Juan Pitinari

Born on 18 January 1995, Juan Pitinari is an Italian flanker who has built his reputation on the relentless, unglamorous work that defines a top-class loose forward. A product of the Italian rugby pathway, he turns out for Zebre Rugby in the United Rugby Championship, where he competes against many of Europe's strongest packs week to week. Pitinari's game is built around the breakdown: he is a persistent threat over the ball, quick to contest possession and disrupt opposition ruck speed, while his defensive workload rarely dips across eighty minutes. As one of the more experienced operators in the Zebre back row, he offers leadership and a dependable link between the forwards and the backs, carrying hard in tight channels and tidying up the loose ball that springs from broken play. His consistency and physical edge have made him a regular fixture in the Italian side's forward rotation, the kind of player coaches lean on to set the defensive tone and keep the pack ticking over in the trenches.