Italy national rugby union team

Early history: 1911–1934

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.^[2][3] 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]

1945–1985

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.

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.

1986–1999

From the mid-1980s, Italy 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 Italy side. John Kirwan, later to become the Italy 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 England and the All Blacks. They lost both of these games but beat the United States. 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 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 exited the tournament at the pool stage.^[8]

Six Nations era: 2000–present

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. 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. The tournament was, however, ultimately disappointing as the Welsh gained revenge with a 27–15 success. This, coupled with defeat against New Zealand, meant that Italy were the only Six Nations country not to advance to the knock-out stage. Their third Six Nations 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.

In the 2006 Six Nations Championship Italy 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 and on the final day a win could have seen them win their first ever six nations tournament. They needed a large win over ireland and other results to go their way. Italy were only 1 point behind at half time before they fell away in the 2nd half eventually losing 24–43.^[9] Despite losing their last game 10,000 fans later greeted the national team at Rome's Piazza del Popolo.^[9]

The 2008 Six Nations Championship saw Italy 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 Italy 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]

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. The championship also saw Italy lose to Wales, Ireland and France.^[18]

Italy played three matches in the 2012 November internationals, losing two and winning one. Italy 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.^[19] Italy did manage a win in the series, beating Tonga 28–23.^[20]

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.^[21] Three defeats by Scotland, Wales and England followed.^[22] 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.^[23][24] Overall Italy finished fourth,^[25] behind Scotland in third on points difference, to make it one of their most successful Six Nations.^[26] 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. 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.^[27] In June, Italy 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.^[28] This victory also marked their first win over one of the three big Southern Hemisphere nations (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa).

Italy lost all their matches in the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Six Nations tournaments.

In their final match of the 2022 Six Nations Championship, Italy earned a historic victory over Wales, snapping a 36 match losing streak.^[29] They scored a try in the 80th minute with the conversion being the final act in the match as Gli Azzurri went on to win by a single point (22–21), at the Principality Stadium on 19 March 2022.^[29]

During the autumn tour in November 2022, Italy claimed 2 victories over 3 matches, defeating both Samoa and Australia (28–27), claiming their first ever victory over the Wallabies.

Italy put in a fine performance in the 2024 Six Nations Championship, pulling off a remarkable 13–13 draw away from home against France in round three.^[30] Italy narrowly missed out on victory when Paolo Garbisi's penalty hit the post after the ball had accidentally fallen off the kicking tee.^[30] The following round, Italy beat Scotland 31–29.^[31] This was Italy's first victory against Scotland in nine years and 12 years after their last victory on Italian soil against a British side. The 2024 campaign was Italy's best performance since the 2013 tournament during which they won two matches, against the French and then the Irish. These feats are all the more impressive given that Italy were pummelled by France at the last World Cup, and narrowly missed out on beating England in their opening match (24–27 defeat in Rome). Italy rounded off their tournament with a last-gasp victory over Wales (24–21), as they did 2 years ago, and for the first time since 2015 avoided last place. The win also represents the Italians' 4th away victory in the history of the competition, the 2nd time at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, but above all it gives Gonzalo Quesada's men their best result since the integration of Italy 24 years earlier (2 wins and a draw for only 2 defeats).

The 2025 Six Nations Championship was more complicated for Italy, who won just one match, at home to Wales (22–15), and lost every other game, including a very heavy home defeat to France, winners of the competition (24–73), the heaviest defeat in their history at home to Les Bleus. Nonetheless, the home win over the Red Dragons enabled Gli Azzurri to avoid last place in the standings and the wooden spoon for the 2nd year running, at the expense of the Welsh.

Overall

More information Rank, Change ...

Men's World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 20 as of 16 February 2026^[45]

Rank	Change[i]	Team	Points
1		South Africa	093.94
2		New Zealand	090.33
3	4	France	088.40
4	3	England	087.71
5		Ireland	086.81
6		Argentina	084.97
7		Australia	081.53
8		Fiji	081.14
9	10	Scotland	081.10
10	9	Italy	079.81
11		Wales	074.23
12		Japan	074.09
13		Georgia	073.18
14		Uruguay	069.19
15		Spain	069.16
16		United States	068.26
17		Chile	066.72
18		Tonga	066.66
19		Portugal	066.53
20		Samoa	066.43
21	22	Romania	060.90
22	23	Hong Kong	059.61
23	21	Belgium	059.56
24		Zimbabwe	058.80
25		Canada	058.75
26		Namibia	056.96
27		Netherlands	056.86
28		Switzerland	055.26
29		Czech Republic	054.78
30		Poland	052.96

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Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by an Italy national XV at test level up until 7 March 2026, updated after match with  England.

More information Opponent, Played ...

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	24	5	18	1	21%	417	644	−227
Australia	20	2	18	0	10%	305	677	−372
Australia XV	2	0	2	0	0%	36	75	−39
Belgium	2	2	0	0	100%	75	0	+75
Border Bulldogs	1	0	1	0	0%	12	25	−13
Bulgaria	1	1	0	0	100%	17	0	+17
Canada	10	8	2	0	80%	294	135	+159
Catalonia	2	1	0	1	50%	10	8	+2
Chile	1	1	0	0	100%	34	19	+15
Cook Islands	1	0	1	0	0%	6	15	−9
Croatia	1	1	0	0	100%	76	11	+65
Czech Republic	1	1	0	0	100%	104	8	+96
Czechoslovakia	12	10	1	1	83.33%	266	62	+204
England	33	1	32	0	3%	427	1,289	−862
England XV	1	0	0	1	0%	15	15	+0
England B	1	0	1	0	0%	9	21	−12
England U23	3	1	1	1	33.33%	31	42	−11
Fiji	12	6	6	0	50%	282	275	+7
France	50	3	46	1	6%	596	1,601	−1,005
France XV	30	1	28	1	3.33%	289	751	−462
France Espoirs	1	0	1	0	0%	18	21	−3
Georgia	4	3	1	0	75%	98	84	+14
Germany	6	2	4	0	33.33%	27	54	−27
Ireland	39	4	35	0	10%	568	1,374	−806
Japan	10	8	2	0	80%	325	181	+144
Leopards	3	2	1	0	66.67%	55	46	+9
Madagascar	2	2	0	0	100%	26	15	+11
Middlesex	1	0	1	0	0%	12	28	−16
Morocco	8	6	2	0	75%	184	52	+132
Golden Lions	1	0	1	0	0%	24	28	−4
Namibia	6	4	2	0	66.67%	247	110	+137
Sharks	1	0	1	0	0%	3	23	−20
Netherlands	4	4	0	0	100%	178	27	+151
New Zealand	17	0	17	0	0%	168	992	−824
New Zealand XV	1	0	1	0	0%	12	18	−6
Junior All Blacks	1	0	1	0	0%	13	30	−17
North-Eastern Cape	1	0	1	0	0%	12	31	−19
Northern Free State	1	0	1	0	0%	11	12	−1
Oxfordshire	1	0	1	0	0%	6	30	−24
Pacific Islanders	1	0	1	0	0%	17	25	−8
Poland	7	6	1	0	85.71%	165	49	+116
Portugal	13	11	1	1	84.62%	371	102	+269
Romania	44	25	16	3	56.82%	711	654	+57
Russia	5	5	0	0	100%	283	76	+207
Samoa	9	3	6	0	33%	183	225	−42
Scotland	39	10	29	0	26%	659	1,005	−346
Scotland A	3	1	2	0	33%	51	55	−4
Serbia and Montenegro	3	3	0	0	100%	60	22	+38
South Africa	19	1	18	0	5%	233	883	−650
Soviet Union	14	4	9	1	29%	171	165	+6
Spain	27	23	3	1	85%	581	187	+394
Steval Pumas	1	0	1	0	0%	12	39	−27
Sussex	1	0	1	0	0%	7	16	−9
Tonga	6	4	2	0	67%	190	96	+94
Tunisia	3	3	0	0	100%	60	19	+41
United States	5	5	0	0	100%	154	74	+80
Uruguay	5	5	0	0	100%	147	52	+95
Wales	34	5	28	1	15%	546	1,126	−580
West Germany	14	13	0	1	93%	226	69	+157
Zimbabwe	3	3	0	0	100%	70	25	+45
Total	571	209	347	15	36.6%	10,172	13,793	–3,601

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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, having taken advantage of multiple early errors by the home side and taking a 21–0 lead within 7 minutes. 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 22–19 victory, and after a 36-match losing streak they won in Wales for the first time on 19 March 2022 by 22–21. Italy put in their best performance yet at the 2024 6 Nations tournament, with 2 wins (31–29 at home against Scotland, to win the Cuttitta Cup, and 24–21 away against Wales) and a draw (13–13 away against France).

As of March 2026^[update], Italy have won 18 Six Nations matches: 9 of these against Scotland, 5 against Wales, two against France and one against Ireland and England respectively.

More information Year, Pos ...

Year	Pos	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
2020	6th	0	0	5	44	178	−134	L	L	L	L	L
2021	6th	0	0	5	55	239	−184	L	L	L	L	L
2022	6th	1	0	4	60	181	−121	L	L	L	W	L
2023	6th	0	0	5	89	149	−60	L	L	L	L	L
2024	5th	2	1	2	92	126	−34	D	L	L	W	W
2025	5th	1	0	4	106	188	−82	L	L	L	W	L
2026	4th (in progress)	2	0	2	62	86	–24	L	W	L	–	W
Overall		18	2	114	1,968	4,510	-2542	2–1–24	1–0–26	1–0–26	5–1–20	9–0–18

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More information England, France ...

	England	France	Ireland	Italy	Scotland	Wales
Tournaments	129	96	131	26	131	131
Outright wins (shared wins)
Home Nations	5 (4)	—N/a	4 (3)	—N/a	9 (2)	7 (3)
Five Nations	17 (6)	12 (8)	6 (5)	—N/a	5 (6)	15 (8)
Six Nations	7	7	6	0	0	6
Overall	29 (10)	19 (8)	16 (8)	0 (0)	14 (8)	28 (11)
Grand Slams
Home Nations	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	2[46]
Five Nations	11	6	1	—N/a	3	6
Six Nations	2	4	3	0	0	4
Overall	13	10	4	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	5	—N/a	8	—N/a	0	5
Overall	26	—N/a	14	—N/a	10	22
Wooden Spoons
Home Nations	7	—N/a	10	—N/a	5	6
Five Nations	10	12	15	—N/a	15	10
Six Nations	0	1	0	18	4	3
Overall	17	13	25	18	24	19

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Rugby World Cup

More information Rugby World Cup record, Qualification ...

Rugby World Cup record										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		3	1	0	2	57	76	Squad		1st	3	3	0	0	83	38
1995		3	1	0	2	69	94	Squad		2nd	4	3	0	1	210	52
1999		3	0	0	3	35	196	Squad		2nd	6	5	0	1	302	92
2003		4	2	0	2	77	123	Squad		1st	2	2	0	0	75	20
2007		4	2	0	2	85	117	Squad		1st	2	2	0	0	150	7
2011		4	2	0	2	92	95	Squad		Automatically qualified
2015		4	2	0	2	74	88	Squad
2019		4	2	1	1	98	78	Squad
2023		4	2	0	2	114	181	Squad
2027	Qualified
2031	To be determined									To be determined
Total	—	36	15	1	20	741	1158	—		—	17	15	0	2	820	209
Champions   Runners–up   Third place   Fourth place   Home venue

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During Typhoon Hagibis; New Zealand v Italy was to be cancelled and recorded as 0–0 draw

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.

Nations Championship

More information Year, Pos ...

Year	Pos	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	ARG	AUS	FIJ	JAP	NZL	RSA
2026	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	–	–	–	-	–
Overall		0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0-0	0–0–0	0-0-0	0-0-0	0-0-0	0-0-0

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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 to 1938, but World War II meant that the tournament would not resume until 1952. Italy then competed in these tournaments from 1952 to 2000. Italy achieved only one victory, the 1995–97 FIRA Trophy.

Team	First place	Second place	Third place
Italy	1	9	8

Thirties wins

More information Year, Host city ...

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

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The fifties: the European Cup, Italian positions

More information Year, Winner ...

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

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The Nations Cup 1966–73

More information Year, Winner ...

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

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The FIRA Trophy 1974–97

More information Year, Winner ...

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

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Current squad

On 21 January 2026, Italy named a 33-player squad for the 2026 Six Nations.^[47] On 26 January 2026, Marco Riccioni and Martin Page-Relo left the squad due to injury and Giosuè Zilocchi and Alessandro Garbisi replaced them.^[48] Edoardo Todaro got injured while training with the squad and left the camp.^[49]

Head coach: Gonzalo Quesada

• Caps updated: 7 February 2026 (after Italy v Scotland)

More information Player, Position ...

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Tommaso Di Bartolomeo	Hooker	(2001-01-04) 4 January 2001 (age 25)	7	Zebre Parma
Pablo Dimcheff	Hooker	(1999-07-01) 1 July 1999 (age 26)	3	Colomiers
Giacomo Nicotera	Hooker	(1996-07-15) 15 July 1996 (age 29)	37	Stade Français
Simone Ferrari	Prop	(1994-03-28) 28 March 1994 (age 31)	70	Benetton
Danilo Fischetti	Prop	(1998-01-26) 26 January 1998 (age 28)	59	Northampton Saints
Muhamed Hasa	Prop	(2001-09-10) 10 September 2001 (age 24)	5	Zebre Parma
Mirco Spagnolo	Prop	(2001-01-02) 2 January 2001 (age 25)	20	Benetton
Giosuè Zilocchi	Prop	(1997-01-15) 15 January 1997 (age 29)	25	Benetton
Niccolò Cannone	Lock	(1998-05-17) 17 May 1998 (age 27)	59	Benetton
Riccardo Favretto	Lock	(2001-10-18) 18 October 2001 (age 24)	9	Benetton
Federico Ruzza	Lock	(1994-08-04) 4 August 1994 (age 31)	68	Benetton
Andrea Zambonin	Lock	(2000-09-03) 3 September 2000 (age 25)	15	Exeter Chiefs
Lorenzo Cannone	Back row	(2001-01-28) 28 January 2001 (age 25)	34	Benetton
Alessandro Izekor	Back row	(2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 (age 26)	8	Benetton
Michele Lamaro (c)	Back row	(1998-06-03) 3 June 1998 (age 27)	50	Benetton
Samuele Locatelli	Back row	(2001-07-30) 30 July 2001 (age 24)	0	Zebre Parma
David Odiase	Back row	(2003-01-19) 19 January 2003 (age 23)	3	Zebre Parma
Manuel Zuliani	Back row	(2000-04-26) 26 April 2000 (age 25)	39	Benetton
Alessandro Fusco	Scrum-half	(1999-10-28) 28 October 1999 (age 26)	21	Zebre Parma
Alessandro Garbisi	Scrum-half	(2002-04-11) 11 April 2002 (age 23)	21	Benetton
Stephen Varney	Scrum-half	(2001-05-15) 15 May 2001 (age 24)	36	Exeter Chiefs
Giacomo Da Re	Fly-half	(1999-03-29) 29 March 1999 (age 26)	6	Zebre Parma
Paolo Garbisi	Fly-half	(2000-04-26) 26 April 2000 (age 25)	50	Toulon
Ignacio Brex	Centre	(1992-05-26) 26 May 1992 (age 33)	50	Toulon
Leonardo Marin	Centre	(2002-02-23) 23 February 2002 (age 24)	18	Benetton
Damiano Mazza	Centre	(1999-02-16) 16 February 1999 (age 27)	0	Zebre Parma
Tommaso Menoncello	Centre	(2002-08-20) 20 August 2002 (age 23)	35	Benetton
Paolo Odogwu	Centre	(1997-02-18) 18 February 1997 (age 29)	7	Benetton
Monty Ioane	Wing	(1994-10-30) 30 October 1994 (age 31)	43	Lyon
Louis Lynagh	Wing	(2000-12-03) 3 December 2000 (age 25)	10	Benetton
Matt Gallagher	Fullback	(1996-10-26) 26 October 1996 (age 29)	3	Benetton
Lorenzo Pani	Fullback	(2002-07-04) 4 July 2002 (age 23)	9	Zebre Parma

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Award winners

Current coaches

• Gonzalo Quesada (Head Coach)
• Richard Hodges (Defence)^[58]
• Andrea Moretti (Forwards)
• Philippe Doussy (Skills)
• Germán Fernández (Breakdown)

Coaching history

More information Name, From ...

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	75.00
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	50.00
Luigi Bricchi  Julien Saby	1 January 1937	17 October 1937	5	2	1	2	40.00
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	50.00
Romano Bonifazi	19 March 1940	9 February 1941	2	1	0	1	50.00
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	50.00
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	66.67
Piermarcello Farinelli  Aldo Invernici  Umberto Silvestri	1 August 1954	22 December 1956	8	5	0	3	62.50
Giulio Fereoli  Aldo Invernici  Umberto Silvestri	22 December 1956	8 December 1957	2	1	0	1	50.00
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	50.00
Sergio Barilari  Romano Bonifazi	10 April 1960	22 April 1962	4	2	0	2	50.00
Aldo Invernici	22 April 1962	8 December 1965	7	2	0	5	28.57
Sergio Barilari  Mario Martone	8 December 1965	28 October 1967	7	3	1	3	42.86
Aldo Invernici	28 October 1967	24 May 1970	8	7	0	1	87.50
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	25.00
Gianni Villa	26 November 1972	14 February 1975	20	6	1	13	30.00
Roy Bish	15 February 1975	1º April 1977	15	8	1	6	53.33
Isidoro Quaglio	2 April 1977	1º May 1977	2	1	0	1	50.00
Gwyn Evans[citation needed]	23 October 1977	23 October 1978	5	1	1	3	20.00
Pierre Villepreux	24 October 1978	24 October 1981	24	10	1	13	41.67
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	36.84
Loreto Cucchiarelli	5 November 1988	29 September 1989	7	1	0	6	14.29
Loreto Cucchiarelli  Bertrand Fourcade	29 September 1989	31 December 1989	2	1	0	1	50.00
Bertrand Fourcade	1 January 1990	30 August 1993	27	16	0	11	59.26
Georges Coste	31 August 1993	19 June 1999	48	19	1	28	39.58
Massimo Mascioletti	20 June 1999	19 November 1999	5	2	0	3	40.00
Brad Johnstone	20 November 1999	26 April 2002	27	5	0	22	18.52
John Kirwan	27 April 2002	18 April 2005	32	10	0	22	31.25
Pierre Berbizier	19 April 2005	30 September 2007	30	12	1	17	40.00
Nick Mallett	3 October 2007	30 October 2011	42	9	0	33	21.43
Jacques Brunel	1 November 2011	31 May 2016	50	11	0	39	22.00
Conor O'Shea	1 June 2016	17 November 2019	26	6	0	19	23.08
Franco Smith	21 November 2019	19 May 2021	13	0	0	13	0
Kieran Crowley	19 May 2021	31 December 2023	27	10	0	17	37.00
Gonzalo Quesada	1 January 2024	present	26	11	1	14	42.31

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