Italy women's national rugby union team

For the men's team, see Italy national rugby union team. For the women's sevens team, see Italy women's national rugby sevens team. For the women's rugby league team, see Italy women's national rugby league team.

Italy

Nickname	Le Azzurre (The Blues)
Union	Federazione Italiana Rugby
Head coach	Giovanni Raineri
Captain	Elisa Giordano
Most caps	Sara Barattin (111)
Top scorer	Veronica Schiavon (383)
Top try scorer	Manuela Furlan (20)
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	8 (as of 28 October 2024)
Highest	6 (2024)
Lowest	9 (2024)
First international
Italy 0–0 France (Riccione, Italy; 22 June 1985)
Biggest win
Germany 0–52 Italy (Hamburg, Germany; 7 April 2005)
Biggest defeat
Italy 0–74 England (Parma, Italy; 3 April 2022)
World Cup
Appearances	4 (First in 1991)
Best result	9th 2017

Women's
World Rugby Rankings

Top 20 rankings as of 11 November 2024

Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		England	097.56
2		Canada	089.31
3		New Zealand	088.64
4		France	085.11
5		Australia	078.10
6		Ireland	078.03
7		Scotland	076.82
8		Italy	074.75
9		United States	074.20
10		Wales	072.58
11		Japan	066.41
12		South Africa	066.18
13		Spain	065.42
14		Russia	061.10
15		Samoa	060.56
16		Netherlands	060.20
17		Fiji	059.14
18		Hong Kong	056.20
19		Kazakhstan	055.23
20		Sweden	052.72
*Change from the previous week

The Italy women's national rugby union team are the national women's rugby union team that represents Italy at international level. It has been administered by the Italian Rugby Federation since 1991; previously, since its inception in 1985 up to 1991, it was administered by UISP – Unione Italiana Sport Popolari (Italian Union for People's Sports), an association which promotes amateur sports at every level of the society. The team competes in the Rugby World Cup, the Rugby Europe Women's Championship and the Women's Six Nations Championship.

History

On June 22, 1985, the Italian women's national team made their international debut against France. The match ended 0–0, they played again a year later in Bardos, with France winning 12–0. Italy scored their first points in their third match against France when the two neighbors met in Rome in 1987, France won 16–4.

In 1988 Italy participated in the first European championship organized in Bourg-en-Bresse in France by the local women's club. In addition to the hosts, the other two participants were Great Britain and the Netherlands. Italy finished last with three losses. The inaugural edition of this championship, while significant for being the first competition for women's national teams, was never recognized as official by FIRA.

Italian Rugby Federation entry

In 1991 the management of women's rugby was handed over to the Italian Rugby Federation. Their first commitment was the selection of the team for the inaugural edition of the World Cup which was held in April of that same year in Wales. The Azzurre, after having finished last in their pool, were placed in the Plate quarter-finals. They had their first victory in the tournament after defeating Sweden 18–0 in the Plate quarter-final but lost to Canada 6–0 in the Plate semi-final.

The progress of the national team was slow. In their first 15 years of existence, up to the end of 2000, they played in only 33 official matches. In 1995 they came third in the European championship organized at home in Treviso, a result equaled one year later in Madrid, Spain. After a first round elimination with a sixth-place finish at the 1997 European Championship, they finished 12th at the 1998 Women's Rugby World Cup in the Netherlands.

They finished 7th at the 1999 European Championship and 8th in 2001. They won their first Nations Cup title in Veneto in 2002 ahead of the Rugby World Cup, in which Italy finished in twelfth place. Italy won the 2005 European Championship which was held in Hamburg in Germany. In the 2006 Nations Cup Italy successfully defended their title.

Admission to the Six Nations

In December 2006, the executive committee of the Six Nations decided to align the composition of all competitions of the tournament with the men's, which included England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy; at the time the only difference with the women's tournament was the presence of Spain, which the committee replaced with Italy starting in 2007.

• 
  Italy women's national rugby union team in 2013.
• 
  Italy women's national rugby union team in 2014 during 6 nations tournament.

Records

Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	PF	PA
1991	Plate semi-final	N/A	4	1	0	3	34	31
1994	Did not participate
1998	11th place playoff	12th	5	2	0	3	108	81
2002	11th place playoff	12th	4	1	0	3	45	121
2006	Did not participate
2010	Did not qualify
2014
2017	9th place playoff	9th	5	2	0	3	75	117
2021	Quarter-final	–	4	2	0	2	58	79
2025	Qualified
2029	TBD
2033
Total	5/9	9th†	22	8	0	14	320	429
Champion   Runner-up   Third place   Fourth place * Tied placing † Best placing Home venue

Six Nations

	Italy
Tournaments	16
Outright Wins	0
Grand Slams	0
Triple Crowns	—
Wooden Spoons	3

Rugby Europe Women's Championship

Competition				Total
European Championship	3	1	3	7

Overall

See: List of Italy women's national rugby union team matches

(Full internationals only)
Correct as of 11 February 2023

Rugby: Italy internationals 1985-

Opponent	First game	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Percentage
Belgium	2006	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Canada	1991	2	0	0	2	0.00%
England	1991	23	0	0	23	0.00%
France	1985	26	4	0	22	12.50%
Great Britain	1988	2	0	0	2	0.00%
Germany	1996	7	7	0	0	100.00%
Ireland	1997	20	2	0	18	10.00%
Japan	2002	4	3	1	0	66.67%
Kazakhstan	2001	2	0	0	2	0.00%
Netherlands	1988	8	5	0	3	62.50%
Russia	1998	4	4	0	0	100.00%
Samoa	2013	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Scotland	1995	22	15	1	6	68.18%
South Africa	2018	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Spain	1991	15	6	0	10	33.33%
Sweden	1991	8	5	0	3	62.50%
United States	2012	3	1	0	2	33.33%
Wales	1999	21	7	1	13	33.33%
Summary	1985	164	57	3	104	34.76%

Players

Current squad

Giovanni Raineri announced Italy's 30-player squad for the WXV 2 competition on 16 September.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Ilaria Arrighetti	Back row	(1993-03-02)2 March 1993 (aged 31)	57	Stade Rennais Rugby
Chiara Cheli	Hooker		0	Rugby Colorno
Giordana Duca	Lock	(1992-09-18)18 September 1992 (aged 32)	49	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Elena Errichiello	Back row			Unione Rugby Capitolina
Valeria Fedrighi	Lock	(1992-09-05)5 September 1992 (aged 32)	55	Rugby Colorno
Alessandra Frangipani	Back row	(2003-07-12)12 July 2003 (aged 21)	8	Villorba Rugby
Elisa Giordano	Back row	(1990-11-01)1 November 1990 (aged 33)	67	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Laura Gurioli	Hooker	(1995-02-02)2 February 1995 (aged 29)	9	Villorba Rugby
Gaia Maris	Prop	(2001-12-05)5 December 2001 (aged 22)	29	ASM Romagnat Rugby
Alissa Ranuccini	Back row	(2000-06-28)28 June 2000 (aged 24)	8	Rugby Colorno
Sara Seye	Prop	(2000-08-26)26 August 2000 (aged 24)	24	Trailfinders
Francesca Sgorbini	Back row	(2001-01-07)7 January 2001 (aged 23)	25	ASM Romagnat Rugby
Emanuela Stecca	Prop	(1997-02-24)24 February 1997 (aged 27)	11	Villorba Rugby
Sara Tounesi	Lock	(1995-07-19)19 July 1995 (aged 29)	41	Montpellier Hérault Rugby
Silvia Turani	Prop	(1995-07-06)6 July 1995 (aged 29)	35	Harlequins
Vittoria Vecchini	Hooker	(2002-01-13)13 January 2002 (aged 22)	28	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Beatrice Veronese	Back row	(1996-03-11)11 March 1996 (aged 28)	19	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Vittoria Zanette	Forward	(2004-11-29)29 November 2004 (aged 19)	0	Villorba Rugby
Beatrice Capomaggi	Fullback	(1997-04-29)29 April 1997 (aged 27)	15	Villorba Rugby
Sofia Catellani	Back	(2004-06-15)15 June 2004 (aged 20)	2	Rugby Colorno
Francesca Granzotto	Scrum-half	(2002-03-22)22 March 2002 (aged 22)	13	Villorba Rugby
Veronica Madia	Fly-half	(1995-01-16)16 January 1995 (aged 29)	51	Rugby Colorno
Sara Mannini	Centre	(2005-08-28)28 August 2005 (aged 19)	1	Rugby Colorno
Nicole Mastrangelo	Centre	(2003-09-21)21 September 2003 (aged 21)	1	Unione Rugby Capitolina
Aura Muzzo	Wing	(1997-04-12)12 April 1997 (aged 27)	46	Villorba Rugby
Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi	Fullback	(2001-12-06)6 December 2001 (aged 22)	34	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Beatrice Rigoni	Centre	(1995-08-01)1 August 1995 (aged 29)	76	Sale Sharks
Michela Sillari	Centre	(1993-02-23)23 February 1993 (aged 31)	83	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Sofia Stefan	Scrum-half	(1992-05-12)12 May 1992 (aged 32)	89	Sale Sharks
Emma Stevanin	Fly-half	(2002-04-11)11 April 2002 (aged 22)	15	Valsugana Rugby Padova

Award winners

World Rugby Awards

The following Italy players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:

World Rugby Women's 15s Dream Team of the Year

Year	Forwards		Backs		Total
	No.	Players	No.	Players
2021	—		12.	Beatrice Rigoni	1

World Rugby Women's 15s Try of the Year

Year	Date	Nominee	Match	Tournament	Winner
2021	13 September	Sara Barattin	vs. Scotland	World Cup Qualifying	—
2023	15 April	Sofia Stefan	vs. Ireland	Six Nations	Sofia Stefan

Six Nations Awards

The following Italy players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020:

Six Nations Player of the Championship

Year	Nominee	Winner
2024	Alyssa D'Incà	—

Six Nations Try of the Championship

Year	Nominee	Match	Winner	Ref
2024	Alyssa D'Incà	vs. France	Alyssa D'Incà

Six Nations Team of the Championship

Year	Forwards		Backs		Total
	No.	Players	No.	Players
2022	—		11.	Maria Magatti	2
			12.	Beatrice Rigoni
2023			—		0
2024			12.	Beatrice Rigoni (2)	2
			14.	Alyssa D'Incà

See also

• Italy national rugby union team

External links

• Federazione Italiana Rugby official site