On the roof of the world. Gianluca GnecchiSunday night in Cape Town, Led the 7-a-side Rugby World Cup final between Fiji and New Zealand. An Italian referee has never been appointed to a world final.

The match is over 29-12 victory for the Fijian Olympic champions. High-intensity match challenge: In the second half, Gnechi received three yellow cards (two for the Fijian). “It’s a very intense discipline that prevents you from producing results with constant setbacks,” says the thirty-year-old from Brescia, who will return to Cape Town next week to officiate a match, this time in rugby 15s, between the South African Stormers and the Irish of Connacht.

With the progress of the tournament, I would be a liar if I said I didn’t think about the final – he says -. Then the official communication arrived in front of all colleagues on Saturday evening. That was the most exciting moment: An important recognition on an individual level, but also for the entire Italian oval movement“. In June, another Brescian, Andrea Piardi (with Gnecchi assisting Line) Twickenham was selected as the referee at England-Barbarians.

It is not easy to make a ranking about the importance of one or another event. The global follow-up to the 7-a-side Rugby World Cup is worth emphasizing: 24 nations from Argentina to Zimbabwe, passing through Australia, England and Korea in the men’s field. Everything is under the umbrella of World Rugby, the leading organization in the world.

“A party full of passion and great teamwork” Gnecchi says his next target is the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where rugby sevens will be part of the program for the third successive edition. “The refereeing will indicate the group immediately – he explains -, after leading the World Cup final, it is clear that Paris is more than a goal”.

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