An Italy international prop, Michele Rizzo moved to Leicester Tigers from Benetton Treviso ahead of the 2013/14 season.

A loosehead with previous experience at hooker, Rizzo captained Petrarca Padova before spending five seasons with Treviso and won his first Test cap in 2005.

He started Italy’s opening games in the 2014 Six Nations and played more than 20 games in the European Cup with Treviso, including both fixtures against Tigers in the 2013/14 season.

After settling into new surroundings at Leicester, he earned an Italy recall during the 2015 Six Nations and as part of the squad for the Rugby World Cup in England, starting against Canada.

Unfortunately, he then suffered a knee injury which sidelined him for the entire 2015/16 season but returned in good enough form to earn another recall to the international arena during the 2017 Six Nations.