Italy national rugby union team

The Italy national rugby union team (Italian: Squadra nazionale di rugby italiana) represents Italy in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri (the Blues). Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Italy women's national rugby union team. For the men's rugby sevens side, see Italy national rugby sevens team.

Italy

Nickname(s)	Gli Azzurri (The Blues)
Union	Federazione Italiana Rugby
Head coach	Franco Smith
Captain	Luca Bigi
Most caps	Sergio Parisse (142)
Top scorer	Diego Dominguez (983)
Top try scorer	Marcello Cuttitta (25)
Home stadium	Stadio Olimpico
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	12 (as of 21 Oct 2019)
Highest	8 (2007)
Lowest	15 (2015 and 2017)
First international
Spain 9–0 Italy (Barcelona, 20 May 1929)
Biggest win
Italy 104–8 Czech Republic (Viadana, Italy, 18 May 1994)
Biggest defeat
South Africa 101–0 Italy (Durban, South Africa, 19 June 1999)
World Cup
Appearances	9 (First in 1987)
Best result	Pool stage, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019
Website	www.federugby.it

Italy has played international rugby since 1929, and for decades was considered one of the best European teams outside the Five Nations Championship. Since 2000, Italy has competed annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In 2013, they were holders of the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy which is played annually between Italy and France. Italy is ranked 14th in the world by the IRB as of 30 September 2019.

Italian rugby rose to prominence in 2000 when it was added to the Five Nations, creating the Six Nations. Initially on the receiving end of some heavy defeats, the side has grown in competitiveness, recording a fourth-place finish in 2007 and 2013, and one-sided defeats have become less frequent. The Azzurri have shown respectable results when playing at home in recent years: they defeated France 22–21 in the 2011 Six Nations; and during the 2013 Six Nations, they again beat France 23–18,[1] also defeating Ireland 22–15.[2] However, Italy has not won a Six Nations match since their 22–19 away win against Scotland in Round 3 of the 2015 tournament, losing every game since; this equates to a losing run of 22 matches.

The Italian team has also competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987, where Italy played the inaugural game against New Zealand, but is yet to progress beyond the first round. The team has developed a reputation for being a consistent middle player at the tournament. Italy's results since the inception of a new group stage formula in 2003 have consistently followed a pattern of two wins and two losses; in 2019 however, the game against New Zealand was cancelled due to typhoon Hagibis.

The current head coach is Franco Smith, and the captain is currently number eight Sergio Parisse.[3]

History

See also: Rugby union in Italy

Early history: 1911–34

The first match played by an Italian XV was in 1911 between US Milanese and Voiron of France. On 25 July of the same year the "Propaganda Committee" was formed which in 1928 became the Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) (Italian Rugby Federation).

In May 1929, Italy played their first international losing 0–9 against Spain in Barcelona. In 1934, Italy was one of the founder members of FIRA, today's Rugby Europe; the others were France, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Catalonia, Romania, Holland and Germany.[4]

1945–85

World War II meant a hiatus for Italian rugby union, as it did in other rugby-playing nations. Post-war, there was a desire to return to normal and Italian rugby union entered a new dimension thanks to the help of Allied troops in Italy.

Lineup of the Italy national rugby union team vs France, 1975

In the 1970s and 1980s rugby union made enormous progress thanks to great foreign players (John Kirwan, Naas Botha, David Campese, Michael Lynagh) and coaches (Julien Saby, Roy Bish, Greenwood, Nelie Smith) in the Italian championship. Even foreign coaches were and continue to be chosen for the national team, like Bertrande Fourcade and Georges Coste. In 1973, the national team went on a tour of South Africa, coached by ex-Springbok prop Amos Du Plooey. Tours of England and Scotland followed, as well as games against Australia and New Zealand, the masters of their day. In 1978, Italy first played Argentina at Rovigo, winning 19–6.

1986–99

Since the mid 1980s, the Italian national side had been pursuing the ambition of playing in an expanded Five Nations Championship. Consistently winning against nations that now play in the European Nations Cup (Romania, Spain, Georgia, etc.), and good results against the major nations such as France, Scotland, Wales and Ireland meant that they were often talked as strong candidates.[5]

In 1986, Italy hosted an England XV squad in Rome, drawing 15–15. The Azzurri took part in the first-ever Rugby World Cup match against New Zealand on 22 May 1987. The match proved a one-sided affair with New Zealand convincing 70–6 winners against a young Italian side. John Kirwan, later to become the Italian national coach, scored one of the tournament's greatest-ever tries for the All Blacks. Italy beat Fiji but lost to Argentina and finished third in their pool, failing to make the finals. In 1988, they played Ireland for the first time.

At the 1991 World Cup, Italy were grouped in a tough pool with the likes of England and the All Blacks. They lost both of these games but beat the USA. Italy first played Wales in 1994. At the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, Italy came close to beating England; losing 20–27, but recovered to beat Argentina. They finished third in their pool again below England and Western Samoa, but above the Argentines.

The current badge on the Italy jersey

The late 1990s saw the Italians build a formidable side and record Test victories over Five Nations opposition. In 1996, a deal between British Sky Broadcasting and the Rugby Football Union meant that England home games were exclusively shown on Sky. England were threatened with being expelled from the Five Nations to be replaced by Italy. This threat was never carried out as a deal was worked out.

In 1996, Italy toured England, Wales and for the first time Scotland, losing all matches. The team recorded two consecutive victories over Ireland in 1997; 37–29 on 4 January, at Lansdowne Road, and 37–22 on 20 December, in Bologna.[6] On 22 March 1997 they recorded their first win over France, 40–32, (in Grenoble). In January 1998, Scotland were the victims with Italy winning 25–21 (in Treviso); in the same year in the Rugby World Cup Qualifiers, they narrowly lost 15–23 against England at Huddersfield, but they argued for a try by Alessandro Troncon disallowed by the referee.[7]

At the 1999 World Cup, Italy were drawn with New Zealand for the third time and lost again. They did not win a single pool match and went home before the knock-out stage.[8]

Six Nations era: 2000–present

Italy vs All Blacks at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium with a record 80,000 sellout crowd, November 2009

Italy finally joined the Six Nations Championship in 2000 but their admission coincided with the departure of some of their best players. Nevertheless, they won their opening game against the reigning champions Scotland 34–20. Thereafter they struggled to compete against the other nations and their participation was called into question. The 2001 and 2002 tournaments were particularly disappointing as they did not win a single game. Coach Brad Johnstone was sacked in 2002 after an alleged show of 'player power'.

John Kirwan was then appointed coach. Italy won two pool games at the 2003 World Cup, defeating both Canada and Tonga, but lost to the All Blacks and Wales. They managed to win their second Six Nations game in 2003, a 30–22 victory over Wales, thus avoiding the wooden spoon. They followed up by winning two games at the World Cup, another first, though the tournament was ultimately disappointing as the Welsh gained revenge with a 27–15 success that meant that Italy were the only Six Nations country not to advance to the knock-out stage. Their third win came against Scotland in 2004.

Italy, along with other nations, had made good use of IRB rules which allowed them to select foreign-born players if they had Italian ancestry or had lived in Italy for a qualifying period of three years. From 2004 they announced that they would only pick three such 'non-Italians' per team in order to develop their own domestic players.

In the 2005 Six Nations Italy finished bottom of the table again and failed to win a single game. Kirwan was sacked and replaced with Pierre Berbizier. Italy then went on a tour of Argentina where they surprised many by beating the Pumas 30–29 and drawing the series 1–1 (the only 2005 victory of a Northern Hemisphere team visiting a Southern Hemisphere team). However, the Pumas had their revenge when they visited Genoa and beat Italy 39–22.

Italy contesting a lineout with Scotland during the 2012 Six Nations

In the 2006 Six Nations Championship the Italian team performed strongly against every team, leading against both England and France in the first half, but lost their first three games. They did, however, get a creditable 18–18 draw away to Wales, their first away point in the tournament, and were unlucky not to draw with Scotland in Rome in the final game, losing 10–13 courtesy of a late Scottish penalty. In the 2007 Six Nations Championship, Italy started poorly, losing to France 3–39. However, Italy's performance improved, and they held England to a 20–7 result at Twickenham. Italy followed with a stunning start to their match at Murrayfield against Scotland, scoring three quick tries to give Italy a 21–0 lead after seven minutes, and the Azzurri went on to a 37–17 victory; their first-ever away win in the Six Nations. Italy's next match was against Wales in Rome, with Italy winning 23–20, for their first consecutive victories in the competition and help them achieve their highest-ever position in the competition. The domestic interest in rugby reached new heights with Italy's new success front page media coverage and the sport being held up as a model of fair play.[9] Media and public interest in the national team was very high during the side's newfound success,[9] despite losing their last game to Ireland. 10,000 fans later greeted the national team at Rome's Piazza del Popolo.[9]

The 2008 Six Nations Championship saw the Italians again finish in last place, albeit by only a three-point margin. They took part in close matches against Ireland, Wales England and France respectively and managed a sole victory, defeating Scotland 23–20 in Rome in the last round of matches.[10] In the summer tests they lost to South Africa but again managed to surprise 3rd ranked Argentina with a 13–12 victory. At the 2008 end of year tour Italy pushed the Wallabies in their clash in Padova, but the Australians eventually went on to win 30–20. A week later the Italians were defeated by Argentina, 14–22.

Italy's 2009 Six Nations campaign was ill-fated almost from the beginning, with both scrum-halves ruled out of the competition before a ball was kicked, and a third alternative ruled out of the opener at England due to injury. Head coach Nick Mallett tried flanker Mauro Bergamasco at scrum-half. Mallett's gamble failed in epic fashion, with Bergamasco's mistakes leading to three England tries before he was replaced at half-time; England went on to win 36–11.[11] In week two Italy also put in a poor performance against Ireland losing 9–38.[12] The two poor performances were followed by another loss to Scotland. The Azzurri were competitive in their 15–20 loss at the Flaminio to a Wales side resting many of its key players for the championship decider against Ireland the next week.[13] Italy finished in last place for the second straight year after losing to France on the final weekend of the tournament.

In the 2010 Six Nations Championship, Italy were well beaten by Ireland 11–29 before narrowly losing to England and defeating Scotland.[14][15] Italy were defeated in their last two matches against France and Wales.[16]

Italian fans on their way to see Italy play Scotland at Murrayfield in the Six Nations Championship, 2013

Italy finished the 2011 Six Nations with a 1–4 record. In the opening match of the 2011 Six Nations, Italy was beaten by Ireland 11–13 at home, with Ireland scoring a drop goal less than two minutes before the final whistle. The Azzurri claimed a 22–21 home victory over the reigning Six Nations champions, France, gaining Italy's first win over France in a Six Nations game.[17] At the final whistle, the English language commentator declared it the greatest win in Italian rugby history thus far.

Italy finished the 2012 Six Nations in fifth place with a 1–4 record, following a 13–6 win over Scotland before over 72,000 fans at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Italy's 15–19 loss to England was their smallest margin of defeat.[18] The championship also saw Italy lose to Wales, Ireland and France.[19]

Italy played three matches in the 2012 November internationals, losing two and winning one. The Italians lost to New Zealand and Australia 19–22, with Italian fly half Luciano Orquera missing a penalty in the last minute which would have secured Italy's first draw against Australia.[20] Italy did manage a win in the series, beating Tonga 28–23.[21]

Italy gained their second Six Nations win over France when they beat them 23–18 on their opening match of the 2013 Six Nations Championship.[22] Three defeats by Scotland, Wales and England followed.[23] On their final game of the championship Italy won against Ireland 22–15 for the first time in a Six Nations match in front of 75,000 fans at the Stadio Olimpico.[24][25] Overall Italy finished fourth,[26] behind Scotland in third on points difference, to make it one of their most successful Six Nations.[27] In November 2013, Italy hosted Australia at Turin for a 20–50 loss, then defeated Fiji 37–31 at Cremona and was defeated by Argentina 14–19 at Rome.

Italy were whitewashed at the 2014 Six Nations Championship, including a 20–21 home loss to Scotland, a 7–46 loss to Ireland and an 11–52 loss to England. In June the team made an Asia-Pacific tour, where they were defeated by Fiji, Japan and Samoa. In November they scored a home win to Samoa, a two-point loss to Argentina and another loss to South Africa.

In the 2015 Six Nations Championship, Italy took a 22–19 away win over Scotland to avoid the wooden spoon, but suffered heavy home losses to France and Wales. The victory against Scotland was their last win in the Six Nations, and they lost all games in the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 tournaments, a losing run of 22 games. At the 2015 Rugby World Cup, they defeated Romania and Canada but lost to Ireland and France, repeating their performance of the previous three editions.

After another poor performance in 2016, losing all their Six Nations matches, Italy hired former Ireland international and Harlequin F.C. coach Conor O'Shea to coach the team; with him they also hired IRFU developmental director Stephen Aboud to direct youth programs aimed at strengthening the level of rugby in the country.[28] In June, the Italian team lost to Argentina and won over the United States and Canada. On 19 November, Italy achieved a famous upset victory by defeating South Africa 20–18 which was Italy's first win against the Springboks in 13 attempts at Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence.[29] This victory also marked their first win over one of the three big Southern Hemisphere nations (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa).

Wins against Tier 1 nations

Date	Home	Score	Away	Place
24 October 1978	Italy	19–6	Argentina	Stadio Mario Battaglini, Rovigo
6 May 1995	Italy	22–12	Ireland	Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso
4 June 1995	Argentina	25–31	Italy	Buffalo City Stadium, East London, South Africa
4 January 1997	Ireland	29–37	Italy	Lansdowne Road, Dublin
22 March 1997	France	32–40	Italy	Stade Lesdiguières, Grenoble
20 December 1997	Italy	37–22	Ireland	Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna
24 January 1998	Italy	25–21	Scotland	Stadio Comunale Monigo, Treviso
7 November 1998	Italy	23–19	Argentina	Stadio Comunale Beltrametti, Piacenza
5 February 2000	Italy	34–20	Scotland	Stadio Flaminio, Rome
15 February 2003	Italy	30–22	Wales	Stadio Flaminio, Rome
6 March 2004	Italy	20–14	Scotland	Stadio Flaminio, Rome
11 June 2005	Argentina	29–30	Italy	Estadio Olímpico, Córdoba
24 February 2007	Scotland	17–37	Italy	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
10 March 2007	Italy	23–20	Wales	Stadio Flaminio, Rome
15 March 2008	Italy	23–20	Scotland	Stadio Flaminio, Rome
28 June 2008	Argentina	12–13	Italy	Estadio Olímpico, Córdoba
27 February 2010	Italy	16–12	Scotland	Stadio Flaminio, Rome
12 March 2011	Italy	22–21	France	Stadio Flaminio, Rome
17 March 2012	Italy	13–6	Scotland	Stadio Olimpico, Rome
3 February 2013	Italy	23–18	France	Stadio Olimpico, Rome
16 March 2013	Italy	22–15	Ireland	Stadio Olimpico, Rome
28 February 2015	Scotland	19–22	Italy	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
19 November 2016	Italy	20–18	South Africa	Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence

[30][31][32][33][34][35]

Stadium and attendance

Before joining the Six Nations in 2000 Italy did not have a set stadium and played their home matches in various stadiums around Italy. From 2000–2011 Italy played all of their home Six Nations matches at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome. The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) announced, in January 2010, that the stadium would undergo an expansion, that will increase its capacity to 42,000.[36] Continued delays to the start of construction meant that the revamp could not be completed in time for the 2012 Six Nations so all of Italy's home Six Nations games were moved to the Stadio Olimpico, also in Rome.[37] The expansion of the Stadio Flaminio was originally promised to be complete by 2014. It was planned that upon completion of the renovation, the Italian team will move back to the Stadio Flaminio,[38] however little was achieved and as of September 2016 the stadium was still in a state of abandoned disrepair.[39] More Italians are coming to watch rugby union games and whereas before most of the fans at the Stadio Flaminio were away fans, now Italy has a good home crowd. Since moving to the Stadio Olimpico attendances have increased by huge numbers.[40] The Italian team has drawn large crowds since 2008, particularly for Six Nations matches and for matches against New Zealand:

The Stadio Olimpico in Rome, current home of the Italian rugby team

Highest attended home matches

Rank	Attendance	Opponent	Date	Venue
1	80,074	New Zealand	14 Nov 2009	San Siro (Milan)
2	80,054	Ireland	16 Mar 2013	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
3	73,526	Wales	23 Feb 2013	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
4	73,000	New Zealand	17 Nov 2012	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
5	72,354	Scotland	17 Mar 2012	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
6	71,257	England	15 March 2014	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
7	70,000	England	14 February 2016	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
8	67,721	Scotland	27 February 2016	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
9	67,529	France	3 Feb 2013	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
10	67,127	France	15 March 2015	Stadio Olimpico (Rome)

Strip

Italy traditionally plays in blue jerseys, white shorts and blue stockings at home. Its away uniform consists of a uniform with the inverted colours.

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1981–1989	Adidas	None
1990–1993	Lotto[41]
1991 Rugby World Cup
1993–1995	Gilbert[42]
1995 Rugby World Cup
1996–1997	Reebok
1997 European Nations Cup
1998–1999	None
1999	Cotton Oxford
2000 Six Nations – 2000 mid-year internationals	Canterbury	Alliance UniChem
2000 end-of-year internationals – 2002 mid-year internationals	Kappa
2002 end-of-year internationals – 2006 end-of-year internationals		Jaguar
2007 Six Nations championship – 2012 mid-year internationals		Cariparma
2012 end-of-year internationals – 2017 mid-year internationals	Adidas
2017 end-of-year internationals – 2018 mid-year internationals	Macron
2018 end-of-year internationals –		Cattolica Assicurazioni

Awards

Competition				Total
Olympic Games	0	0	0	0
Rugby World Cup	0	0	0	0
European Nations Cup	1	9	8	18
Total	1	9	8	18

Record

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 rankings as of 9 March 2020[43]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		South Africa	094.19
2		New Zealand	092.11
3		England	088.41
4		Ireland	084.91
5		France	082.73
6		Wales	082.64
7		Australia	081.90
8		Scotland	080.68
9		Japan	079.28
10		Argentina	078.31
11		Fiji	076.21
12		Georgia	072.88
13		Tonga	071.44
14		Italy	071.07
15		Samoa	070.72
16		United States	068.10
17		Uruguay	067.41
18		Spain	067.14
19		Romania	065.36
20	4	Russia	062.13
21	1	Portugal	061.27
22	1	Hong Kong	061.23
23	1	Canada	061.12
24	1	Namibia	061.01
25		Netherlands	060.08
26		Brazil	058.89
27		Belgium	057.19
28		Switzerland	054.11
29		Chile	053.83
30		Germany	053.13
*Change from the previous week
Italy's historical rankings
Source: World Rugby - Graph updated to 27 January 2020[43]

Overall

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by an Italy national XV at test level up until 22 February 2020.[44]

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	22	5	16	1	22.73%	383	557	−174
Australia	18	0	18	0	0.00%	251	631	−380
Australia XV	2	0	2	0	0.00%	36	75	−39
Belgium	2	2	0	0	100.00%	75	0	+75
Border Bulldogs	1	0	1	0	0.00%	12	25	−13
Bulgaria	1	1	0	0	100.00%	17	0	+17
Canada	9	7	2	0	77.78%	246	128	+118
Catalonia	2	1	0	1	50%	10	8	+2
Cook Islands	1	0	1	0	0.00%	6	15	−9
Croatia	1	1	0	0	100.00%	76	11	+65
Czech Republic	1	1	0	0	100.00%	104	8	+96
Czechoslovakia	12	10	1	1	83.33%	266	62	+204
England	26	0	26	0	0.00%	319	1058	−739
England XV	1	0	0	1	0.00%	15	15	+0
England B	1	0	1	0	0.00%	9	21	−12
England U23	3	1	1	1	33.33%	31	42	−11
Fiji	12	6	6	0	50.00%	282	275	+7
France	43	3	40	0	7.14%	503	1305	−802
France XV	30	1	28	1	3.33%	289	751	−462
France Espoirs	1	0	1	0	0.00%	18	21	−3
Georgia	2	2	0	0	100.00%	59	39	+20
Germany	6	2	4	0	33.33%	27	54	−27
Ireland	31	4	27	0	12.90%	468	1074	−606
Japan	8	6	2	0	75.00%	241	146	+95
Leopards	3	2	1	0	66.66%	55	46	+9
Madagascar	2	2	0	0	100.00%	26	15	+11
Middlesex	1	0	1	0	0.00%	12	28	−16
Morocco	8	6	2	0	75.00%	184	52	+132
Golden Lions	1	0	1	0	0.00%	24	28	−4
Namibia	4	2	2	0	50.00%	122	96	+26
Sharks	1	0	1	0	0.00%	3	23	−20
Netherlands	4	4	0	0	100.00%	178	27	+151
New Zealand	14	0	14	0	0.00%	131	820	−689
New Zealand XV	1	0	1	0	0.00%	12	18	−6
Junior All Blacks	1	0	1	0	0.00%	13	30	−17
North-Eastern Cape	1	0	1	0	0.00%	12	31	−19
Northern Free State	1	0	1	0	0.00%	11	12	−1
Oxfordshire	1	0	1	0	0.00%	6	30	−24
Pacific Islanders	1	0	1	0	0.00%	17	25	−8
Poland	7	6	1	0	85.71%	165	49	+116
Portugal	12	10	1	1	83.33%	333	71	+262
Romania	42	23	16	3	54.76%	609	634	−25
Russia	5	5	0	0	100.00%	283	76	+207
Samoa	7	2	5	0	28.57%	109	175	−66
Scotland	31	8	23	0	26.66%	515	766	−251
Scotland A	3	1	2	0	33.33%	51	55	−4
Serbia and Montenegro	3	3	0	0	100.00%	60	22	+38
South Africa	14	1	13	0	7.14%	171	652	−481
Soviet Union	14	4	9	1	28.57%	171	165	+6
Spain	27	23	3	1	85.19%	581	187	+394
Steval Pumas	1	0	1	0	0.00%	12	39	−27
Sussex	1	0	1	0	0.00%	7	16	−9
Tonga	5	3	2	0	60.00%	154	82	+72
Tunisia	3	3	0	0	100.00%	60	19	+41
United States	5	5	0	0	100.00%	154	74	+80
Uruguay	3	3	0	0	100.00%	92	25	+67
Wales	28	2	25	1	9.25%	436	954	−518
West Germany	14	13	0	1	92.86%	226	69	+157
Zimbabwe	3	3	0	0	100.00%	70	25	+45
Total	507	186	307	14	36.90%	8808	11727	-2919

Six Nations

Italy entered the International Championship in 2000 when it became the Six Nations, and made a positive start by winning their debut match 34–20 against Scotland. They finished fifth in 2003 above Wales in the final standings, having defeated them 30–22, and were again fifth the following year above Scotland, after beating them 20–14. In 2006, Italy drew with Wales 18–18 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Italy's first three Six Nations match victories, in 2000, 2003, and 2004, had been in front of a home crowd at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome. However, on 24 February 2007, they defeated Scotland 37–17 at Murrayfield for their first away win in the competition. Two weeks later, they defeated Wales for the second time, 23–20 back in Rome. This was the first time that Italy had won two of their five games in the championship, and they finished the 2007 Six Nations Championship in fourth place.

Italy won the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy for the first time in 2011 with a close-fought 22–21 victory over France. Two years later, they lifted the trophy for a second time by defeating France 23–18. Italy also recorded a first Six Nations victory over Ireland in 2013, beating them 22–15, and equalling their best finish of fourth place in the final standings. On 28 February 2015, Italy achieved their second away win against Scotland, a tight 22–21 victory, but they have not won a game in the tournament since that date.

As of March 2019, Italy have won twelve Six Nations matches, seven of these against Scotland, two against both France and Wales, and one against Ireland. England is the only team that Italy have yet to beat in the championship.

Year	Position	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	FRA	ENG	IRL	WAL	SCO
2000	6th	1	0	4	106	228	−122	L	L	L	L	W
2001	6th	0	0	5	106	207	−101	L	L	L	L	L
2002	6th	0	0	5	70	183	−113	L	L	L	L	L
2003	5th	1	0	4	100	185	−85	L	L	L	W	L
2004	5th	1	0	4	42	152	−110	L	L	L	L	W
2005	6th	0	0	5	55	179	−124	L	L	L	L	L
2006	6th	0	1	4	72	125	−53	L	L	L	D	L
2007	4th	2	0	3	94	147	−53	L	L	L	W	W
2008	6th	1	0	4	74	131	−57	L	L	L	L	W
2009	6th	0	0	5	49	170	−121	L	L	L	L	L
2010	6th	1	0	4	69	137	−68	L	L	L	L	W
2011	6th	1	0	4	70	138	−68	W	L	L	L	L
2012	5th	1	0	4	53	121	−68	L	L	L	L	W
2013	4th	2	0	3	75	111	−36	W	L	W	L	L
2014	6th	0	0	5	63	172	−109	L	L	L	L	L
2015	5th	1	0	4	62	182	−120	L	L	L	L	W
2016	6th	0	0	5	79	224	−145	L	L	L	L	L
2017	6th	0	0	5	50	201	−151	L	L	L	L	L
2018	6th	0	0	5	92	203	−111	L	L	L	L	L
2019	6th	0	0	5	79	167	−88	L	L	L	L	L
Overall		12	1	87	1401	3229	−1828	2–0–18	0–0–20	1–0–19	2–1–17	7–0–13

	England	France	Ireland	Italy	Scotland	Wales
Tournaments	122	88	124	19	124	124
Outright wins (shared wins)
Home Nations	5 (4)	N/A	4 (4)	N/A	10 (3)	7 (4)
Five Nations	17 (6)	12 (8)	6 (5)	N/A	5 (6)	15 (8)
Six Nations	6	5	4	0	0	5
Overall	28 (10)	17 (8)	14 (9)	0 (0)	15 (9)	27 (12)
Grand Slams
Home Nations	0	N/A	0	N/A	0	2
Five Nations	11	6	1	N/A	3	6
Six Nations	2	3	2	0	0	4
Overall	13	9	3	0	3	12
Triple Crowns
Home Nations	5	N/A	2	N/A	7	6
Five Nations	16	N/A	4	N/A	3	11
Six Nations	4	N/A	5	N/A	0	4
Overall	25	N/A	11	N/A	10	21
Wooden Spoons
Home Nations	11	N/A	15	N/A	8	8
Five Nations	14	17	21	N/A	21	12
Six Nations	0	1	0	14	4	1
Overall	25	18	36	14	33	21

Rugby World Cup

Main article: Italy at the Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup										Qualification
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA
1987	Pool Stage	3	1	0	2	40	110	Squad		Invited
1991	Pool Stage	3	1	0	2	57	76	Squad		1st	3	3	0	0	83	38
1995	Pool Stage	3	1	0	2	69	94	Squad		2nd	4	3	0	1	210	52
1999	Pool Stage	3	0	0	3	35	196	Squad		2nd	6	5	0	1	302	92
2003	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	77	123	Squad		1st	2	2	0	0	75	20
2007	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	85	117	Squad		1st	2	2	0	0	150	7
2011	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	92	95	Squad		Automatically qualified
2015	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	74	88	Squad		Automatically qualified
2019	Pool Stage	3	2	0	1	98	78	Squad		Automatically qualified
2023										Automatically qualified
Total	Pool Stage	31	13	0	18	627	977				17	15	0	2	820	209
Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place Home venue

Italy have competed at every Rugby World Cup since the competition's inception in 1987. Italy finished third in their pool at their first World Cup, defeating Fiji, but not making the finals. They did not make the finals in 1991, grouped in a tough pool with England and the All Blacks. At the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, they finished behind England and Western Samoa, but above Argentina in their pool.

In 1999 they did not make the finals, with their defeats by the All Blacks and Tonga. Italy won two pool games at the 2003 World Cup, defeating both Canada and Tonga, but lost to the All Blacks and Wales. Italy played the 2007 Rugby World Cup in Pool C, against New Zealand, Scotland, Romania and Portugal (who had been beaten 83–0 by Italy in the qualifiers), with the goal of reaching the quarter finals for the first time. However, in the crucial group match against Scotland, Italy were undone by indiscipline. Chris Paterson kicked all of Scotland's points in an 18–16 victory, despite Italy crossing the line for the game's only try.

European championships

Before 2000, Italy was one of the leading European teams outside the Five Nations, along with Romania, and for a while the USSR.

Italy competed in the original European Championships from 1936–38, but World War II meant that the tournament would not resume until 1952. Italy then competed in these tournaments from 1952–2000. Italy achieved only one the victory in 1995–97 FIRA Trophy.

Team	First place	Second place	Third place
Italy	1	9	8

Thirties wins

Year	Host city	Winner	Second place	Third place
1936	Berlin	France	Germany	Italy
1937	Paris	France	Italy	Germany

The fifties: the European Cup, Italian positions

Year	Winner	Second place	Third place
1952	France	Italy	West Germany
1954	France	Italy	Spain

The Nations Cup 1966–73

Year	Winner	Second place	Third place
1965/1966	France	Italy	Romania
1966/1967	France	Romania	Italy
1969/1970	France	Romania	Italy

The FIRA Trophy 1974–97

Year	Winner	Second place	Third place
1974/1975	Romania	France	Italy
1975/1976	France	Italy	Romania
1976/1977	Romania	France	Italy
1979/1980	France	Romania	Italy
1981/1982	France	Italy	Romania
1982/1983	Romania	Italy	Soviet Union
1983/1984	France	Romania	Italy
1984/1985	France	Soviet Union	Italy
1990/1992	France	Italy	Romania
1992/1994	France	Italy	Romania
1995/1997	Italy	France	Romania

Players and coaches

Current squad

On 19 January 2020, Italy named their 36-man squad for the 2020 Six Nations Championship.[45]
On 20 January 2020, Giovanni Pettinelli replaced David Sisi.[46]
On 2 February 2020, Jimmy Tuivaiti added at the list.[47][48]

Head Coach: Franco Smith

• Caps updated: 23 February 2020

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province Luca Bigi Hooker (1991-04-19) 19 April 1991 27 Zebre Oliviero Fabiani Hooker (1990-07-03) 3 July 1990 10 Zebre Federico Zani Hooker (1989-04-09) 9 April 1989 16 Benetton Pietro Ceccarelli Prop (1992-02-16) 16 February 1992 9 Edinburgh Danilo Fischetti Prop (1998-01-26) 26 January 1998 3 Zebre Andrea Lovotti Prop (1989-07-28) 28 July 1989 44 Zebre Marco Riccioni Prop (1997-10-19) 19 October 1997 10 Benetton Giosuè Zilocchi Prop (1997-01-15) 15 January 1997 5 Zebre Dean Budd Lock (1986-07-31) 31 July 1986 29 Benetton Niccolò Cannone Lock (1998-05-17) 17 May 1998 3 Petrarca / Benetton Federico Ruzza Lock (1994-08-04) 4 August 1994 19 Benetton Alessandro Zanni Lock (1984-01-31) 31 January 1984 119 Benetton Marco Lazzaroni Back row (1995-05-18) 18 May 1995 6 Benetton Giovanni Licata Back row (1997-02-18) 18 February 1997 11 Zebre Johan Meyer Back row (1993-02-26) 26 February 1993 4 Zebre Sebastian Negri Back row (1994-06-30) 30 June 1994 25 Benetton Giovanni Pettinelli Back row (1996-03-13) 13 March 1996 0 Benetton Jake Polledri Back row (1995-11-08) 8 November 1995 16 Gloucester Braam Steyn Back row (1992-05-02) 2 May 1992 39 Benetton Jimmy Tuivaiti Back row (1988-01-02) 2 January 1988 6 Zebre Callum Braley Scrum-half (1994-03-20) 20 March 1994 8 Gloucester Guglielmo Palazzani Scrum-half (1991-04-11) 11 April 1991 39 Zebre Marcello Violi Scrum-half (1993-10-11) 11 October 1993 15 Zebre Tommaso Allan Fly-half (1993-04-26) 26 April 1993 57 Benetton Carlo Canna Fly-half (1992-08-25) 25 August 1992 42 Zebre Antonio Rizzi Fly-half (1998-01-05) 5 January 1998 0 Benetton Giulio Bisegni Centre (1992-04-04) 4 April 1992 16 Zebre Tommaso Boni Centre (1993-01-15) 15 January 1993 11 Zebre Luca Morisi Centre (1991-02-22) 22 February 1991 32 Benetton Alberto Sgarbi Centre (1986-11-26) 26 November 1986 29 Benetton Mattia Bellini Wing (1994-02-08) 8 February 1994 25 Zebre Tommaso Benvenuti Wing (1990-12-12) 12 December 1990 62 Benetton Leonardo Sarto Wing (1992-01-15) 15 January 1992 35 Benetton Matteo Minozzi Wing (1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 19 Wasps Michelangelo Biondelli Fullback (1998-10-15) 15 October 1998 0 Zebre / Fiamme Oro Jayden Hayward Fullback (1987-02-11) 11 February 1987 26 Benetton Edoardo Padovani Fullback (1993-05-15) 15 May 1993 24 Zebre

Recent call-up not selected

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province Leonardo Ghiraldini Hooker (1984-12-26) 26 December 1984 104 Bordeaux Bègles Simone Ferrari Prop (1994-03-28) 28 March 1994 29 Benetton Tiziano Pasquali Prop (1994-07-14) 14 July 1994 21 Benetton Nicola Quaglio Prop (1991-03-09) 9 March 1991 13 Benetton David Sisi Lock (1993-02-05) 5 February 1993 9 Zebre Maxime Mbanda Back row (1993-04-10) 10 April 1993 20 Zebre Sergio Parisse (c) Back row (1983-09-12) 12 September 1983 142 Toulon Tito Tebaldi Scrum-half (1987-09-23) 23 September 1987 36 Benetton Michele Campagnaro Centre (1993-03-13) 13 March 1993 46 Harlequins

Coaches

Name	From	To	P	W	D	L	% W/P
Arnaldo Cortese  John Thomas	20 May 1929	–	1	0	0	1	0
Arturo Cameroni  Luigi Bricchi	29 May 1930	–	1	1	0	0	100
Luigi Bricchi	1 November 1932	26 December 1934	4	3	0	1	75
Luigi Bricchi  Julien Saby	26 December 1934	7 April 1935	1	1	0	0	100
Julien Saby	7 April 1935	14 May 1936	2	0	0	2	0
Luigi Bricchi  Michel Boucheron	14 May 1936	16 May 1936	2	1	0	1	50
Luigi Bricchi  Julien Saby	1 January 1937	17 October 1937	5	2	1	2	40
Luigi Bricchi	6 March 1938	20 November 1938	1	0	0	1	0
Luigi Bricchi  Giuseppe Sessa	20 November 1938	19 March 1940	2	1	0	1	50
Romano Bonifazi	19 March 1940	9 February 1941	2	1	0	1	50
Luigi Bricchi  Franco Chiaserotti	9 February 1941	2 May 1942	–	–	–	–	–
Luigi Bricchi  Franco Chiaserotti	2 May 1942		1	1	0	0	100
Tommaso Fattori	18 May 1947	27 March 1949	2	1	0	1	50
Giorgio Briasco  Antonio Radicini	27 March 1949	26 February 1950	2	0	0	2	0
Romano Bonifazi	26 February 1950	29 July 1950	–	–	–	–	–
Francesco Vinci	29 July 1950	4 October 1950	–	–	–	–	–
Renzo Maffioli	4 October 1950	25 February 1951	–	–	–	–	–
Renzo Maffioli  Julien Saby	25 February 1951	1 August 1954	9	6	0	3	66.7
Piermarcello Farinelli  Aldo Invernici  Umberto Silvestri	1 August 1954	22 December 1956	8	5	0	3	62.5
Giulio Fereoli  Aldo Invernici  Umberto Silvestri	22 December 1956	8 December 1957	2	1	0	1	50
Sergio Barilari  Aldo Invernici  Umberto Silvestri	8 December 1957	19 July 1958	1	0	0	1	0
Sergio Barilari  Mario Battaglini  Aldo Invernici	19 July 1958	10 April 1960	2	1	0	1	50
Sergio Barilari  Romano Bonifazi	10 April 1960	22 April 1962	4	2	0	2	50
Aldo Invernici	22 April 1962	8 December 1965	7	2	0	5	28.5
Sergio Barilari  Mario Martone	8 December 1965	28 October 1967	7	3	1	3	42.8
Aldo Invernici	28 October 1967	24 May 1970	8	7	0	1	87.5
Giordano Campice	24 May 1970	25 October 1970	2	2	0	0	100
Sergio Barilari	25 October 1970	10 April 1971	3	0	0	3	0
Guglielmo Geremia	11 April 1971	27 May 1971	1	0	0	1	0
Aldo Invernici	28 May 1971	19 February 1972	–	–	–	–	–
Umberto Levorato	20 February 1972	25 November 1972	4	1	2	1	25
Gianni Villa	26 November 1972	14 February 1975	20	6	1	13	30
Roy Bish	15 February 1975	1º April 1977	15	8	1	6	53.3
Isidoro Quaglio	2 April 1977	1º May 1977	2	1	0	1	50
Gwyn Evans	23 October 1977	23 October 1978	5	1	1	3	20
Pierre Villepreux	24 October 1978	24 October 1981	24	10	1	13	41.6
Paolo Paladini  Marco Pulli	25 October 1981	9 November 1985	28	16	2	10	57.14
Marco Bollesan	10 November 1985	4 November 1988	19	7	1	11	36.8
Loreto Cucchiarelli	5 November 1988	29 September 1989	7	1	0	6	14.3
Loreto Cucchiarelli  Bertrand Fourcade	29 September 1989	31 December 1989	2	1	0	1	50
Bertrand Fourcade	1 January 1990	30 August 1993	27	16	0	11	59.3
Georges Coste	31 August 1993	19 June 1999	48	19	1	28	39.6
Massimo Mascioletti	20 June 1999	19 November 1999	5	2	0	3	40
Brad Johnstone	20 November 1999	26 April 2002	27	5	0	22	18.5
John Kirwan	27 April 2002	18 April 2005	32	10	0	22	31.3
Pierre Berbizier	19 April 2005	30 September 2007	30	12	1	17	40
Nick Mallett	3 October 2007	30 October 2011	42	9	0	33	21.4
Jacques Brunel	1 November 2011	31 May 2016	50	11	0	39	22.0
Conor O'Shea	1 June 2016	17 November 2019	26	6	0	19	23.08
Franco Smith	21 November 2019

Player records (career)

Most caps

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries	Won	Lost	Draw	%
1	Sergio Parisse	Number 8	2002–	142	139	3	83	16	35	106	1	25.00
2	Martin Castrogiovanni	Prop	2002–2016	119	91	28	60	12	30	88	1	25.63
3	Alessandro Zanni	Flanker	2005–2020	118	92	26	20	4	31	86	1	26.92
4	Marco Bortolami	Lock	2001–2015	112	92	20	35	7	29	82	1	26.33
5	Mauro Bergamasco	Flanker	1998–2015	106	90	16	75	15	30	76	0	28.30
6	Leonardo Ghiraldini	Hooker	2006–2019	104	84	20	25	5	20	84	0	19.23
7	Andrea Lo Cicero	Prop	2000–2013	103	79	24	40	8	32	70	1	31.55
8	Alessandro Troncon	Scrum-half	1994–2007	101	94	7	95	19	33	67	1	33.16
9	Andrea Masi	Fullback	2000–2015	95	82	13	65	13	23	72	0	24.21
10	Mirco Bergamasco	Wing	2002–2012	89	82	7	256	17	22	66	1	25.28
	Luke McLean	Fullback	2008–2017	89	75	14	74	7	18	71	0	20.22

Last updated: France vs Italy, 9 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.[49]

Most tries

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop
1	Marcello Cuttitta	Wing	1987–1999	54	54	0	110	25	0	0	0
2	Paolo Vaccari	Wing	1991–2003	64	63	1	107	22	0	0	0
3	Carlo Checchinato	Number 8	1990–2004	83	73	10	105	21	0	0	0
	Manrico Marchetto	Wing	1972–1981	43	39	4	84	21	0	0	0
5	Alessandro Troncon	Scrum-half	1994–2007	101	94	7	95	19	0	0	0
6	Mirco Bergamasco	Wing	2002–2012	89	82	7	256	17	12	49	0
	Serafino Ghizzoni	Wing	1977–1987	60	59	1	77	17	0	0	3
	Massimo Mascioletti	Wing	1977–1990	54	54	0	68	17	0	0	0
9	Ivan Francescato	Centre	1990–1997	38	38	0	77	16	0	0	0
	Sergio Parisse	Number 8	2002–	142	139	3	83	16	0	0	1

Last updated: France vs Italy, 9 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most points

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop
1	Diego Domínguez	Fly-half	1991–2003	74	73	1	983	9	127	208	20
2	Stefano Bettarello	Fly-half	1979–1988	55	54	1	483	7	46	104	17
3	Tommaso Allan	Fly-half	2013–	56	41	15	320	11	53	52	1
4	Luigi Troiani	Fullback	1985–1995	47	47	0	294	2	57	57	0
5	Ramiro Pez	Fly-half	2000–2007	40	33	7	260	4	33	52	6
6	Mirco Bergamasco	Wing	2002–2012	89	82	7	256	17	12	49	0
7	Luciano Orquera	Fly-half	2004–2015	48	27	21	154	3	20	31	2
8	David Bortolussi	Fullback	2006–2008	16	15	1	153	1	35	25	1
9	Carlo Canna	Fly-half	2015–	41	19	22	147	4	20	26	3
10	Ennio Ponzi	Fly-half	1973–1977	20	20	0	133	0	17	31	2

Last updated: France vs Italy, 9 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only. [49]

Most matches as captain

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Draw	%	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop
1	Sergio Parisse	Number 8	2008–2019	93	18	75	0	19.35	68	13	0	0	1
2	Marco Bortolami	Lock	2002–2014	39	14	24	1	37.17	35	7	0	0	0
3	Marco Bollesan	Number 8	1968–1975	37	15	20	2	43.24	21	6	0	0	0
	Massimo Giovanelli	Flanker	1992–1999	37	14	22	1	39.18	15	3	0	0	0
5	Massimo Cuttitta	Prop	1993–1999	22	10	12	0	45.45	15	3	0	0	0
6	Alessandro Troncon	Scrum-half	2000–2007	21	7	14	0	33.33	25	5	0	0	0
7	Marzio Innocenti	Flanker	1985–1988	20	7	12	1	37.50	8	2	0	0	0
8	Alessandro Moscardi	Hooker	2000–2002	19	4	15	0	21.05	5	1	0	0	0
9	Ambrogio Bona	Prop	1978–1981	18	9	9	0	50.00	4	1	0	0	0
10	Leonardo Ghiraldini	Hooker	2008–2019	17	5	12	0	29.41	5	1	0	0	0

Last updated: France vs Italy, 9 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Player records (single match)

Most points in a match

#	Player	Pos	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Stefano Bettarello	Fly-half	29	1	2	5	2	Canada	Toronto	1 July 1982
	Diego Domínguez	Fly-half		0	1	6	3	Scotland	Rome	5 February 2000
	Diego Domínguez	Fly-half		0	4	7	0	Fiji	Treviso	10 November 2001
4.	Diego Domínguez	Fly-half	28	1	7	3	0	Netherlands	Calvisano	21 May 1994
5.	Diego Domínguez	Fly-half	27	1	2	6	0	Ireland	Bologna	20 December 1997
6.	Diego Domínguez	Fly-half	25	0	5	5	0	Romania	Tarbes	26 October 1997
7.	Luigi Troiani	Fly-half	24	0	12	0	0	Czech Republic	Viadana	18 May 1994
	Diego Domínguez	Fly-half		0	0	8	0	Romania	Catania	1 October 1994
	Mirco Bergamasco	Wing		0	0	8	0	Fiji	Modena	27 November 2010
10.	3 players on 23 points

Last updated: France vs Italy, 9 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most tries in a match

#	Player	Pos	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Renzo Cova	Wing	12	4	0	0	0	Belgium	Paris	10 October 1937
	Ivan Francescato	Centre	20		0	0	0	Morocco	Carcassonne	19 June 1993
3.	15 players on 3 tries

Last updated: France vs Italy, 9 February 2020. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

See also

• Italy A national rugby union team
• Italy national rugby league team
• Top12
• Pro14

References

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41. http://img.bidorbuy.co.za/image/upload/user_images/017/1336017/1336017_121201060357_153.jpg
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45. "SEI NAZIONI, L'ITALIA A ROMA PER PREPARARE IL TORNEO". Fir Rugby. 19 January 2020.
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47. Fir Rugby. 2 February 2020 https://www.federugby.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14335:italrugby-convocati-bisegni-ruzza-e-tuivaiti-per-il-raduno-di-parigi&catid=109:italia&Itemid=1022. Missing or empty |title= (help)
48. https://www.federugby.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14302%3Aitalrugby-i-convocati-per-il-raduno-di-verona&catid=109%3Aitalia&Itemid=1022&lang=it
49. ESPN, Italy Player Records, 19 September 2015

External links

• Federazione Italiana Rugby official site