Defending champions XIII del Ducato from Piacenza retained the FIRL Championship title after a convincing 54-11 win in the Serie A Grand Final against newly-formed Ariete Este from Padova.
Kelly Rolleston, coach of the north-west regional side which takes in XIII del Ducato, said, "Congratulations to Este who showed a lot of determination and heart. I am pleased with how we played and it was clear that our experience over the last two seasons was a big part of our success. It was nice to see some of the new players really stamp their mark, like Giacomo Alfonsi and Davide Rancati; we were pleased with the whole day and the chance to play at home in front of our supporters.”
“It’s an honor to win the championship for the third time running,” added Fabio Berzieri, captain of XIII del Ducato. “This is the result of all the work the players from Piacenza have put in the last three years. I would like to thank FIRL, the Este team and all the teams that have participated in the Italian championship and battled to win this trophy throughout the fields in Italy.”
Ferro Fabrizio and Maurizio Boscolo, the president and vice president of Este, declared that, "the experience was very positive; we have seen the boys do their utmost in this league, gaining excellent results. To be runners up is still a great result, now we will work for the future."
"FIRL is satisfied with what we’ve achieved during the beginning of 2012,” commented secretary Fabio Di Pietro. “The final has shown that we are following the right path. Now next week is the Italian State of Origin, from which we will select the best players for the Italian national team who will play against Germany on 7th July."
Pictured: Kelly Rolleston (left) celebrates the threepeat.
XIII del Ducato
Robuschi, Edgar Muyadi, Alfonsi E., Drake Muyadi, Barani, Ilinca, Alfonsi G., Berzieri, Alberti, Sola, Bance, Franchi, Rancati. A disp. Battini, Pavia, Monteagudo, Rolleston.
Ariete Este XIII
Ferro, Chiodarelli, Filipovic, Ongaro, Zamana, Boscolo, Milliele Saltarelli, Borsetto, Leoni, Peloso, Franchini, Veronese Davide A disp. Veronese Fabio, Cecchetto, Stivarello, Gallo.
Scorers: 2’mt Bance (4-0), 10’ mt Barani tr Robuschi (10-0), 13 mt Alfonsi G. tr Robuschi (16-0), 15’ mt Alfonsi G. (20-0), 23’ drop Zamana (20-1), 27’ mt Muyodi D. tr Robuschi (26-1), 33’ mt Alberti tr Alfonsi G. (32-1) 35’ Leoni (32-5) Secondo tempo 3’ mt Boscolo tr Filipovic (32-11), 5’ mt Alfonsi G. tr Robuschi (38-11) 8’ mt Barani (42-11), 18’ mt Bance tr Alfonsi (48-11), 20’ mt Berzieri tr Rolleston (54-11)