing 50–8.
McLean also played a part in Italy's two match series against Australia
and Italy scoring the majority of Italy's points.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer who plays at fullback and fly-half for Treviso
Benetton Rugby Treviso
Benetton Rugby Treviso are an Italian professional rugby union club currently competing in the RaboDirect Pro12 and the Heineken Cup.They are based in Treviso in Veneto, and owned by the Benetton clothing company....
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He has also represented the Italy national rugby union team
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
.
Background
McLean was born in Townsville, QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. His mother's parents are both Italian; however, his grandfather was forced to give up his Italian citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
in order to buy land in Australia.
McLean attended St. Laurence's College
St Laurence's College
St Laurence's College is an independent, Roman Catholic school for boys located in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was founded by the Christian Brothers in 1915...
, in South Brisbane, during his schooling years. He was College captain in 2004.
Club career
McLean played for Perth SpiritPerth Spirit
The Perth Spirit was an Australian rugby union football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Perth Spirit was one of eight clubs that competed in the Australian Rugby Championship which ran in 2007. Perth Spirit played at the Members Equity Stadium. The players in the squad adopted an...
in the Australian Rugby Championship
Australian Rugby Championship
The Australian Rugby Championship, often abbreviated to the ARC , was a domestic Rugby union football club competition in Australia which ran for only one season in August–October 2007...
before joining Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
team Calvisano
Rugby Calvisano
Rugby Calvisano are an Italian rugby union club currently competing in National Championship of Excellence.They are based in Calvisano , in Lombardy....
in 2007, turning down a training contract with Western Force
Western Force
Western Force is a rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia playing in the international Super Rugby competition. They first competed in the 2006 season and finished with the wooden spoon in that year, however their performances greatly improved in 2007. In 2008 they finished in 8th...
.
International career
McLean was eligible for both AustraliaAustralia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
, being his country of birth, and Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
, due to his Italian grandmother. He represented the Australia under-19
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
side, helping the side to win the World under-19 championships.
He made his international debut for Italy against 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
winners South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
on 21 June 2008 in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. Italy were defeated 26–0.
McLean scored his first international points on his Six Nations
2009 Six Nations Championship
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2009 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the tenth Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams...
debut in the 36–11 defeat to England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
on 7 February 2009. He scored two penalties
Penalty (rugby union)
A penalty in rugby union is the main disciplinary sanction available to the referee to penalise a team who commit deliberate infringements. The team who did not commit the infringement are given possession of the ball and they may either kick it towards touch , attempt a place kick at goal, or tap...
in the first-half. He then played against Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
on 15 February, scoring all of Italy's nine points, converting three penalties in the 38–9 defeat at Stadio Flaminio
Stadio Flaminio
The Stadio Flaminio is a stadium in Rome. It lies along the Via Flaminia, three kilometres northwest of the city centre, 300 metres away from the Parco di Villa Glori....
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. McLean scored a further three points kicking a penalty in the 26–6 defeat to Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
at Murrayfield
Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...
on 28 February. He featured in Italy's 20–15 loss to Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
on 15 March 2008 at Stadio Flaminio
Stadio Flaminio
The Stadio Flaminio is a stadium in Rome. It lies along the Via Flaminia, three kilometres northwest of the city centre, 300 metres away from the Parco di Villa Glori....
, failing to score any of Italy's points. McLean played in Italy's last Six Nations 2009 match against France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
on 21 March, losing 50–8.
McLean also played a part in Italy's two match series against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and Italy scoring the majority of Italy's points.
External links
- Luke McLean player profile at rugbycalvisano.it