Global InformationItaly national rugby union team information
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Gli Azzurri (The Blues) Italrugby | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Italian Rugby Federation | ||
| Head coach | Gonzalo Quesada | ||
| Captain | Michele Lamaro | ||
| Most caps | Sergio Parisse (142) | ||
| Top scorer | Diego Domínguez (983) | ||
| Top try scorer | Marcello Cuttitta (26) | ||
| Home stadium | Stadio Olimpico | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 8 (as of 18 March 2024) | ||
| Highest | 8 (2007, 2024) | ||
| Lowest | 15 (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) | ||
| First international | |||
 Spain 9–0 Italy  (Barcelona, Spain; 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 | 10 (First in 1987) | ||
| Best result | Pool stage (1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023) | ||
| Website | federugby.it | ||
The Italy national rugby union team (Italian: nazionale di rugby a 15 dell'Italia) represents the Italian Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri (the light-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.
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 9th in the world by the IRB as of the 12th of March 2024.
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 grew in competitiveness, recording a fourth-place finish in 2007 and 2013, and one-sided defeats became less frequent. The Azzurri showed respectable results when playing at home in the early 2010s: 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] Until 19 March 2022, Italy had not won a Six Nations game since beating Scotland in 2015. However Edoardo Padovani scored a last minute try against Wales, to earn Italy their first win in 36 games, as well as their first away win against Wales and third away win in the tournament.
Italy have competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987, where Italy played the inaugural game against New Zealand, but they are yet to progress beyond the first round. The team has developed a reputation for being a consistent middle man 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 against Tier 2 teams and two losses against Tier 1 ones (although in 2019, the match against New Zealand was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis and a draw was awarded as result). The current head coach is Gonzalo Quesada and the captain is currently Michele Lamaro.[3]
- ^ "Rugby Union – ESPN Scrum – Italy v France at Rome". ESPN scrum.
- ^ "Rugby Union – ESPN Scrum – Italy v Ireland at Rome". ESPN scrum.
- ^ "Rugby Union – Italy – List of captains". ESPN scrum.