Italian hooker Tommaso d'Apice chose Gloucester over Italy this summer.
The former Aironi front-rower explained why Kingsholm proved such a draw.
TOMMASO d'Apice happily threw his international career into doubt by signing for Gloucester this summer.
When Italian franchise Aironi folded at the end of last year the 24-year-old was offered a deal by newly-formed club Zebre.
But the Benevento-born hooker was ready for a new experience and spurned the offer.
Rejecting the Zebre deal and leaving his home country meant putting his Italy aspirations on hold: a calculated risk, but one d'Apice is confident will pay long-term dividend.
Plenty of Italy stars ply their trade in the Premiership or France's Top 14, but the Italian federation likes their promising talent to break through on home soil in an ideal world.
So in the short term at least, d'Apice knows out of sight equals out of mind – but if he impresses at Kingsholm, he fully believes the rest will follow.
"I'm very happy at the club now and I'm giving it my best," he explained.
"It's my choice to be at Gloucester. I was at Aironi, and they folded at the end of last year.
"My contract finished and I needed to make a choice about where I would be for this season.
"I had contact from Zebre, but I wanted to do something different, I wanted a new experience.
"I've lost Italy because of this, they haven't selected me because of this choice.
"But now I can tell you I'm really happy with everything, certainly that decision, and how things are going now.
"Changing country, adapting to a new language and a new place, that's been very difficult. But the guys have been fantastic.
"The first month or so was hard, but now I feel good and I hope to play as much as possible in the first team: but also there's time on my side for that too.
"In the future I would love to play for Italy of course. And I certainly don't think coming here will stop me from doing that in the long-term.
"But for now I want to do the best I can for Gloucester, and to push myself as far forward as possible here.
"That's the first aim, and hopefully if I can do well here then things with Italy can follow off the back of that."
D'Apice was just five when he caught the rugby bug, growing up in the shadow of Naples.
By the time he was 18 he was breaking through at Calvisano – but then that franchise folded and he signed for Roma.
His club form earned him recognition with Italy A, and in turn a strong Churchill Cup landed him a dream spot at World Cup 2011.
Everything was hurtling along nicely then, especially when he moved to Aironi after returning from New Zealand.
But ending up in limbo for the second time in his short career after another franchise fold, d'Apice felt it was time to try his hand at something different.
Former Gloucester captain and Kingsholm favourite Marco Bortolami was quick to offer advice on where he should end up.
The big lock told d'Apice: show true grit at Kingsholm and you will be welcomed with open arms.
D'Apice continued: "I played with Marco for two years, and he told me great things about Gloucester.
"He said it's a great team that is based on hard work.
"He told me that if you work hard then you will always have the chance of playing. And that's definitely the case.
"I was at Calvisano when I was 18, then Calvisano folded and I went to Rome, then onto Aironi and that club folded too.
"It was pretty frustrating to have a second club fold like that, so it was definitely time for something new.
"I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing than playing rugby, and to have the chance to do that for Gloucester is an honour.
"It's a very exciting time at the moment, for me personally and for the club too.
"The new coaches have us all fighting hard for places in the team, and there's a very good feeling."
MOVING is always a bugbear, and swapping countries and cultures is a test for anyone. But handling all that, and at the last minute too, can prove overwhelming. Tommaso d'Apice only got the Gloucester call after a neck injury forced Andy Long into premature retirement. So he had to balance settling into English life as well as battling to turn an initial trial into a one-year deal. Luckily for the 24-year-old Italian hooker, he was quickly welcomed into the bosom of the 'Glaws family'. Cherry and Whites players are proud of the term that supporters use freely on twitter, and are keen to uphold that image. And d'Apice can certainly attest he has found a surrogate family – especially where accomplished loosehead prop Nick Wood is concerned. The former Aironi front-rower explained: "Nick is my uncle, I call him Uncle Woody, because he has helped me with everything, and his wife Kate too. "They have helped me to find a house, a car, a bank account, and so I must say thank you Uncle Woody, and Aunt Kate! "I'm good friends with all the front-rowers – not so much the backs! "But seriously, everyone has helped me settle in very quickly, and I can't thank them enough for that." No doubt Wood's impressive language skills – the Cirencester-raised front-rower spent a year at Oxford reading modern languages before professional rugby bit – have helped d'Apice steal a march on his grasp of English. But d'Apice is not just here for the life experience – he is relishing the English attitude to young talent. He continued: "The difference between Italy and England is that here if you are good enough you play, age has nothing to do with it. "No one worries about playing the young players. "When you are 19, 20 or 21 you are ready to play and that's good. "The coaches gives us all confidence, trust us all and that's fantastic. "I'm training with top players all the time, and that really helps you improve. "The Premiership is the best league in Europe and maybe even the world. "I have only played a few matches here, but you can feel the difference, and it's wonderful to be here."