Italian PARKER PEN SHIELD semi-finalists Petrarca are more than just a rugby club, they are the heart of a whole community, reveals Paolo Picatti

It is the club which has won more Italian titles than anybody save for Milan. It is the club which had a deep impact on the Italian game in the 80's. And it is the club which in recent years has decided to abandon expensive foreign imports and concentrate on developing home-grown talent.

After the successful period in the seventies and early eighties, Petrarca Padova (the club was named after a 14th century poet) started to have problems maintaining their position at the pinnacle of Italian club rugby.

David Campese was the last great overseas player to come and play for them and when the Italian Rugby Federation introduced the play off system to increase interest on the championship, it signalled the beginning of the end of Petrarca's dominance. Teams like Rovigo with South African star Naas Botha and Treviso with the 1987 world-cup winning duo John Kirwan and Craig Green disputed the Å'Scudetto for many years.

After a number of years in the wilderness Petrarca realised that the way back was by working hard to produce a new generation of home-grown players and develop a great sports complex like Å'La Guizza' with its six rugby pitches, dressing rooms, restaurant and some rooms, which some of the players live in.

Study and sports that is the philosophy of the club. In the morning you go to school, in the afternoon you have training session. That's the reality of life for the young players learning their trade at the club.

President Andrea Rinaldo describes that way of life: "The key aim of Petrarca Rugby is to promote the game of rugby at the highest level possible jointly with special attention to the educational paths of the players, possibly including their academic training, he explains.

"Since 1947 Petrarca has been educating rugby players to serve society at large, with a keen eye on the wide social and educational impact, especially on the youngest, of a well-guided practice of the game of rugby.

"In the meantime we collected 11 National championships, played twice in the Heineken Cup, now have reached the semi-final of the PARKER PEN SHIELD and have also won countless junior titles, not to mention the dozens of internationals who were brought up through the ranks here.

"If I were to define in a nutshell our philosophy, it would be: tackle hard on the pitch and while preparing for the larger game, following the rules. And behave properly. The semi-final of the PARKER PEN SHIELD is the most prestigious stage of any competition, which Petrarca have reached in recent years. They deserve to have got this far for the job they have done with their group of talented young players."

The new era has been overseen President Rinaldo, who continued the good work, started by former president Memo Geremiain the eighties. The aim is to maintain Petrarca's position at the head of group of Venetian clubs. There have been epic clashes down the years between Petrarca, Rovigo and Treviso. Petrarca generally come out on top; aided by the likes of Campese, Kobus Wiese and David Knox. There was also former Transvaal fly half, Cameron Oliver who lost his life in a tragic car accident in South Africa. He was a fine player in a strong team that had a great scrum and a solid midfield.

But the Italians in the team were no passengers. People like Corrado Covi, Roberto Saetti, Marzio Innocenti, Mauro Gardin and Fulvio Lorigiola were stalwarts for both club and country. Now times have changed but Petrarca is still there, with a different approach on the game. Now they pay the players, of course but they want to concentrate resources on the structure of the club rather than excessive wages.

Overseas players? Only if strictly necessary. ThatÂ¹s why they are top of the table in the Italian Youth Championship, and maybe it is the reason why many of the best Italian players are still from Petrarca like Mauro and Mirko Bergamasco. Their father played for Petrarca and was also in charge of the technical direction in Selvazzano, one of the satellite clubs that is producing a new generation of talented Petrarca players.

But Petrarca is not only a club it is more like a family. Many local clubs receive technical and financial help from Padua in order to give them at zero cost the players they need for the season. A good philosophy that really works except when some players decided to play elsewhere. When the big money came into the game many players decided to quit the black Petrarca shirt but they did not blossom at other clubs.

While Luca Martin struggled at Bordeaux and Northampton, other players like Valter Cristofoletto stayed at Petrarca and prolonged their international careers by a couple of years. Perhaps the only player who improved after moving is Mauro Bergamasco who made the switch to Treviso. The star flanker recalls his experience with Petrarca. "It is a way of life, "he says.

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Paolo Picatti is an Italian rugby journalist