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Italy national rugby union team - Definition and Overview |
| Related Words: Catholic, Chauvinistic, Citizen, Civic, Civil, Common, Communal, Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolite, Ethnic, Family, Federal, Galactic, General |
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Rugby union was first introduced into Italy by French students at Milano University in 1911. It remains stronger in the North of Italy than in the Centre or the South.
Consistently good results against nations that now play in the European Cup of Nations (Romania, Spain, Georgia etc), the occasional win against the major nations and a last 16 finish in the '91, '95 and '99 World Cups meant that they were often talked about as candidates to join the then Five nations championship.
Italy finally joined the Six Nations Championship in 2000 winning their opening game against the reigning champions Scotland 34-20.
Since then they have struggled to compete against the other nations and their participation was called into question, however they answered their critics by playing a more disciplined game. They managed to get their second win in 2003 against Wales and their third against Scotland in 2004. They are coached by John Kirwan.
With many of their top players also involved in European club competition, the overall standard of play is improving constantly but it is likely to be a long time before Italy win their first Six Nations Championship. More and more Italians are coming watch rugby games and where as before most of the fans at the Stadio Flamino were away fans, now Italy has a good home crowd.
Famous players
- Mirco Bergamasco
- Carlo Checchinato
- Massimo Cuttitta
- Diego Dominguez
- Andrea Lo Cicero
- Aaron Persico
- Alessandro Troncon
See also
External link
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