Full name | John Ricky Riccitelli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 3 February 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Durban, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 110 kg (243 lb; 17 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Francis Douglas Memorial College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | University of Otago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John Ricky Riccitelli (/ˌriːtʃɪˈtɛli/ REE-chih-TEL-ee; born 3 February 1995) is a New Zealand professional rugby union footballer who plays as a hooker for New Zealand franchise Blues. In his youth career, he was selected to play in the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championships for New Zealand and took part in Francis Douglas Memorial College first XV.
Riccitelli represents the Taranaki provincial team and made his professional debut for the union in 2017 at the age of 22. He spent a season at the Hawke's Bay side, before earning a short-term contract in the Hurricanes 2016 Super Rugby squad. He has defended the Ranfurly Shield with Hawke's Bay in 2014 and Taranaki in 2017, won a championship with the Hurricanes in 2016 and was named Player of the Year at the TRFU Amber and Black awards.[1] He has scored 11 career tries in all competitions.