Sergio Francesco Parisse[2] (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsɛrdʒo paˈrisse]; born 12 September 1983) is an Italian-Argentinian former rugby union player.

Parisse was born in La Plata, capital of Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian parents.

He signed for Benetton Treviso where he played for four years before being lured to Stade Français by then president Max Guazzini in 2005.

In 2019, he cut ties with the club after disagreements with the coaching team led by South African Heyneke Meyer.

Although it was rumoured that he could go back to finish his career with his first professional club, Treviso,[9] Parisse signed for Top 14 rivals Toulon.

Loyalty, honour and trust - these are the things that mean a lot to me"[10] Parisse made his full Test debut for the Italy national team in June 2002, being capped at the age of 18 by then Azzurri coach John Kirwan, in a 64-10 defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton.

In September 2008 Parisse was nominated for IRB International Player of the Year[12] alongside Dan Carter, Ryan Jones, Shane Williams and Mike Blair.

Italy finished third in their group, one place short of qualification, after two losses against Australia[14] and Ireland on top of their two wins against USA and Russia.

[16] Italy had a mixed championship with losses against France, Wales, England and Ireland but also victory against Scotland to avoid the wooden spoon.

[19] Parisse missed Italy's match with Wales on 23 February 2013 due to abusing a referee in a club game with Stade Francais.

[24] He later announced he would retire after the 2020 Six Nations Championship, where he could play in front of his home crowd at the Stadio Olimpico one more time.

[32] He is a powerful ball-carrier, athletic and furiously committed; a useful line-out option, defensively sound, and blessed with superb handling, pace and impressive footwork.

As a team-mate at Stade in Paris, England lock Tom Palmer described him as "a high-quality player, a very good and powerful athlete, who combines that with being very skilful.

"[33] Parisse has often been praised for maintaining his high standards and world-class performances even as a part of a lacklustre era for Italian rugby.

About this fact, he stated that "Obviously I did not achieve a lot of wins in the Italy jersey but that doesn't make me feel any less proud.

He's only the third player to achieve such a feat, along with fellow Italian back-rower Mauro Bergamasco and Samoan midfielder Brian Lima.

[35] He's the third player with most international caps (142) in world rugby, only behind All Blacks legend Richie McCaw and Wales stalwart Alun Wyn Jones.

Parisse has been twice nominated for the prestigious World Rugby Player of the Year award, losing to Welsh speedster Shane Williams in 2008[36] and All Blacks icon Kieran Read in 2013.