Luca Martin (born 25 November 1973 in

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

) is a former Italian rugby union player and a current coach. He played as a centre and as a fullback.

Career

Martin first played at his home team of

Petrarca Padova Rugby Petrarca Rugby is a rugby union club from Padua, Italy, currently competing in the top tier of the Italian rugby union, the Top10. Founded in 1947, the team is the rugby union branch of the Unione Sportiva Petrarca, an omnisport club that inclu ...

, being promoted to the first category in 1991/92. He would play there until 1997/98. He then moved to the French team

Union Bordeaux Bègles Union Bordeaux Bègles (; oc, Union Bordèu Begla) is a French rugby union team playing in the Top 14, the first level of the country's professional league system. They earned their Top 14 place by winning the promotion playoffs that followed ...

, where he would be from 1998/99 to 1999/2000. He moved once more to

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

in England, where he would play for two seasons, from 2000/01 to 2001/02, winning the Cup of England in 2001/02. After a brief stint at Bedford Bulls, he returned to Italy to represent

Rugby Rovigo stadium, 200px Rugby Rovigo Delta, formerly known until 2010 as Rugby Rovigo, is an Italian rugby union club currently competing in the Top10. They are based in Rovigo, in Veneto. The club was founded in 1935 by medical student Dino Lanzoni, wh ...

(2002/03-2005/06). Martin then returned to a two-season spell at Petrarca Padova Rugby (2006/07-2007/08), finishing his career at Rocia Rugby, in 2008/09, aged 35 years old, as player-coach. He then started a coach career, being in charge of the Rocia Rugby U-19 team in 2008/09, and being nominated Head Coach of the Italy Sevens National Team in 2009. Martin had 38 caps for

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, from 1997 to 2002, scoring 9 tries, 45 points in aggregate. He was selected for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

, playing one game. He played 3 times at the

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

, in 2000, 2001 and 2002, scoring 2 tries, 10 points in aggregate.

External links

* 1973 births Living people Italian rugby union players Italian rugby union coaches Italy international rugby union players Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Padua Petrarca Rugby players Italian expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby league players in England Italian expatriate rugby union players in France Northampton Saints players Bedford Blues players Rugby Rovigo Delta players CA Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde players 1999 Rugby World Cup players {{Italy-rugbyunion-bio-stub