Luke McLean is an Italian Australian
rugby unionRugby 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
TrevisoBenetton 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
ItalyItaly , 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 teamThe 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 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
citizenshipCitizenship 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 CollegeSt 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 SpiritThe 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 ChampionshipThe 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
ItalianItaly , 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
CalvisanoRugby 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 ForceWestern 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
AustraliaThe 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
ItalyThe 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-19The 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 CupThe 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 AfricaThe 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 TownCape 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 NationsThe 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
EnglandThe 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
TwickenhamTwickenham 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
penaltiesA 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
IrelandThe 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 FlaminioThe 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....
,
RomeRome 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
ScotlandThe 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
MurrayfieldMurrayfield 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
WalesThe 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 FlaminioThe 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
FranceThe 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
AustraliaThe 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.
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