 Mbanda in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Mata Maxime Mbanda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 10 April 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rome, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 102 kg (16 st 1 lb; 225 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mata Maxime Esuite Mbanda Cavaliere OMRI (born 10 April 1993) is an Italian international rugby union player. His usual position is as a flanker, and he currently plays for Colorno. Known for his ball carrying and athleticism. [1]
For 2015–16 Pro12 season, he named as Permit Player for Zebre in Pro 14. [2]
In 2013 Mbanda was named in the Italy Under 20 squad and in 2014 and 2015 he was also named to the Emerging Italy squad. [3] [4]
In 2016, from Calvisano, he signed for Zebre in Pro 14. He played for Italian team until 2021–22 United Rugby Championship season. [5] [6] [7] After a string of favourable performances, the No. 8, was selected to represent, the Italian national team in a test-match in San Jose, California, during Summer International tests against the United States. Italy won with a result of 24 to 20. [8] Since then Mbanda has been a regular in the Italian national side, featuring in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, in Japan. [9]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Mbanda volunteered for the Yellow Cross, a humanitarian organization in Parma that transports food and medicine for the elderly. [10] On 3 June 2020, the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella named Mbanda a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his services as a volunteer ambulance driver. [11]
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