Rugby enters prison, with the Black Sheep

LIVORNO – A beautiful Rugby project, the Pecore Nere, born and raised inside a Tuscan prison.

We meet Maurizio Berti, the coordinator of the Pecore Nere project, who brought rugby beyond the bars of the Livorno prison and is ferrying the project towards the San Gimignano prison.

Who are the Black Sheep?
The Black Sheep are an Old Rugby team made up of people inmates in the High Security section of the “Le Sughere” prison in Livorno.

How did the project come about?
It was born almost for fun in 2015, precisely in the “third half” after a match, over a few beers, by three friends, two of whom were brothers.
After many years of playing they wanted to share the founding principles of rugby: mutual support, sacrifice, respect for the rules and the opponent, sportsmanship and courage in facing the opponent, as well as the difficulties that life presents us .
In 2018, the memorandum of understanding was signed in Rome between the Italian Rugby Federation and the Department of Penitentiary Administration. In 2019, thanks to the efforts of the project staff members, of the Old Cui Pisa Rugby team, then Rinocerotti Lions Amaranto Livorno, in agreement with the Tuscan rugby movement, the Pecore Nere became part of the CTO Tuscan Old Championship.

How much time do you need for your workouts?
We usually train on Sunday mornings from 9am to 1pm and, during the championship, we obtained from the Management the possibility to train on Wednesdays from 1.30pm to 3pm.

What difficulties did you encounter in realizing the project?
The first difficulty was technical, since the boys did not know this sport: an oval ball that “bounces strangely” and “goes wherever it wants” was a really bizarre thing for them.
In this regard, it is worth quoting a symbolic phrase that can concentrate the whole spirit of this sport: “a round ball can be returned to you by a wall, an oval ball only by a friend”.
The sport most practiced by the members of the project was football and teaching the “very particular” rules of rugby was not easy, just as it was not easy to make people understand the support that must be fundamental between teammates, as well as respect for the rules (on the pitch, as in life) and the referee’s decisions even if they are wrong:
The other difficulty was in finding people who, after a week of work and training for their team, found the time to dedicate to the Black Sheep. Equally difficult, given the completely voluntary context, was to find funds to buy technical material such as balls, mouth guards and other protections, game shirts, etc.
At least in the early days it was not easy to establish a relationship of trust with the Administration, then, thanks to a Director curious about our project, to a staff of very willing and proactive educators and to the foresight of the Penitentiary Police, we managed to be one of the cornerstone projects of the Le Sughere Prison in Livorno.

What synergies have you built over time?
The most important synergy is having involved, in a constructive way, all the Old Rugby teams of the Tuscan championship in the project.
Thanks to them we have had really great results and we can start a twin project at the San Gimignano Prison.

What is the greatest achievement achieved after winning the challenge, on a personal and sporting level?
Good question, I must first make a clarification, one of the three bad boys who started the project over a pint of beer, Manrico Soriani, passed the ball in 2020 and after his passing many things were about to change: due to the passion for rugby and to keep the memory of “Chico” alive we held firm and continued our journey. So for us, continuing the project was one of the important goals, no less than other sporting satisfactions: in 2020 the Black Sheep were leading the championship and only Covid stopped us by interrupting the competition.
Another satisfaction was seeing a boy leave prison, after having served many years of detention, and join a rugby team.
With the collaboration of the Penitentiary Administration we managed to bring three players from the Pecore Nere team to Naples, in the rugby tournament called “Repubbliche Marinare Rugby”, one of which was on semi-liberty.
Seeing them step onto a “real” playing field was exciting for us, as was being reunited after such a long time.
The best moment was seeing one of them achieve a goal, a goal full of meaning.
However, knowing that in our small way every Sunday on the field we bring a little joy and normality is very satisfying.
Personally, keeping the project alive, with all the organizational difficulties, is a fantastic achievement for me, like being called directly by the Director of the San Gimignano Prison to ask me to start another project.

Can you tell us the story of a particularly inspiring Black Sheep?
With great pleasure, in addition to rugby we have organized courses for coaches and referees. A boy, for us Tuscans they are all boys and girls even at 60 years old, passed the course and started refereeing training matches in prison. With the help of the Tuscan Rugby Referees Federation, the Director’s staff and the educators, once he reached the goal of semi-freedom, Tommy (not his real name) was able to referee an under 12 category rugby match.
Now he is outside, on his land, and is working in a cooperative: we are trying to get him included in the refereeing circuit for the small and young categories for next season.
As a referee you have rules to enforce, and this is, obviously, in contrast to his past life: for this reason, it seems like a really good story to me!
With our small commitment, we want to believe that, in the few hours that we are inside the prison, the inmates can have a moment of serenity.

How do you support the Black Sheep and Haka project?
Our projects, both the one in Livorno and the one in San Gimignano, are supported by fantastic volunteers who dedicate some of their precious free time, sometimes taking it away from their families, for training and matches.
For clothing and technical material, up until now we have been making do with some small local sponsors.
In 2023 we participated and obtained a Sport and Health project and this will bring us some funding to also adapt the equipment now necessary such as for example. a defibrillator.

Finally, what are the next developments or directions?
Surely keeping the Pecore Nere project alive in Livorno and starting the Haka project in San Gimignano. And, personally, exporting and sharing our experience, as I am doing now with you, is a beautiful goal.

alessandra mr d’agostino, Prison, inclusion, the corks, lions amaranth, Livorno, maurizio berti, mr, old rugby, black sheep, penitentiary police, rhinoceros, restricted, Rugby, San Gimignano, sport