Italy Rugby

Italy

Founded

1929

Arena

Stadio Olimpico · 70,634 cap

The Italy national rugby union team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship against the other top rugby teams in Europe. The team is also known as the Azzurri (Azures). Italy has been playing international rugby since 1929, and for decades were considered one of the best European teams outside the Five Nations Championship. Since 2000, Italy competes annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They were the holders of the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy for 2013, played annually against France. Italy is ranked 15th in the world by the IRB as of 22 April 2016. Italian rugby really came to prominence in 2000 when it was added to the Five Nations, creating the Six Nations. Initially on the end of some heavy defeats, the side has grown in competitiveness, recording a fourth-place finish in 2007 and 2013, and even in defeat, lop-sided losses are less frequent. The Azzurri have shown respectable results when playing at home in recent years: during the 2011 Six Nations, the side defeated France 22–21, and in the 2013 Six Nations, Italy won again at home against France (23–18), and defeated Ireland 22–15. Italy have also competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987, where it played the inaugural game against New Zealand, but have yet to progress beyond the first round. The team has developed a reputation for being a consistent middle player at the tournament. Italy's showings since the inception of a new group stage formula in 2003 have consistently followed a pattern where they managed two wins and two losses. The current head coach is Conor O'Shea. Number eight Sergio Parisse is their current captain.

Scotland Rugby

Scotland

Founded

1871

Arena

Murrayfield · 67,144 cap

The Scotland national rugby union team is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 18 March 2019, Scotland are 7th in the World Rugby Rankings. The Scottish rugby team dates back to 1871, where they beat England in the first international rugby union match at Raeburn Place. Scotland competed in the Five Nations from the inaugural tournament in 1883, winning it 14 times outright—including the last ever Five Nations in 1999—and sharing it another 8. In 2000 the competition accepted a sixth competitor, Italy, thus forming the Six Nations. Since this change, Scotland have yet to win the competition. The Rugby World Cup was introduced in 1987 and Scotland have competed in all eight competitions, the most recent being in 2015 where they were knocked out by Australia in the quarter-final. Their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off. Scotland have a strong rivalry with the English national team. They both annually compete for the Calcutta Cup. Each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, with Scotland having last won in 2018.