John Gallagher wore the silver fern jersey as a full-back, making his official international debut against Italy in the group stage match of the 1987 World Cup, which went down in history above all for the coast-to-coast try scored by his teammate John Kirwan.
His real debut, in truth, had come shortly before in France, but in uncapped tests. So much so that by the end of his career in Rugby Union, he would have played 41 matches wearing the All Blacks shirt, but only has 18 international caps, before starting one of the deepest migrations towards League – rugby league, which was already professional at the time, while fifteens would only turn professional in 1995.
Born in England to a family of Irish origins, he decided to go to New Zealand on a gap year. He caught the eye of selectors playing for local club Oriental Rongotai, and he was then selected first for Wellington and later for the national team – by residency.
His wife Anita, on the other hand, is of Italian origin, thanks to her father Abramo (also Matt's middle name), originally from Massimeno, near Pinzolo, a town in the province of Trento, which, with its 145 inhabitants, is the least populated municipality in Trentino Alto Adige.
Matt, born in 1996, spends many of his summers at his grandparents' house, where he often hears Italian spoken – his mother is fluent, he says, also because she grew up in a London neighbourhood characterised by a large presence of emigrants, and his two sisters attended an Italian school. Matt’s passion for the oval ball stems from his father, who played mostly in the same number 15 shirt with Saracens, Munster, Bath, and now with Benetton.
"While before, playing in England, I saw my dad more often and my grandparents less, now it's almost the opposite, given that I'm just over an hour's drive from where they live – said Matt Gallagher -. “I've always liked the possibility of being able to have lots of experiences, meet different people and cultures
Italy is such a beautiful country to live in and I am so grateful to be a part of the same culture that part of my family comes from. In rugby, we are a team with a lot of ambition and determination. We know what we want to achieve and we are headed in the right direction”.
“Dad was my biggest role model ever. He always supported me, but never forced me to play rugby, telling me to try some sport, just have fun. Then I got passionate about rugby and I think he is proud of this. I grew up watching his videos, the tapes with the highlights of his career and I wanted to be like him, so now I am very happy to have landed in international rugby too. He started playing with the All Blacks when he was very young and I think he was there between the ages of 21 and 25 before moving to Rugby League, a career that was perhaps short and so far I can already say I have had a longer one, but the goal as mentioned is to know and understand and then to be as happy as possible".
In 18 official tests with the black jersey, in a relatively short career lasting just two years (1987-1989) before the change of code, the All Black number 879 John Gallagher scored an incredible 13 tries, including 4 (a record) in the match against Fiji in the 1987 World Cup in New Zealand.
"I could surpass it by becoming the first international home player or scoring 14 tries," jokes the Benetton full-back. "To be honest, I've always played in teams with great players, but when I came to Italy, I tried to get out my old tee. I stepped up to take on the [kicking] responsibility [against Georgia] . I'm obviously disappointed that it didn't work out, but I'm still happy that I had the courage to try."
Interestingly, given his various family origins, Matt could have represented England – where he was born and played for his youth team, winning an under-20 World Cup in 2016 – Ireland (his father's origins), Italy (his mother's), and New Zealand, by honorary passport given his father's sporting exploits.
"But I've actually only been to New Zealand twice, the last time being on tour with Italy last summer. A lot of friends were able to come and see me and make my debut against Samoa when I made my debut, and now in Italy in front of my home crowd, it's been incredible. I'm very happy to be here and to be part of Italian rugby and I can say that I feel very lucky and that I've had a lot of choices."
Even his father, after the rugby season ended, returned to his country of origin and played for Ireland A in 1996 against Scotland A.
"We're all a little confused in the family," he jokes, "we like to see what happens and try to seize opportunities when they arise."
Would this also leave the door open to the possibility of changing discipline in the footsteps of his father in the 90s?
"No, I would say no, I don't see myself in rugby league. Changing sports is different and league is very physical, there is a whole different athletic preparation, the game itself and the understanding of it is a whole other thing, so I don't think you will see me there. There are many examples of great players who have played in both codes, Andy Farrell, Sam Burgess, Sonny Bill Williams just to name a few more recently. Today you can't help but think of Joseph Suaalii, who has already shown all his potential with Australia, against England he was deadly and he is still very young, so he has a long way to go, but physically he is monstrous, with excellent skills and abilities in passing and in the air".
In any case, it is inevitable to think that Saturday night's match against the All Blacks will be a special one for the whole family.
"I've been looking forward to it practically since the day it was announced and I'm really excited to be a part of it. Playing against the All Blacks, wherever that is and with whatever team, is something special in itself and the atmosphere this week has been really special. So I can't be anything but delighted to be involved, however it happens.
It's something extraordinary to be able to play against the national team that my dad played for and, in fact, almost a little surreal. He's coming to watch the game and it will be the first time he's seen me at international level. He told me to enjoy it and to believe in my ability no matter what happens, to respect the All Blacks, but at the same time to play hard and not fear them. I think he'll remain neutral in the stands, even if he might hum the anthem in his head."
Dad John will return to London the next day, where he continues to live and work in the real estate sector, after having been a policeman, both in England and New Zealand, a teacher, and, like his wife Anita, also headmaster of the school where Matt went.
"But I was the good one in the family, my brother was the class clown," the former Bath player, who certainly has plenty of wit and humour, promptly retorts. "Dad played 41 games for New Zealand and never lost a game, which is not a bad record. I think he only drew once against Australia. He always told me how much fun he had with the All Blacks. Of course, there was no shortage of pressure and hard work, but everyone knew what they had to do. He was a very relaxed and well-liked guy. He came from a different background, but he made himself loved by everyone precisely because of his approach to life even before the game".
In the past, as mentioned, he was an English age-grade international with reasonable success, and during his time with Munster, a call-up to Ireland seemed close. How did the decision to wear the blue shirt come about?
"I left Munster and followed my coach Johann van Graan to Bath. Kieran Crowley approached me there, but I was pretty much new to the club and wanted to focus on the club first. Then Gonzalo Quesada came forward and asked me what I was doing last summer and if I wanted to be part of the Pacific tour. I was leaving Bath and moving to Treviso, Italy, and it felt like a bit of an all-in.
I like to learn, challenge myself in new places and environments and at the end of the day, I want to try to be a nice person. Honestly, playing internationally is something every player dreams of and I never thought about which team I could do it with, so when the opportunity came up, I just took it and said "you know what, yeah, let's do it".
An Italian national team that lately relies heavily on a certain type of family DNA. Just before Matt Gallagher, Louis Lynagh, son of Michael, a Wallabies legend, more or less in the same years in which his father John Gallagher played, made his debut in the blue jersey and announced his arrival in Treviso; and before that, Monty Ioane, nephew of another former Australian international, Digby.
It is also interesting that the first to take an interest was Kieran Crowley, the All Blacks fullback who had been kept out of the national team for a long time by his father John, and who was also a protagonist in the 1987 World Cup campaign.
"He was really nice. When he called me, the first thing he asked me was how my dad was and then the second question was 'do you want to play for Italy?'. Kieran is a great person and so is Gonzalo: Italian rugby was and is in good hands."
On Saturday night, the atmosphere will be one of a big party at the Allianz Stadium, home of Juventus who will open their doors to international rugby for the first time, but on the pitch the All Blacks will want to demonstrate their worth and close out their European tour in the best possible way.
"They lost a crazy game against France, but before that they had won against Ireland who were number one in the world at the time, and against England at Twickenham, which was also not easy. It will be an incredibly tough game, against a team that has talent to spare in every department. We will have to try to be focused, starting strong to try to have a chance.
Many of us are excited just thinking about playing this match and we will try to give it our all and, who knows, maybe we will be able to write a small page in the history of Italian rugby".
All this in a somewhat uneven November, especially after the many expectations for the best Six Nations tournament ever for Italy.
"Against Argentina we expected much more from ourselves. We know we are a good team and we didn't face the game at our best. That was also a particular challenge, with many Argentines who play in Italy, Nacho and Gonzalo (Brex and Quesada, ed. ) who have South American origins. With Georgia we knew it would be a real physical battle and with a lot of competition up front. In the first half they put us under pressure by scoring two tries, but we are proud of the reaction we had in the second half".
In Genoa, where the last Test was played against Georgia at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Patrick Vieira, an Arsenal legend and a huge favourite of Matt Gallagher, arrived as the new coach of one of the two local football clubs.
"And we're having one of our best seasons in recent years," said Gallagher. "Off the pitch I love football, but I'm also a simple guy. I like to relax, play video games like any other twenty-year-old. I read, I'm reading an interesting book of almost 900 pages, and then I do a bit of social video editing for fun: I just got a new camera and who knows, maybe in the future I'll create my own YouTube channel."
