Gino Lupini is a retired South African-Italian professional rugby union player who played in the top domestic Italian league Top10 and for Italy Sevens in 10 competitions, making 43 match appearances.

Early life

He was born in Cape Town, where he grew up and went to Sweet Valley Primary School where he was elected as first team rugby captain. Lupini then joined his two older brothers at SACS high school in Newlands, the oldest school in South Africa, close to

Newlands Stadium The Newlands Stadium, referred to as DHL Newlands for sponsorship reasons, is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The stadium has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all-seater venue. Various sports teams use the stadium as their hom ...

Rugby

After having two very successful years in the first 15 at

South African College Schools The South African College Schools (colloquially often known as “SACS”) is a public English medium primary and high education institution situated in Newlands - part of the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town in the Western Cape province o ...

(2011-2012), he was selected to join the Italian under 20 squad ahead of the 2013 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy (Did not take part due to injury).

Western Province

In 2014, he joined the Western Province Rugby Academy, he was fortunate enough to later be added to the u21

Western Province (rugby team) Western Province (known for sponsorship reasons as DHL Western Province) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Newlands, Cape Town, that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup tournaments. Founded in 1883, t ...

who went on to win the u21 Currie Cup. Gino stayed with the u21 squad at

in 2015 who once again went on to win the u21

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

Mogliano Rugby

In 2015, he left

to join

Mogliano Rugby Mogliano Rugby 1969 is an Italian rugby union club founded in 1956. They are based in Mogliano Veneto (Province of Treviso), in Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , populat ...

in Italy, ahead of the Italian pre-season training. Here he would go on to play his debut season in the National Championship of Excellence and the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

qualifier.

San Dona Rugby

In 2016, he started at the international level, playing for

Italian Rugby Federation The Italian Rugby Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Rugby) or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby. (All other members of ...

in the form of rugby sevens where he burst onto the

Rugby Europe Rugby Europe is the administrative body for rugby union in Europe. It was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organise, and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of World Rugby (the sport's global governing body). However, it ...

scene in the 2016

FIRA Firá ( el, Φηρά, pronounced ) is the modern capital of the Greek Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). A traditional settlement,http://www.visitgreece.gr Greek National Tourism Organisation "Firá" derives its name from an alternative pron ...

Grand prix sevens series. He also joined up with his new 15 man club ;Rugby San Dona to play in the National Championship of Excellence. .In 2017 , Gino Lupini has continued to be form with

, Italy Seven gaining two player of the tournament trophies in the two international tournaments in which he played. He has continued playing the 15 man format of the game with his chosen club Rugby San Dona.

I Medicei Rugby

In 2018, Gino Lupini once again continued to play with the

, Italy Seven where he and the team went on to win a bronze medal in Moscow, the first leg of the

Grand prix sevens series. Gino Lupini also decided to change clubs in the 15 man format of the game. He now plays for

I Medicei I, or i, is the ninth Letter (alphabet), letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in Engl ...

in the newly named

Top12 The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) and is contested by 10 teams as of the 2019� ...

Italian domestic championship.

Verona Rugby

In 2019, Lupini moved to Verona Rugby where he played in Series A. He and Verona rugby had a dominant start to the season, where they did not loose a single match and were favourites to take the title, but the season was interrupted after 12 games played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lupini also managed to complete his Bachelors of Education from

UNISA The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

during this season.

Retirement

During the COVID-19 pandemic crisis 2020, Lupini announced his retirement with immediate effect. He had suffered a number of

concussions A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

throughout his playing career, he announced his retirement on his social media accounts and with an Italian rugby journalist from ONRUGBY.IT. He stated that it is, 'Strange to think I am writing this at 26, but after a few months of contemplating and not due to lack of opportunity I am lucky enough to blow final whistle on my playing career, both literally and figuratively hanging up my boots. I feel that it is best for me to focus on my future.I feel so grateful and thankful that I have had the chance to turn my childhood dream into a reality and I can only hope that it be considered a success. I was fortunate enough to be with so many amazing teams, have such successful teammates and most importantly, made friendships that will last a lifetime. I couldn't have chased my childhood dream without the support from family and friends, thank you all for being there for me, no one could have asked for more."'' Lupini is now a teacher at private International school in Milan, Italy. Additionally he has focused himself on his charity work.

Honours

* Rugby

Eccellenza The Eccellenza (, "excellence") is the fifth level (since 2014–15) of Italian football. It is a regional league, composed of 28 divisions divided geographically. All 20 regions are represented by at least one division except for Piedmont and A ...

(became

Top10 (rugby union) The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) and is contested by 10 teams as of the 2019� ...

, 4th in Classification 2015-2016 *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, Winner 2017 *

Rugby Europe Sevens The Rugby Europe Sevens are a series of rugby sevens tournaments held by Rugby Europe. It was formerly known as the FIRA-AER Sevens until 2013, and the Sevens Grand Prix Series until 2021. Only one annual tournament existed prior to 2011, whe ...

, Bronze medalist, Russia, 2017 * Elected Best Center in

, 2018

National honours

* ** Knight of Merit of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...

** Knight of Merit of the Civil Order of Savoy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lupino, Gino Italian rugby union players South African rugby union players 1994 births Living people Alumni of South African College Schools Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Cape Town