From Rome’s grassroots clubs to captaining Italy, Michele Lamaro’s story is rooted in loyalty, identity, and the people who taught him why rugby matters.
For Michele Lamaro, Origin is not about where a professional career began. It is about where passion was first shared, where values were learned, and where identity was formed.
“I was born and grown in Rome, in a little club called Primavera Rugby,” Lamaro says.
“I’m still very connected with them. I love catching up with them.”
At Primavera, rugby was never just about results or pathways. It was about love for the game.
“They taught me a lot around the passion for this sport. That was the main objective of the whole club. They wanted to share that passion with kids and young players, and that was absolutely what they did with me.”
As a young player, Lamaro moved through several Roman clubs, including Lazio Rugby, before later joining Petrarca in Padua. Each stop added something different, but the foundation was already there.
“Club rugby was very, very important to me,” he says. “Those clubs gave me my real base. When I think of my past, I think of them. They built me, and I owe them a lot.”
The decision to leave Rome at 18 or 19 marked a turning point. Playing for Lazio while finishing school, Lamaro chose to move north to Petrarca, close to Treviso, and take his first real step towards the professional game.
“That was my first step into a professional career,” he says. “I was studying engineering in Padua, but I realised the university was taking too much focus. I decided to focus on rugby, and that’s when I started believing this could actually be my life.”
That belief eventually led him to Benetton Rugby, and later to captaining Italy. But Lamaro traces his leadership back much further.
“When I was 10 or 11, players were leaving clubs for slightly better environments,” he recalls. “My decision was to stay. I knew how much the club gave me. I loved the coaches, and my parents supported that decision.”
“That’s where I understood what it means to struggle, to go under fatigue, and how much you love your club. And how much you want to give back.”
Two coaches stand out above all others. Marco Sepe, one of his first coaches at Primavera, who shared the values of friendship, connection, and love for being together. And Cesare Marrucci, who coached him later in the academy system.
“He didn’t want to make you just a better player,” Lamaro says. “He wanted you to be a better person. That was his only goal.”
It is why the Vodacom URC Origin Round resonates so deeply.
“When I think of origins, I think of identity,” Lamaro says. “Little clubs struggling with one thing only, sharing passion with kids, giving them the opportunity to have fun, to spend quality time together.”
“That’s where all the passion we show on the biggest stage comes from.”
And for the next generation of Italian players, his message is simple.
“Keep believing. Keep following that passion and that fun. I’m sure you’ll have zero regrets at the end of the journey.”