Acting on a tip from a friend, Todaro earned an academic and rugby scholarship at Ipswich. He left home, left his parents and his sister, his friends and his rugby club, and journeyed 800 miles to England<\/a> alone. He saw this route with remarkable clarity and a willingness to escape his comfort zone. Rugby, though, was not his chief motivation.<\/p>\n \u201cI never had the goal or ambition to become a professional rugby player,\u201d Todaro says. \u201cI always loved doing my extras, always stayed longest on the pitch or in the gym and tried to improve as much as I could. I loved it, but I never saw it as a career.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to England using my rugby to gain a new life experience. It was a good opportunity to learn more English, make some new friends in another country. That was going to make me a better man. I wanted something new in my life. I\u2019d been locked down for nearly two years.\u201d<\/p>\n Todaro\u2019s mother, Silvia, had already instilled the importance of learning English. She\u2019d lived in the United States for a time and knew the language would open up opportunities for her kids. The tutoring she\u2019d put Todaro through was scant preparation for the machine-gun volleys from the locals.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an Italian speaking English at home I was one of the best among my friends, but that was completely different,\u201d Todaro says. \u201cI could hold a conversation but that didn\u2019t mean I could study in it. In Italy, we are not the best English speakers as a country.<\/p>\n Try scorer. Try provider. Player of the Match.<\/p>\n All in a day\u2019s work for Edoardo Todaro in his East Midlands derby debut \ud83e\udd0c pic.twitter.com\/OamT1OsUJp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe first few months, picking up on the slang, the British way of talking fast. Sometimes when people would ask me something I would just say \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019 because asking them to repeat themselves three times, you just had to accept it. I had no clue what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n At some point, rugby crystallised as a tangible possibility. Passion could one day become profession. Todaro was already playing a year up from his age grade. His friends had been caught in the RFU talent drag net and were clambering up Northampton<\/a> Saints\u2019 performance pathway.<\/p>\n \u201cSurely if they were playing, I could as well,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t think it was going to happen for me at first. I got selected for a trial two months into my Year 10 season and from there, I got into the system.\u201d<\/p>\n These past six months, Todaro\u2019s trajectory jerked sharply upwards. A dynamic, aggressive and skilled centre, he shone for Italy\u2019s U20s in the Six Nations<\/a> and at a home World Rugby Championship<\/a> while still 18. He returned late to Northampton\u2019s pre-season fearing he may have fallen behind his peers.<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t believe it. I was like, oh my god, I\u2019m playing against one of the best wingers in England and I\u2019ve never played wing. Will I be at the same level?<\/p>\n Phil Dowson had other ideas. He gave Todaro his professional debut, out of position, on the wing, in the Prem Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cI got told on the Tuesday,\u201d Todaro recalls. \u201cThe whole month before I was playing centre or full-back in Italy<\/a> so I didn\u2019t have much time to get used to wing.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you know how to play rugby, if you know your way around \u2013 I\u2019ve played 12, 13, full-back, 10 \u2013 that helped me learn and know what a winger should do. I\u2019m not perfect, I\u2019ve only played there a couple of months, but knowing what a centre or a full-back wants from a winger helps me out. I\u2019m a different winger to others; I can do different things.\u201d<\/p>\n Dowson knew what he had and liked what he saw. A week later, Todaro played his first Prem match opposite Manny Feyi-Waboso, England\u2019s game-breaker back from injury and intent on maximum destruction. Feyi-Waboso scored twice. So did Todaro. The young pup dazzled in a see-sawing draw.<\/p>\n \u201cCrazy week,\u201d he says. \u201cNot an average player I was opposite. I couldn\u2019t believe it. I was like, oh my god, I\u2019m playing against one of the best wingers in England and I\u2019ve never played wing. Will I be at the same level? But I had great players around me. I had been training well. It always gets you the night before when you go to bed, the chills in the morning, but everyone gave me the confidence to go in. I was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Todaro has kept his place in the Saints back three. Not just kept it, but made it his own. The 19-year-old has scored four tries, is second in the league for line breaks and tackle breaks, and fourth for running metres. This week, he was shortlisted for the Prem\u2019s player of the month award for October.<\/p>\n \u201cI can beat defenders,\u201d he says. \u201cI can be dangerous. I\u2019ve been working on getting more involvements in the game. We play some really good rugby at Saints and as a new guy that really helps me. It\u2019s fun to play, all the movement.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a genuine connection between the boys. The biggest challenge for someone new is to get them involved and make them feel part of the squad. Everyone tries to make it look like a local rugby club \u2013 not at the highest level, but where it\u2019s more fun \u2013 and we try to mix that with rugby of the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n Todaro speaks with quiet assuredness. He plays with the intensity of a lion. For as long as he can remember, he has relished the biggest games, the most hostile crowds. Dowson has likened him already to Henry Pollock.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the first conversations I had with Henry, he asked me which Saints academy house I was staying in,\u201d Todaro says. \u201cHe told me, \u2018don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re gonna buy one next year\u2019. Oh right, this guy is full of confidence. He knows what he is doing. Everyone can tell that. He has been an inspiration because he goes out on the big stage and he delivers.<\/p>\n I remember one derby, I gave a bit to the crowd when we scored, then I gave it large when I made a last-minute kick to draw level,<\/p>\n \u201cPeople call what I have confidence, but I am quite stressed in the week of a game. What if this happens, what if I don\u2019t play well? It all cancels out when I get on the pitch. It all goes away, it\u2019s me playing rugby with the boys, doing my thing.<\/p>\n \u201cI love playing in front of a crowd as well. That helps me. Even if it\u2019s away, I love it. When I was playing derbies at school I would hope there were some people watching. I remember one derby, I gave a bit to the crowd when we scored, then I gave it large when I made a last-minute kick to draw level.\u201d<\/p>\n If Silvia Todaro was the family\u2019s linguistic supervisor, Gianluigi was its sports master. Todaro\u2019s father is the true rugby obsessive in the hosue. He introduced his son to the game and will be utterly beside himself on Saturday night when Todaro, named on the bench, gets his first taste of international action against Chile.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad watches every session, every game\u2026 he pretty much knows more than me about the players. He loves it when people message him on Instagram about things I\u2019m doing. He is really proud. He is the one who introduced me to the game. If I wanted to do some extra passing or tackling or catching, he was there to help. He always wanted me to get better.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents have been at every single U20 game I\u2019ve played. When I found out I was playing this weekend, I put it on the family group chat straight away while I was on the bus to training. We had a called at night and it was quite emotional. They were so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n For all his precociousness and all his drive, Todaro could never have imagined so rapid a climb. From age-grade rugby in July, he is poised to become the youngest Italian debutant since the iconic Sergio Parisse<\/a> in 2002.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was never in my short-term plans,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was a goal, but not in the near future.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been quite mental. I\u2019ve only played six professional games and now I\u2019m playing my first game for my country. When I think about it, it\u2019s like, \u2018woah, that\u2019s impossible\u2019. This time last year I was hoping just to play for Bedford Blues<\/a> a couple of times and play Prem Cup. Now I\u2019m playing for Italy.\u201d<\/p>\n ![\"Edoardo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2237883223-1024x576.jpg.webp\")
Todaro has scored four tries in five Gallagher Prem appearances and is near the top of several attacking metrics (Photo by David Rogers\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2246967137-1024x731.jpg.webp\")
Todaro is set for his Italian debut off the bench against Chile<\/a> on Saturday (Photo by Timothy Rogers\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n