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In 2008 there were 19 of them, with around 25 kilos of langoustines. By the 18th edition there were 160 guests and 210 kilos of scampi: about 5,400, counting the heads. This is the Scampata of Gruppo Bevanda Malamocco, the third half that every summer, on the Venice Lido, brings fans, administrators and rugby legends to the same table.
Danilo, who for years watched it enviously from abroad and has been among the guests since last year, told its story with Cristiano Caponi, the event’s long-standing driving force, who believes he is the only one to have attended every edition.
From 19 friends to 160 guests
The Scampata was born almost by chance, from an idea of a group member, Giuseppe Morich Tonci, who is no longer with us. Gruppo Bevanda itself had started a few years earlier, in 2002, with a trip to Dublin by three friends and the stories they brought back about what entering the rugby world really means. To this day the group is split between football fans and rugby fans.
What ties it to rugby, according to Caponi, is simple: the third half. Friendship between fans after the game, an atmosphere unlike anything outside football grounds, a few beers together.
The Golden Scampo
Morich Tonci gives his name to the Scampo d’Oro, the award the group has presented for eight years to a figure from the Municipality of Venice who has excelled in sport, culture, the arts or work. This year the unanimous choice was Pippo Garbisa, Europe’s longest-serving lifeguard and a symbol of the Lido.
How the Scampata entered the rugby world
The turning point came between late 2017 and early 2018. In December, through a friend from Murano, Caponi met Fabio Ongaro, who was due to reach the Lido with Benetton for a treasure hunt. A few months later, on a train to Rome, he met Vittorio Munari. He brought them together: an “explosive combination”. From there the Scampata grew exponentially, and over the years Antonio Raimondi joined too, reuniting the commentary duo the Veneto loves most.
Thanks to Ongaro’s contacts, former international players began arriving at the Lido. Then Carlo Checchinato opened the doors to the Italian federation: “we never ask for anything for free”, Caponi points out, but there has been a direct line ever since. This year’s edition was set to welcome federation president Andrea Duodo, senior vice-president Paolo Vaccari, John Kirwan, Alessandro Troncon, Gonzalo Canale and, for the first time, Martin Castrogiovanni. And, also for the first time, the mayor of Venice.
What makes this third half special?
The fact that, paradoxically, there’s little talk of rugby. When members ask the players why they care so much, the answer is always the same: nobody asks them how many reps they do or how much they lift. It’s relaxed, people talk about other things, and stars and fans meet as equals.
We talk about everything except rugby.
Langoustines at dawn: the logistics
Behind the party is an organisation that starts days in advance. Scampi aren’t easy to source in summer, in a city like Venice full of tourists and big hotels: the supplier, Roberto Novello of Lidomare, books the batch early, split by size, from small to large grilling scampi, the most sought-after. They arrive frozen the same morning, at five o’clock, and are never served fresh, for food-safety reasons.
Then it’s over to the cooks, at the grill and at the pans where the scampi are sautéed and flambéed in brandy, in temperatures close to 70 degrees. Caponi’s hope is that everything runs smoothly in the kitchen. Like in theatre: if the actor skips a line, the audience doesn’t notice. And in the end, everyone knows who they shared the table with.
Read also
- Castrogiovanni: “Once You Wear the Azzurro, You’re Its Guardian Forever”
- Andrea Duodo on Italy’s road to the 2027 World Cup
- Duodo on grassroots rugby and the FIR’s foundations
Have you ever been to a third half like this? Tell us in the comments on YouTube and subscribe to the DanPat Rugby channel: more videos from the Scampata are on the way.
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