Aironi
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 | ||
| Founded | 2010 | |
|---|---|---|
| Disbanded | 2012 | |
| Location | Lombardy & Emilia-Romagna, Italy | |
| Ground(s) | Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, Viadana (Capacity: 6,000) | |
| Coach(es) | Rowland Phillips (Head Coach)[1] Andrea Moretti (Forwards) Antonio Zanichelli (Backs) Andrew Scotney (Backs)[2] | |
| Captain | Quintin Geldenhuys | |
| League | Pro12 | |
| 2011–12 | 12th | |
| ||
Aironi Rugby (Italian pronunciation: [aiˈroni], "herons") was an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the Pro12 and the Heineken Cup, representing the Italian regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. It lost its status as a regional side at the end of the 2011–12 season, as the Italian Rugby Federation revoked its licence for financial reasons.[3] They were replaced by Zebre from the 2012–13 season.[4]
The team played in Viadana at Stadio Luigi Zaffanella. It was expected that Reggio Emilia's Stadio Giglio would be used for larger games but no games required its near 30,000 capacity.
Kit
The team's primary kit was all black with a silver stripe. Their alternative kit was white with a silver stripe. In the Heineken Cup the players wore an all green kit.[5] Their kit was supplied by Adidas.[6]
Member clubs
The formation of the team was made possible by the co-operation of eight existing rugby clubs Rugby Viadana 54%, Colorno 15%, Gran Parma Rugby 10%, Rugby Parma 10%, Noceto 5%, Reggio Emilia 2%, Modena 2% and Mantova 2%.[7] Gran Parma, Rugby Viadana and Colorno have merged as a result of the formation of Aironi to form GranDucato Rugby Parma.[8] Rugby Parma and Noceto have merged to form Crociati (Crusaders) Rugby Parma.[9][10] These mergers were essential as the Super 10 (now Top12) division would have attracted far less sponsorship.
History
After several failed attempts, there was doubt that a deal for Italian entry into the Celtic League would be completed in time for the 2010–11 season, with the Scots delaying support for entry until changes were made to the Celtic League management structure. In February 2010 it was announced that the planned expansion of the Celtic League was to be put on hold. The reasons were the insistence by existing members that the Italian teams could be ejected after three years. Also the financial demands the league placed on the Italians could not be met. The existing teams said this was to cover the need to have larger squads to cover the extra fixtures and additional travel expenses.[11] Agreement was reached in early March 2010 to allow Italian teams entry to the Celtic League in time for the 2010–11 season.[12] The clubs would also be guaranteed places annually into the Heineken Cup that had previously been awarded to the two top teams in the National Championship of Excellence.
Italy had failed to make an impact in the Six Nations Championship tournament since joining 10 years earlier. This was largely blamed on the fact their best players did not have a competitive enough domestic tournament or were forced to play abroad. The fact that the Six Nations decider in 2009 between Wales and Ireland featured 42 Celtic League players out of 44 in their squads supported this notion.[13] Most Italian players played in France's Top 14. In order to ensure the new teams delivered players for the national side the Federazione Italiana Rugby put incentives in place for the new teams. The successful franchises would receive financial support from the FIR to recruit national team players at the time playing abroad and fresh home-grown talent. Signing one of Italy's top players, most of whom play abroad, would net clubs €50,000, while other lesser players, mostly plying their trade in the Italian Super 10 series (Italy's top flight league at the time), would scoop €30,000 and €20,000 bonuses.[14]
It was proposed initially that Aironi would join along with a new team Praetorians Roma,[15] but Benetton Treviso were nominated instead of Roma. Treviso and Duchi Nord-Ovest could not agree to form one club to represent the Veneto region and lost out in the first round of bidding despite the region being the traditional home of Italian rugby.[16] However Roma failed to satisfy the evaluators of their financial muscle and Treviso were nominated in their stead.[17] This was boosted by Treviso's defeat of USA Perpignan in the Heineken Cup. Roma were to be based at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome, where Six Nations matches had been staged.
2010–11 Debut Season
Aironi had a very difficult debut season. They initially struggled to compete in the Celtic League. Their coach, Franco Bernini, was sacked in November after a run of disappointing losses.[18] They suffered a number of heavy defeats but often when they did lose (particularly at home) they did so by a single score. This is evidenced by the 8 Losing Bonus points received in 22 games.[19] They finally registered their first win against French team Biarritz in December in the Heineken Cup. This was a massive shock as Biarritz had contested the previous year's final.[20] Their first Celtic League win came at home against Connacht on 26 March, which they won 25–13.[21] They finished bottom of the league in 12th.
Magners League
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Munster |
22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 496 | 327 | +169 | 44 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 83 |
| 2 | Leinster |
22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 495 | 336 | +159 | 50 | 25 | 5 | 3 | 70 |
| 3 | Ulster |
22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 480 | 418 | +62 | 44 | 35 | 3 | 2 | 67 |
| 4 |  Ospreys |
22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 553 | 418 | +135 | 56 | 29 | 6 | 7 | 63 |
| 5 | Scarlets |
22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 503 | 453 | +50 | 49 | 43 | 5 | 7 | 62 |
| 6 | Cardiff Blues |
22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 479 | 392 | +87 | 37 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 60 |
| 7 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 444 | 462 | −18 | 47 | 49 | 3 | 4 | 49 |
| 8 |  Edinburgh |
22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 421 | 460 | −39 | 39 | 44 | 2 | 5 | 43 |
| 9 | Connacht |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 394 | 459 | −65 | 32 | 44 | 3 | 6 | 39 |
| 10 |  Benetton Treviso |
22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 374 | 502 | −128 | 29 | 58 | 0 | 2 | 38 |
| 11 | Glasgow Warriors |
22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 401 | 543 | −142 | 33 | 48 | 1 | 6 | 33 |
| 12 | Aironi |
22 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 247 | 517 | −270 | 21 | 52 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| Correct as of 7 May 2011 | |||||||||||||
| 4 September 2010 19:30 |
| (1 BP) Munster | 33–17 | Aironi |
| Report |
| Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,426 Referee: Graham Knox |
| 11 September 2010 19:05 |
| (1 BP) Aironi | 15–22 | Ulster |
| Report |
| Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 4,453 Referee: Stefano Penne |
| 17 September 2010 20:05 |
| (1 BP) Scarlets | 49–10 | Aironi |
| Report |
| Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,123 Referee: John Lacey |
| 25 September 2010 18:30 |
| (1 BP) Ospreys | 38–6 | Aironi |
| Report |
| Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,289 Referee: Andy Macpherson |
| 23 October 2010 18:30 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 36–5 | Aironi |
| Report |
| Rodney Parade Attendance: 5,033 Referee: Andrew McMenemy |
| 29 October 2010 19:05 |
| Aironi | 3–20 | Cardiff Blues |
| Report |
| Stadio Zaffanella Attendance: 2,900 Referee: Graham Knox |
| 27 November 2010 19:05 |
| Aironi | 17–34 | Scarlets (1 BP) |
| Report |
| Stadio Zaffanella Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Andy MacPherson |
| 24 December 2010 14:30 |
| Benetton Treviso | 15–10 | Aironi |
| Report |
| Stadio di Monigo Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Carlo Damasco |
2010–11 Heineken Cup pool stage – Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Biarritz (4) |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 9 | +7 | 140 | 86 | +55 | 4 | 2 | 22 |
| Ulster (8) |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 145 | 93 | +52 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
 Bath |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 8 | +12 | 147 | 108 | +39 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Aironi |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 30 | −26 | 65 | 211 | −146 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 October 2010 19:30 |
| Ulster | 30–6 | Aironi |
| Try: Trimble 21' m Humphreys 44' m Danielli 60' c Pienaar 67' c Con: Pienaar (0/2) Humphreys (2/2) Pen: Pienaar (2/3) 2', 39' | Report | Pen: Mercier (2/3) 5', 17' |
| Ravenhill, Belfast Attendance: 7,777 Referee: Chris White (England) |
| 16 October 2010 14:30 |
| Aironi | 6–22 | Bath |
| Pen: Mercier (2/2) 21', 54' | Report | Try: Biggs 12' m Carraro 23' m Abendanon 36' c Watson 67' m Con: Barkley (1/4) |
| Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, Viadana Attendance: 4,000 Referee: John Lacey (Ireland) |
| 11 December 2010 14:30 |
| Aironi | 28–27 | Biarritz Olympique |
| Try: Marshall 38' m Toniolatti 48' c Pratichetti 63' c Con: Tebaldi (2/3) Pen: Tebaldi (2) 3', 31' Drop: J. Laharrague 78' | Report | Try: Terrain 7' m Ngwenya 16' c Balshaw 42' m Gimenez 58' c Con: Yachvili (2/4) Pen: Yachvili 73' |
| Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) |
| 17 December 2010 19:00 |
| Biarritz Olympique | 34–3 | Aironi |
| Try: Bosch 10' c Penalty try 22' c Ngwenya 46' c August 56' c Con: Yachvili (4/4) Pen: Yachvili (2/2) 2', 16' | Report | Pen: Bocchino (1/2) 60' |
| Parc des Sports Aguiléra Attendance: 6,816 Referee: Andrew Small (England) |
| 15 January 2011 14:30 |
| Bath | 55–16 | Aironi |
| Try: Biggs (2) 9' m, 27' c Watson (2) 20' c, 77' c Banahan (4) 29' c, 53' c, 58' c, 70' m Con: Barkley (6/8) Pen: Barkley (1/1) 2' | Report | Try: Sole 36' c Con: Marshall (1/1) Pen: Marshall (3/3) 4', 14', 49' |
| The Recreation Ground Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland) |
| 22 January 2011 14:30 |
| Aironi | 6–43 | Ulster |
| Pen: Tebaldi 37' Drop: Marshall 26' | Report | Try: Trimble 23' c Wannenburg (2) 41' c, 46' c Penalty try 57' c Henry 67' c Danielli 78' m Con: Humphreys (5/6) Pen: Humphreys (1/2) 3' |
| Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France) |
