Alex Corbisiero’s great grandfather established his reputation as a restaurateur after emigrating to Queens, but the former Douglas Manor resident has made a name for himself as a rugby player in England.
His great grandfather, Riccardo Corbisiero, moved from Naples to the United States in 1923 and founded Riccardo’s, a popular restaurant and catering hall at 24th Avenue and 21st Street in Astoria in the 1950s.
Alex Corbisiero was born in 1988 and grew up in Douglaston, but moved to England with his parents just before his fifth birthday.
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He studied at the London School of Economics and then entered the University of London’s Birkbeck school for a bachelor’s degree in history.
In 2005, he joined the London Irish Academy and made his professional rugby debut against the London Wasps in 2008.
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He was a used replacement in the final of the 2008-2009 Guinness Premiership.
Corbisiero played for England at the under-18, under-19 and under-20 levels, competing in the 2007 Under-19 Rugby World Championship.
The following year, he was a member of the under-20 team that won the grand slam and reached the final of the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship.
He made his senior debut against Italy in February 2011 and went on to play in four of England’s five test matches in the Six Nations Championship.
His uncle, Tony Corbisiero, swam the 800 and 1,500 freestyle in U.S. record time in the early 1980s.
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