At the edge of the rugby pitch, a white line runs between two long, parallel white posts pointing skywards, held together by a third post that points downwards towards the ground. Crossing that line and grounding the oval ball on the grass means you’ve achieved your objective. It means you’ve scored a try. Rugby as a powerful metaphor for life: a team sport that teaches that self-respect comes through respect for others and for the rules. If this does not happen, a yellow card sends you to the sin bin, where you have time to reflect. Almost 10 years ago, at the Dozza Prison in Bologna, the The “Back on the Pitch” Project” aimed at teaching rugby within the prison, and at the physical, social and educational rehabilitation of prisoners and disadvantaged young people. The yellow of a card has thus become the symbol of a team, Dozza Yellow, which plays in Serie C and is made up of those who have been shown a red card at some point in their lives and, along with it, have had some time – however long or short – to reflect on their mistakes.
Rugby offers a second chance
Rugby: a tough, competitive sport, yet one with a great capacity to bring people together and foster social bonds. It is a sport that embodies values and rules which shape an individual and can even change them for the better. It is this spirit that, in May 2013, inspired Pietro Buffa, then Director of Prisons for Emilia-Romagna, and Francesco Paolini, President of Rugby Bologna 1928, who decided to replicate a similar initiative already underway at the Vallette prison in Turin. Buffa and Paolini then secured the support of Claudia Clementi, Director of Dozza, and Giancarlo Dondi, then President of the F.I.R., and subsequently the enthusiastic support of Daniele Ravaglia, Director-General of Emilbanca, and of Gianluca Pavanello, Chief Executive of Macron. Over time, Illumia, FAAC and other local businesses have also joined the initiative, convinced of the importance of supporting a project of such great moral significance. This commitment has since been reaffirmed by the new Director of the Bologna Prison, Dr Casella. Rugby is the sport where, if you fall, you have to get back up, supported by those by your side – both on and off the pitch – to get a second chance. You need to have faith in and respect for others, because together that ‘damn’ try gets closer and closer.
Ten years of history and stories
Since the project was launched – thanks in part to the active involvement of the technical staff and coaches at Bologna Rugby Club – Giallo Dozza has taken to the pitch for over 100 matches, involving hundreds of athletes of different nationalities and religions. A world of personal stories, of mistakes and, often, of new beginnings. All in the spirit of rugby’s socialising power which, even within the walls of a prison, fulfils its educational and exemplary role. Indeed, this sport teaches that rules are necessary, and that discipline is a positive ally rather than an obstacle. Giallo Dozza is made up of men who have more or less painful pasts to reflect upon, and for whom that try line is more or less easy to reach. The collective, the team and the shared goal become fundamental in this journey of reflection and, for some, a return to normality.
Unleash the hero within you
Never has this been more true than in this case “Become Your Own Hero” takes on a special meaning. On that sin-bin bench, where these lads from Giallo Dozza had to sit, they can find the key for the hero within them to instil determination, passion and a positive fighting spirit to achieve the most important goal: rediscovering the best versions of themselves. To slam that oval ball down onto the grass, to get up, to cross the try line, to turn round and look at those long white posts soaring towards the sky, to leave them behind one last time and start walking again – as free, responsible, better men.
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