Italy

Italy National Rugby Union Team: The Azzurri

The Italy national rugby union team, also known as 'Gli Azzurri' by their fans, is one of Europe's finest sides. Italy are one of the countries that contest the Six Nations Championship and they've featured in every edition of the Rugby World Cup.

Throughout history, the Italy national rugby union team has been blessed with talented players. Some of the finest examples include Sergio Parisse, Alessandro Troncon and Massimo Mascioletti. 

Italy at the Six Nations Championship 

The Italian rugby team first entered the Six Nations in 2000, when the tournament formally expanded to welcome the Italian squad. To allow this, the tournament's format was updated and the name was changed from the Five Nations to the Six Nations Championship.

The Azzurri got off to a flying start in the Championship. In fact, Italy's Six Nations debut concluded with an impressive 34-20 victory against Scotland. 

However, since then, the Italy national rugby union team has struggled at the tournament. They regularly finish towards the bottom of the table and they have won the wooden spoon 18 times. By contrast, since 2000, the Italy rugby team have won a total of 16 Six Nations matches and they’ve never defeated England at the competition. 

Italy’s worst spell in the Six Nations came between 2016 and 2021, when they failed to win a single match. By contrast, their best Six Nations finishes came in 2007 and 2013. The Italian rugby team won two matches in both Championships, which resulted in them taking fourth place - Italy finished above Wales and Scotland in 2007, and Ireland and France in 2013.

Italy at the Rugby World Cup

The Italy rugby team has never won the Rugby World Cup. Although they have competed in every tournament, they are yet to reach the knockout stages. To date, they have crashed out during the pool stage at every Rugby World Cup. 

Despite this, Italy's Rugby World Cup campaigns have seen marked improvement. Since 2003, the Italian rugby team has consistently won two pool-stage matches.

The closest Italy came to the quarter finals was at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. After wins against Romania and Portugal, Italy played their deciding match against Scotland. Despite their best efforts, the game ended 18-16 to Scotland and Italy exited the competition.

Conversely, Italy's worst Rugby World Cup was the 1999 edition of the tournament. Not only did the Azzurri fail to win a single match, they also suffered a humiliating 101-3 loss against New Zealand.

On this page you can discover everything you need to know about the Italian rugby team, including their upcoming fixtures, latest results and breaking news stories.