Exeter Chiefs Women sign Italian winger

Exeter Chiefs will welcome Italian winger Francesca Granzotto to Sandy Park after the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

The 23-year-old, who also plays at full-back and scrum-half, has 19 caps for Italy following her debut against Canada in July 2022. She played in the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup in the same year and has featured in three Women’s Six Nations and two WXV tournaments.

⁠Granzotto first began playing rugby at primary school. She liked the sport so much that she persuaded her father to take her to the rugby club in her hometown of Conegliano. She then moved to Villorba Rugby Club when she was 13 to play for a girls’ team.

As a student, Granzotto spent a year studying at Worthing College, playing for the college’s team and Hove RFC. She then moved to Rome for her university studies and has been playing for Unione Rugby Capitolina in Italy’s capital city while furthering her international career.

Interim head coach Steve Salvin said: “Francesca is a great person and a player who is looking to develop her skills even further in the PWR. Her versatility in the backs will give us options on a match-day. She is a very welcome addition to the squad.”

Granzotto said: “⁠I want an experience in the Premiership that will allow me to grow and improve both as a player and as a person, and I feel like Exeter is the right place to do so. I want to learn as much as I can from the coaches and my teammates and make the most of this opportunity.”