The “Monkey” was responsible for the greatest triumph of the Tucuman team, when from his role as main coach, Los Naranjas beat France in 1992.
Nicholas Mario Rizzo, an emblematic figure of rugby in Tucuman and Cordoba, died at the age of 77 in Villa Carlos Paz, Córdoba. Throughout his career, he stood out for his extensive career as a player and coach.
The “Monkey”, as they called him, was responsible for the greatest triumph of the Tucuman rugby team, when from his role as main coach, Los Naranjas beat France, in June 1992, in a match that was played at the Monumental Stadium José Fierro.
Although his name has been associated with Tucumán Rugby, where he got tired of being champion training with his friend “Willy” Lamarca, the Tucuman national team and Los Tarcos, he never hid his love for his club Tala RC. “People know it, I never hid it, and everyone banked me like that. It is my club and I go at least once a month, ”he said years ago during an interview with this newspaper.
He was so “black and white” that, back in the 70s, when the dealership where he worked sent him to settle temporarily in the NOA, on weekends he traveled to Córdoba just to play with his club. “Back then, more than 200 kilometers away you might already play for another club without the need for a pass. So it was that I played two years in Jockey de Salta. But sometimes they needed me in Tala, and there I just took the car and left. I finished the game and turned around, because the next day they always called me from the headquarters to ask me if there was any news, ”he recalled on that occasion.