Tommaso Allan

Tommaso Allan (/ˈælən/; born 26 April 1993) is an Italian professional rugby union player who primarily plays fly-half for Harlequins of the English Premiership. He has also represented Italy at international level, having made his test debut against Australia during the 2013 Autumn Internationals. Allan has previously played for Perpignan and Benetton.[1][2]

Tommaso Allan
Allan during a Six Nations event, March 2018
Date of birth (1993-04-26) 26 April 1993
Place of birthVicenza, Italy
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight91 kg (201 lb; 14 st 5 lb)
SchoolRoyal Grammar School, High Wycombe
Notable relative(s)John Allan (uncle)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half/ Full-Back
Current team Harlequins
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2016 Perpignan 41 (150)
2016–2021 Benetton 66 (378)
2021− Harlequins 18 (86)
Correct as of 19 November 2022
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012–2013 Scotland U20 16 (89)
2013– Italy 71 (423)
Correct as of 18 March 2023

Club career

Allan was part of the London Wasps Academy in 2011 before captaining the RGS High Wycombe rugby side. He won the Under-19 Provincial Championship while playing for Western Province in South Africa and at the end of his contract there, he joined Perpignan.

Allan signed for French Top 14 side Perpignan shortly before the 2013–14 season. Allan made his debut for Perpignan on 8 September 2013 against Racing Métro at Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in the Hauts-de-Seine, Paris. Perpignan lost 19–16,[3] with Allan kicking one conversion (56th minute) and kicking three penalties (3rd minute, 26th minute, 68th minute).

Because of Allan's end-of-year performances, he was called up to the national team. Allan played a total of eight games in the Top 14 and four in the Heineken Cup in his debut season for Perpignan, scoring a total of 27 points in 12 appearances for the side. Unfortunately Perpignan were relegated to the Pro D2 after finishing 13th out of the 14 teams.

In the 2014–15 Pro D2 season, Allan cemented a firm position on the number 10 role for Perpignan. Playing eighteen games, scoring three tries, fourteen penalty goals, scoring a total of 81 points and helping Perpignan to reach promotional play-offs.

Allan returned to his home region of Veneto, Italy, signing for Benetton Treviso before the 2016–17 Pro12 until 2020–21 Pro14 season.[4] [5]

It was announced on 5 May 2021, that Allan had been signed by the English Premiership team Harlequins, to begin his career with them ahead of the 2021/22 season.[6]

International career

On 9 October 2013 Allan was named in the Italian 35-man training squad for the 2013 end-of-year rugby union tests,[7] which led to the Scottish Rugby Union seeking clarity on Allan's intentions for his future.[8] Despite Allan playing for Scotland at Under 17, Under 18 and Under 20 age groups, he was named in Jacques Brunel's final squad.[9] He made his debut coming off the bench to score against Australia.

Allan started the first three of Italy's 2014 Six Nations matches against Wales, France and Scotland.[10]

On 24 August 2015, he was named in the final 31-man squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup[11] and on 18 August 2019, he was named in the final 31-man squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[12]

Personal life

Allan hails from a rugby family; his Scottish father William Allan and his Italian mother Paola Berlato both played in Italy, while his uncle John Allan earned 9 caps for Scotland and 13 for South Africa.[13] Through his father he was eligible to represent Scotland, but chose to play for Italy at senior level. He went to the European School, Culham, England.

Statistics

List of international test tries

As of 18 March 2023[14]

Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  Australia Turin, Italy Stadio Olimpico di Torino 2013 end-of-year rugby union internationals 9 November 2013 Loss 20 – 50
2  Scotland Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico 2014 Six Nations 22 February 2014 Loss 20 – 21
3  Romania Exeter, England Sandy Park 2015 Rugby World Cup 11 October 2015 Win 32 – 22
4  Tonga Padova, Italy Stadio Euganeo 2016 end-of-year rugby union international 26 November 2016 Loss 17 – 19
5  Ireland Dublin, Ireland Aviva Stadium 2018 Six Nations 10 February 2018 Loss 56 – 19
6  Scotland Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico 17 March 2018 Loss 27 – 29
7
8  Georgia Florence, Italy Stadio Artemio Franchi 2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals 10 November 2018 Win 28 – 17
9  England London, England Twickenham Stadium 2019 Six Nations 9 March 2019 Loss 57 – 14
10  Russia San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy Stadio Riviera delle Palme 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 17 August 2019 Win 85 – 15
11  Namibia Osaka, Japan Hanazono Rugby Stadium 2019 Rugby World Cup 22 September 2019 Win 47 – 22
12  England London, England Twickenham Stadium 2021 Six Nations 13 February 2021 Loss 41 – 18
13  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 2023 Six Nations 18 March 2023 Loss 26 – 14

References
  1. "Tommy Allan: 'Unusual' Italy fly-half charts voyage of discovery". BBC Sport. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  2. "Harlequins sign Tommaso Allan". Harlequins. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. "Racing Métro – Perpignan". Top 14 (in French). 8 September 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  4. "Dopo Cinque Stagioni Tommaso Allan Passa Agli Harlequins". 5 May 2021.
  5. "Il Benetton Rugby saluta 10 Leoni e 4 componenti dello staff". Benetton Rugby (in Italian). 30 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  6. "Harlequins sign Tommaso Allan". Harlequins. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  7. "Italy call-up Scotland U-20 fly-half". ESPN. 9 October 2013.
  8. "Scotland seek clarity on Tommaso Allan after Italy call-up". BBC Sport. 9 October 2013.
  9. "Italia, geldenhuys rientra in gruppo in vista dei cariparma test match". Italian Rugby Federation (in Italian). 19 October 2013.
  10. "Scotland leave it late to beat Italy in Rome with Weir drop goal". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  11. Rugby World Cup, Scelti i 31 Azzurri per Inghilterra 2015
  12. "Italrugby, Conor O'shea Annuncia I 31 Giocatori Convocati per Il Mondiale".
  13. Tommaso Allan SRU Profile Archived 21 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "Tommaso Allan". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
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