“He’s going to be all in, he’s going to want to smash me!”, Montpellier’s Paolo Garbisi faces his little brother and his training club

Paolo Garbisi va jouer devant toute sa famille ce samedi, notamment son petit frère Alessandro. Jean-Michel Mart

L'ouvreur italien Paolo Garbisi sera titulaire face au Benetton Trévise ce samedi 20 janvier (16h15) en Challenge, le club dans lequel il a fait ses débuts professionnels.

It's like home. In the press room, he arrives in crampons, cap on his head and ball bag on his back. "Sorry, I was typing a few", slips Paolo Garbisi (23 years old), aware that he must correct his sights in his shots on goal (1/5 against the Lions last Saturday).

A battle of brothers 🤜🤛

Which Garbisi will come out on top as @BenettonRugby host @MHR_officiel tomorrow? 👀

All #ChallengeCupRugby R4 line-ups are in 👇

— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) January 19, 2024

Once installed, as is often the case with journalists, a big smile covers his face. He knows that this Saturday (4:15 p.m.) is his match. MHR faces Treviso, the club of his professional debut. The most competitive club in Italy, located forty kilometers from its native Venice. The club in which all transalpine rugby players hope to play one day.

"Unconsciously, there are perhaps some matches that are more memorable than others. But I'm trying to ensure that this one isn't special", assures the man who started rugby in Mogliano, close to the Venetian suburbs.

Facing the little brother

Beyond the fact that he is going to face a team he knows "90%", made up of half of the Italian team, Paolo will face his little brother, Alessandro (21 years old). "There, it’s going to be weird", confides the Montpellier flyhalf.

During the 2023 VI Nations Tournament, the two boys made their dream come true: playing together in the Squadra jersey. Alessandro in 9, Paolo in 10. "When we played together, it’s weird but in a good way. There, it's going to be in the wrong direction", he laughs. "Really, I hope that&rsquo ;he's not going to fall on me, I'm going to have to press the tackle a little", said the eldest Garbisi, with a tone of complete restraint, as if he wanted to be protective of his younger brother. The complete opposite of his brother."He's going to be really into it, he's going to want to smash me!"

The whole Garbisi family will be at the Mondigo stadium this Saturday afternoon. Everyone will be behind… Alessandro. "I'm on the wrong side this weekend. In a way, I hope to make the evening a little worse for them, he says.

No departure planned

Since his arrival in Montpellier in the summer of 2021, this is the first time that Paolo Garbisi returns to Treviso in the MHR jersey. Some media imply that a return home is possible this summer. Or that his profile would be of great interest to the Rugby Club Toulonnais. Strange noises from the corridors, while the player's contract runs until June 2025.

"Paolo, he never came to tell me that he wanted to leave. If he tells me that he wants to go back because his life is in Italy, I'm not going to tell him: “Shut up, you're staying here”. But for the moment I don't feel unhappy. He’s a competitor", confides Montpellier rugby director Bernard Laporte.

According to our information, Garbisi intends to stay in Hérault. And that he will not hesitate to help his team win on Saturday, even against his training club.