Wasps have agreed to sign Italy international Matteo Minozzi for the 2019-20 season – and announced the deal in unusual fashion on Monday. 

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Minozzi, who can play at full-back or on the wing, joins from Zebre after it was confirmed Elliot Daly would be departing the Ricoh Arena for Saracens.

The Premiership club revealed the news with a clip uploaded to social media in which Minozzi takes the place of legendary video game character ‘Super Mario’, adding the hashtag #SuperMatteo.

Minozzi has missed much of this season with a knee injury, which has kept him out of the Six Nations, and director of rugby Dai Young hopes Wasps can provide a platform for him to shine.

“Matteo has bags of promise and already at such a young age, he’s got plenty of international experience under his belt,” said Young.

“He was tremendous at last year’s Six Nations with four tries in five games, and it’s a shame we’re not going to see him in the tournament this year.

“No doubt when he recovers he will be playing at the World Cup – and hopefully he’ll be able to give Wasps fans a taste of what they’ll be seeing at the Ricoh next season.”

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Minozzi, who was named in the official team of the tournament and was also shortlisted for the best player award after the 2018 Six Nations, is eager to challenge himself at a higher level.

He said: “Having spoken with friends of mine at Wasps, they couldn’t speak highly enough of the club.

“It was an easy decision for me and I can’t wait to test myself in the Premiership at a fantastic club with lots of history.”

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