Kingussie goal-getter is named club's new captain
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Savio Genini is Kingussie boss John Gibson’s choice as the new first team captain, taking over from Rory MacKeachan ahead of the 2022 shinty season.
Goal-getter Genini broke into the Kingussie first team in 2013 as a 16 year old and he hit the headlines a year later, scoring twice as the Kings thumped Glenurquhart 4- 0 at the Bught Park to win the Camanachd Cup for the first time since 2006.
As well as starring for his club, Genini also forced his way into the Scotland senior side in 2019, coming off the bench to add to add his name to the scoresheet as the Scots beat the Irish 26-4 in their most recent encounter at the GAA National Games development Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin.
A delighted Savio Genini said: “It’s an absolute honour for me to captain Kingussie.
“Shinty and Kingussie is all I’ve ever known from right back to when I went to nearly every game of the season with my gran when I was younger.
“It’s just been part of my life for as long as I can remember and to now captain the team I have grown up watching and then playing for will be incredible.”
Gibson said: “The choice of captain fell to the manager’s discretion a few years ago and Savio is an obvious choice for this season in terms of seniority and the number of consecutive years he’s been in the side.
“He’ll be nine years in the first team now and he is a leader; he’s very vocal and he is an important player, leading by example by scoring goals.
“Ultimately you hope all the previous captains continue to display these attributes even after their term as captain has ended so you end up with a team of captains on the pitch.
“That will be the case with last year’s skipper Rory (MacKeachan) and the other captains who came before him.
“There is also a great Kingussie shinty history and tradition within Savio’s family background so whilst this will mean a lot to Savio, it will mean an awful lot to the whole family too.”
This is a big season for Kingussie as they defend their Mowi Premiership title and the Artemis Macaulay Cup whilst also hosting the 2022 Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup at the Dell.
Genini remarked: “This season is massive for Kingussie but no bigger than any other season as every season should be the same for us.
“Our aim is to win as much as possible and to compete at the highest level which will be no easy task.
“The days of classing us as a young and up and coming team should really be behind us now and we need to be consistent every week if we want success.
“Nothing is a given in the Premiership any more with the standard being so high so fingers-crossed we can get going fully this year and here’s hoping for a full schedule in all the league and the cup competitions.”
