When it comes to local rugby excellence, there’s no need to look further than the Tizzano brothers.
Western Force’s Carlo Tizzano and younger brother, Fortescue Academy and Associates’ player, Cristiano Tizzano, were introduced to rugby by their eldest brother. Growing up playing AFL, it was Adrian Tizzano who led the way for Carlo, Cristiano, and other brother Luca, to switch to the rugby field.
“It just followed through,” Carlo shared. “You always look up to your older brothers.”
Growing up in Wembley and playing rugby for UWA juniors, as well as for schools Trinity College and Hale, Carlo’s success on the rugby field has been hard earned. He played his first juniors' game at UWA as an Under 12, and it wasn’t long before he was making state teams.
“My first experience with RugbyWA was in the Junior Gold State 15s, that was with Dane Lazarus [RugbyWA’s General Manager of Rugby] and Alex Styker, two coaches I’m good friends with now, to this day, which is cool.”
From there, Carlo worked his way through the state squads, appearing in the Junior Gold U15s, U17s, before making his way on to both the WA and Australian School Boys teams. He also appeared in the Australian U20s.
“I was in the Future Force Academy [now the RugbyWA Academy] and got a contract with Western Force for Global Rapid Rugby.”
Tizzano technically debuted for the Western Force in 2019, during the Force’s NRC Grand Final-winning side, before moving to New South Wales to play for the Waratahs.
“it was a pretty tough decision, this being my childhood club, always wanted to play for the Western Force, but then I also wanted to play Super Rugby, so I had to make that tough decision, going to Waratahs,” Carlo said.
“I went there for three years, but during those three years I was trying to come back pretty hard, but it just didn’t align.”
After three seasons, the backrower transferred to Ealing Trailfinders in England, before moving back to Perth to play for the Force last April.
“I caught up with Simon Cron in the new year of 2023, and just had a conversation. It just ended up working out, and I came halfway through last year, and I’m loving it. I love being part of the Force, my childhood club, it’s awesome having him [Cristiano] around. It’s good.”
Coming from an AFL background, Cristiano decided to choose rugby over football the day his brother boarded a plane to move to New South Wales to play for the Waratahs.
“The reason I got into rugby was because of him [Carlo],” Cristiano shared.
“When Carlo was moving to the Waratahs, I basically thought to myself, “Why don’t I play rugby?” and he always said it to me, so I decided that day, when he was on the flight, that I wanted to start playing rugby.”
“From then on, I started playing rugby through Trinity College. I won a Redman Cup through them, and then worked my way into the state system, and was fortunate to get into the Fortescue Western Force Academy.”
For Cristiano, getting into the Fortescue Western Force Academy signalled reaching a goal he set for himself in high school.
“My biggest accomplishment would be getting into the Western Force Academy, and training with top team. I’m excited to get better accomplishments but I made that goal at the end of Year 12 to make it into the Academy, and I had no contracts, nothing, I just worked hard.”
“I went to the park by myself, no one there. I was training with Alex Styker one-on-one, I just grinded by myself, and I ended up asking for a meeting with Chris Goodman [Western Force’s General Manger of Rugby, Former Head of Academy], and he just said, ‘I’ll give you a trial. No contract or anything, just have a go.’”
“And then, I ended up getting called into the top squad because there were a lot of injuries, and I just trained well, and ended up getting the opportunity to get something out of it.”
“Still trotting along though,” he said.
Now playing for Associates, Cristiano joined the UWA-side straight out of school. In 2022, the brothers got to play together for two games, against Cottesloe and Joondalup.
“I finished with the Waratahs and I was moving to the UK, and I had two weeks in Perth,” Carlo recalled.
“So, I was like, ‘I’ll come play,’ get to play with my brothers. Our other brother, Luca, played as well, so to have all three of us on the field was pretty cool.”
Two years later, Carlo is once again aligned with UWA, as part of Western Force’s player allocations. Whilst it’s difficult around the demanding schedule of Super Rugby, he hopes to get down to his former club and help out as much as possible.
Having the opportunity to play for a Western Australian team means a lot to the brothers, having grown up in the state, and playing amongst the local competition.
“There aren’t many WA boys with this club at the moment. I want to be a part of that, of those WA boys coming through and putting on the jersey,” Cristiano said.
“If I put that jersey on one day, I’m going to go hard for the club and do it for my family, for WA.”
Sharing the sentiment, Carlo is proud to be Western Australian, and grew up dreaming of playing for the Western Force.
“For us, we’re born and bred in WA. We were both born at St John of God Hospital, grew up down the road in Wembley – we’ve spent our whole lives here,” Carlo said.
“We represent those people who aren’t from traditional rugby backgrounds. We’ve taken this on and just fallen in love with the sport and we represent that group of people and this state.”
“We’re really proud of it as well. I love being from WA, and I’ll be fighting for this club and putting my best foot forward every week. Every time I put the jersey on, it’s an absolute honour.”
An honour, which Carlo cites as his greatest accomplishment so far in his rugby career.
“For me, the biggest accomplishment would be just making my Super Rugby debut for the Western Force. I used to go to HBF Park when the scaffolding was up, and watch Matt Hodgson play, watching those guys play, really idolizing them, really wanting to play Super Rugby for Western Force.”
“My original debut for the Force was in Global Rapid Rugby, which was a really special moment, but my Super Rugby debut for the Western Force, and my first home game, meant a lot to me. To be in front of my family, my friends, a lot of my coaches and people that saw me grow up, all the way through.”
“Even now, why it’s so special for me, every time I take the field at HBF Park is an accomplishment. All these fans and people who have seen me come all the way through, have seen my development not even as a rugby player but as a human being.”
“For me, that’s the biggest one. There has been other stuff as well, but I’d say just taking the field every week for the Western Force is an accomplishment in itself, and I don’t take it for granted.”
With their shared love of rugby, the brothers are grateful they were introduced to the sport.
“We were pretty lucky to be introduced to rugby by our older brother,” Carlo said.
“Rugby is an awesome sport. It’s suited to anyone, any shape and size, culture, anything. That’s why it’s one of the best sports in the world. That’s why I love it - you meet so many different people, and anyone can play it.”
“It’s played all around the world,” Cristiano commented. “It’s good life experience as well.”
As two excellent examples of the talent coming through the RugbyWA competition, it’s clear their success hasn’t come easily, but with a lot of hard work, love and dedication. That’s their advice, too, for young players wanting to don a State or Western Force jersey, one day.
“A quote that I’d say, in terms of hard work, is, ‘Hard work beats talent, when talent fails to work hard,’” Cristiano shared.
“Be the hardest worker in the room, always be prepared – preparation is key.”
“Biggest thing is enjoy it,” Carlo said.
“That’s the key, if you don’t enjoy it, it’s your parents dream, it’s not going to be your dream. It’s got to be your dream, you’ve got to enjoy it, and you just know you’re going to have to work a whole lot harder than anyone else.”
“That’s the beauty of being from here, we have such good programs, and you’re going to have to work hard if you want to make it into the Western Force squad. That’s the only way you’re going to get in.”
"We don’t get exposure as much, because we’re on the other side of the country to the eastern states, but that’s a blessing in disguise, because you instill good habits from a young age.”
“Biggest thing, enjoy it, and be the hardest worker in the room at all times.”
Round 15 of the Super Rugby Pacific is set to kick off this weekend, with Western Force’s Community Round. Carlo Tizzano is set to be part of the Force’s Starting XV against the Brumbies.
With the chance to show off the incredible talent of the RugbyWA community, the Cup Final for the Rendezvous Scarborough Challenge Cup will play as the Curtain Raiser. Cristiano Tizzano’s Associates side is set to take on Kalamunda at HBF Park, with kick off set for 3:00PM.
Local schools Iona Presentation College Junior School and Churchlands Primary School are also set to make an appearance during halftime, as part of RugbyWA’s Junior Force Experience.
The 2024 Junior Season kicked off earlier this month, but registrations are still open. To become the next Carlo or Cristiano Tizzano, find your local club and register today.
