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Rugby union in Italy
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Rugby union is a popular team sport that is played in Italy. The sport is thought to have been introduced in around the early 1900s, with an organisational committee being established in 1911. The Super 10 competition is the main club rugby competition in the country, although clubs also participate in Europe's Heineken Cup. Italy compete annually in the Six Nations Championship, and have competed at the Rugby World Cup. They are considered, by the IRB, to be a tier one nation.
HistoryRugby union was first thought to be played in Italy in around 1909. An original organisational committee was established in 1911, although it was in 1928 when the body became the FIR. The national team played their first game in 1929 in Barcelona where they lost 9 to nil against Spain. However, a week later, a rematch was held in Milan, where Italy beat Spain 3 to nil. That same year, the Italian premiership held its inaugural competition. Ambrosiana Milano won the first title.
The Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini rebranded rugby union as palla ovale, deciding it was an evolution of the Roman game harpastum. The game was used as a vehicle for Fascist unity, and by 1927 rugby union had its own propaganda committee. However, Mussolini found rugby union inconveniently resistant to authority and dropped the sport in disgust, and for Fascist purposes turned to volata, a malleable kind of handball. Volata never caught on and in 1933 the effort was officially abandoned, however the invention of the game proved damaging to rugby union's popularity and place in Italian sporting culture.
In 1934 the FIR became founding members of FIRA (Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur). In 1937 Italy took part in the Fira European Tournament, in Paris, along with France, Germany, Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In 1987, the Federazione Italiana Rugby joined the International Rugby Board (IRB). That same year, the national side were invited to compete in the first Rugby World Cup in 1987. Italy had to wait until 1988 to play their first Test against a Home Nation. In 1995, the national side finally got their first win against a home nation, against Ireland in Treviso, in a Rugby World Cup warm up. In 1999, the domestic competition ran its 100th tournament, with Benetton Treviso winning the championship that year. In 2000, Italy joined the prestigious Five Nations Championships, turning the competition into the Six Nations Championship.
Governing bodyThe governing body of Italian rugby union is the Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR). An original organisational committee was established in 1911, although it was in 1928 when the body became the FIR. In 1934 the FIR became founding members of the Federation Internationale de Rugby Amateur. They joined the International Rugby Board in 1987.
CompetitionsDomesticThe Super 10 is the main competition for rugby union clubs in Italy. The competition was first contested in 1929, with six clubs. It was altered in 2002 to include just the top 10 sides of Italy. The competition runs from September to May. After a home-and-away season, the top four teams play a knock-out competition to decide the championship. The winners are awarded the Albo d'Oro trophy.
The current teams are:
Below the Super 10, domestic Italian rugby is played in the Campionati Nazionali which consists of:
Serie A: divided into 2 leagues of 12 teams who play each other home and away.
Serie B: divided into 4 leagues of 12 teams who play each other home and away.
An Under 19 Championship and a female competition also exist.
The Coppa Italia is a knock-out competition for domestic clubs. The competition has been contested annually since 1967, though it was not held from 1974 to 1980, and 1983 to 1994, and again in 1996, 1999 and 2002.
European tournamentsHeineken CupItaly field teams in the European knock-out competition, the Heineken Cup, which is an annual rugby union competition involving leading clubs, regional and provincial teams from the rest of the Six Nations: England, France, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Italy usually has two to three clubs in the Heineken Cup.
European Challenge CupThe European Challenge Cup in rugby union, known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003, is the sister competition to the Heineken Cup. It is competed for by teams from England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Romania on a knock-out basis.
Italy enters 4 clubs: those finishing 3rd and 4th in the Super 10, and the winners of playoffs between 5th and 8th, and 6th and 7th. Clubs had previously competed in the European Shield, though that particular competition was restructured in 2005.
PopularityThere are 532 rugby clubs within Italy. These clubs support 38,905 registered male players, as well as 3,118 registered female players. Parma is the only city to have two teams (Overmach Rugby Parma and SKG Gran Rugby). The majority of the other teams are either from Veneto or Lombardy in the North of Italy.
The sport is enjoying a renaissance with more media coverage than ever before, with rugby union especially popular in Rome, L'Aquila and in the northern cities of Treviso (as well as the whole Veneto), Milan, Genoa, Parma and Bologna.
The growth of rugby union in Italy has seen a large improvement in the domestic player quality. This has subsequently led to a flow of Italian players being bought by other European rugby clubs, such as those in the Guinness Premiership.
In the 2007 Six Nations, Italy not only won their first away match since their inclusion, but also followed it up with another victory to finish fourth, their best placing yet. Media and public interest in the national team very high during the sides new found success. 10,000 fans greeted the national team at Rome's Piazza del Popolo after their final match against Ireland.
National teamThe Italian national rugby union side have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and are categorized, by the International Rugby Board, as a tier one nation. They currently compete in the Six Nations Championship, which they were first included in during 2000, though they have yet to win the competition. The team has thus far, competed at all the Rugby World Cups. Italy's best result at a World Cup was at the 2003 tournament in Australia, where they won two of their four pool matches. The Azzurri, as they are known, play in blue jerseys.
Nations CupThe Nations Cup is a tournament involving Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia. It was first held in 2006.
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