🇮🇹 Italy · Six Nations 2027

Italy's national rugby team, known as the Azzurri ("the Blues" in Italian, after the shirt colour), is the youngest of the six championship sides. Admitted in 2000 when the Five Nations expanded to the Six Nations, Italy represent Italian rugby on the European stage. Governed by the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR), the team are historically seen as the weakest of the six, but they made an immediate mark in their first edition in 2000, beating Scotland 34-20 in Rome.

Across the past two decades, Italy have lived through contrasting cycles: long losing runs (the infamous "Wooden Spoon" claimed many times), but also moments of glory (wins over France in 2011 and 2013, Ireland in 2013, Scotland on multiple occasions). In the 2020s the Azzurri have made clear progress under head coaches Kieran Crowley and then Gonzalo Quesada, pushing the major nations close and finally beating Wales in Cardiff in 2022 — a historic moment for Italian rugby.

The Stadio Olimpico, home of rugby in Rome

The Stadio Olimpico in Rome stages Italy's Six Nations home matches. Located in the Foro Italico sports complex, the stadium has a capacity of 73,261, making it one of the biggest grounds in Italy. Opened in 1953, refurbished for the 1990 FIFA World Cup and again for Euro 2020, it is a multi-purpose venue also used by football clubs AS Roma and Lazio. The atmosphere on Six Nations weekends is lively and convivial — Italian supporters, late converts to rugby compared with their neighbours, have built a real passion for the championship.

Italy played their first international in 1929, but it is their entry into the championship in 2000 that marks the modern turning point of Italian rugby. Beating Scotland on debut, the country has gradually built a rugby culture — especially in the north (Treviso, Padova, Calvisano), where Italian clubs traditionally dominate.

Although Italy have yet to win the championship (let alone reach a Grand Slam), they have racked up several memorable wins: vs France in 2011 and 2013, vs Ireland in 2013, vs Wales in 2022 (the "Cardiff win"). Through the 2020s, under Kieran Crowley and Gonzalo Quesada, the Azzurri have firmed up their playing identity and closed the gap on the other European nations.

Trophies on the line

• Cuttitta Cup against Scotland, in tribute to Massimo Cuttitta, an Italian rugby legend (1966-2021)
• Garibaldi Trophy against France, celebrating Giuseppe Garibaldi, born in Nice