James and Daniel Donato are set to join Lazio Rugby in Italy's Top12 league

Originally from Orange City, the brothers moved to Sydney together to play in the Shute Shield and have always had their sights set on higher rugby honours.

While the trip to Rome won't quite elevate the pair to the pinnacle of the sport, it serves as a sensational stepping stone that will open up other doors.

Something people might not know is that the Donato boys have Italian heritage, and are both eligible to play for the Azzurri in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

But, let's back track and uncover how this relationship came about, because it's not every day you link with a sports club on the other side of the globe.

"At the end of last year I had someone from Elite Athlete Management contact me" Dan said.

"I was keen to work with him, but I wanted to try to stay in Australia and make Super Rugby. But, he told me all of the Aussie clubs were full, and said he could pass on my CV to Europe.

"I thought 'why not?'. It only took two weeks and he came back to me saying that a club in Italy was keen."

Daniel is a fullback by trade, and when he asked if Lazio needed a second-rower as well, they said yes. That's where James comes in.

"I asked Jimmy if he was keen and he said for sure," he said.

"We're pretty blessed to be able to go over there and do this together."

It seems a daunting transition on paper, but the fullback thinks the level in Top12 will be similar to that of the Shute Shield.

"We had a couple of blokes from Argentina who played with Easts and they said the level over is about the same," he said.

"It's a pretty good standard, and it's great for us to get our foot in the door."

August 26 is when the duo is set to leave the country, and the competition is set to start roughly a month after that, allowing them little time to prepare for action.

But, coming from a winter of Shute Shield means conditioning won't be too much of an issue for the boys.

Lazio has set the twins up with a shared apartment, something Dan is used to.

"We've lived together for 23 years now," he said.

"The only time he gets on my nerves is when he's on the PS4 and I can't play it," he laughed. As for their Italian-speaking abilities, Dan thinks they'll "pick it up pretty quickly."

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