Aironi

Aironi
Founded 2010
Location Lombardy & Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Ground(s) Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, Viadana (Capacity: 6,000)
Coach(es)
Rowland Phillips (Head Coach)[1]
Andrea Moretti (Forwards)
Antonio Zanichelli (Backs)
Andrew Scotney (Backs)[2]
Captain(s) Quintin Geldenhuys
League(s) Pro12
2011–12 12th
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.aironirugby.eu

Aironi Rugby (Italian pronunciation: [aiˈroni], "herons") were an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the RaboDirect Pro12 and the Heineken Cup, representing the Italian regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. They lost their status as a regional side at the end of the RaboDirect Pro12 season, as the Italian Rugby Federation revoked their licence for financial reasons.[3] They were replaced by Zebre.[4]

Home ground

The team played in Viadana at Stadio Luigi Zaffanella. It was expected that Reggio Emilia's Stadio Giglio would be used for larger games but no games required its near 30,000 capicity.

Kit

Their primary kit was all black with a silver stripe. Their change kit was white with a silver stripe. In the Heineken Cup they wore an all green kit.[5] Their kit was supplied by Adidas.[6]

Member clubs

The formation of the team was made possible by the co-operation of eight existing rugby clubs Rugby Viadana 54%, Colorno 15%, Gran Parma Rugby 10%, Rugby Parma 10%, Noceto 5%, Reggio Emilia 2%, Modena 2% and Mantova 2%.[7] Gran Parma, Rugby Viadana and Colorno have merged as a result of the formation of Aironi to form GranDucato Rugby Parma.[8] Rugby Parma and Noceto have merged to form Crociati (Crusaders) Rugby Parma.[9][10] These mergers were essential as the Super 10 (now National Championship of Excellence) division would have attracted far less sponsorship.

History

After several failed attempts there was doubt that a deal for Italian entry would be done in time for the 2010/2011 season, with the Scots delaying support for entry until changes were made to the Celtic League management structure. In February 2010 it was announced that the planned expansion of the Celtic League was to be put on hold. The reasons were the insistence by existing members that the Italian teams could be ejected after three years. Also the financial demands the league placed on the Italians could not be met. The existing teams said this was to cover the need to have larger squads to cover the extra fixtures and additional travel expenses.[11] Agreement was reached in early March 2010 to allow Italian teams entry to the Celtic League in time for the 2010–11 season.[12] The clubs will also be guaranteed places annually into the Heineken Cup which had previously been awarded to the two top teams in the National Championship of Excellence.

Italy have failed to make an impact in the Six Nations Championship tournament since joining 10 years ago. This has largely been blamed on the fact their best players do not have a competitive enough domestic tournament or are forced to play abroad. The fact that the Six Nations decider in 2009 between Wales and Ireland featured 42 Celtic League players out of 44 in their squads supported this notion.[13] Most Italian players play in France's Top 14. In order to ensure the new teams deliver players for the national side the Federazione Italiana Rugby have put incentives in place for the new teams. The successful franchises will receive financial support from the FIR to recruit national team players currently playing abroad and fresh home-grown talent. Signing one of Italy's top players, most of whom play abroad, would net clubs €50,000, while other lesser players, mostly plying their trade in the Italian Excellenza series, would scoop €30,000 and €20,000 bonuses.[14]

It was proposed initially Aironi would join along with a new team Praetorians Roma,[15] but Benetton Rugby Treviso were nominated instead. Benetton Treviso and Duchi Nord-Ovest could not agree to form one club to represent the Veneto region and lost out in the first round of bidding despite the region being the traditional home of Italian rugby.[16] However Pretorians Roma failed to satisfy the evaluators of their financial muscle and Benetton Treviso were nominated in their stead.[17] This was boosted by Treviso's defeat of USA Perpignan in the Heineken Cup. Praetorians were to be based at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome, where Six Nations matches are currently staged.

2010/11 Debut Season

Aironi had a very difficult debut season. They initially struggled to compete in the Celtic League. Their coach, Franco Bernini, was sacked in November after a run of disappointing losses.[18] They suffered a number of heavy defeats but often when they did lose (particularly at home) they did so by a single score. This is evidenced by the 8 Losing Bonus points received in 22 games.[19] They finally registered their first win against French team Biarritz in December in the Heineken Cup. This was a massive shock as Biarritz had contested the previous year's final.[20] Their first Celtic League win came at home against Connacht on 26 March, which they won 25-13.[21] They finished bottom of the league in 12th.

Magners League Table 2010/11

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA Try bonus Losing bonus Pts
1 Ireland Munster 22 19 0 3 496 327 +169 44 22 5 2 83
2 Ireland Leinster 22 15 1 6 495 336 +159 50 25 5 3 70
3 Ireland Ulster 22 15 1 6 480 418 +62 44 35 3 2 67
4 Wales Ospreys 22 12 1 9 553 418 +135 56 29 6 7 63
5 Wales Scarlets 22 12 1 9 503 453 +50 49 43 5 7 62
6 Wales Cardiff Blues 22 13 1 8 479 392 +87 37 33 3 3 60
7 Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 22 10 1 11 444 462 18 47 49 3 4 49
8 Scotland Edinburgh 22 9 0 13 421 460 39 39 44 2 5 43
9 Ireland Connacht 22 7 1 14 394 459 65 32 44 3 6 39
10 Italy Benetton Treviso 22 9 0 13 374 502 128 29 58 0 2 38
11 Scotland Glasgow Warriors 22 6 1 15 401 543 142 33 48 1 6 33
12 Italy Aironi 22 1 0 21 247 517 270 21 52 0 8 12
Correct as of 7 May 2011


2010–11 Heineken Cup pool stage - Pool 4

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
France Biarritz (4) 6 4 0 2 16 9 +7 140 86 +55 4 2 22
Ireland Ulster (8) 6 5 0 1 15 8 +7 145 93 +52 2 0 22
England Bath 6 2 0 4 20 8 +12 147 108 +39 3 3 14
Italy Aironi 6 1 0 5 4 30 26 65 211 146 0 0 4

2011/12 Final Season

Aironi again struggled in the Pro12 league and finished last. However they did record 4 victories, including a notable home win over defending champions Munster[22] and eventual Heineken Cup Semi-finalists Edinburgh.[23][24] In a very tough Heineken Cup group they failed to record any win, or even a losing bonus point. In March Aironi announced they were in financial difficulty. The FIR decided to withdraw their licence for the upcoming season, the death knell for Aironi. Viadana, the primary club behind Aironi applied to take the vacant place in the Pro12 but this was rejected by the FIR.[25] In June 2012 it was announced that the new franchise would be known as Zebre, which is to be based in Parma and be built around Italian players.[26]

Pro12 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Tries For Tries Against Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Ireland Leinster (F) 221813568326+24248285281
2 Wales Ospreys (C) 221615491337+15444222371
3 Ireland Munster (SF) 221417489367+12245275467
4 Scotland Glasgow Warriors (SF) 221345445321+12434232365
5 Wales Scarlets 221228446373+7343305562
6 Ireland Ulster 2212010474424+5053415356
7 Wales Cardiff Blues 2210012446460−1443455550
8 Ireland Connacht 227114321433−11227360737
9 Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 227114370474−10427411536
10 Italy Benetton Treviso 227015419558−13941573536
11 Scotland Edinburgh 226115454588−13442652432
12 Italy Aironi 224018289551−26222541522

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[27]

  1. number of matches won;
  2. the difference between points for and points against;
  3. the number of tries scored;
  4. the most points scored;
  5. the difference between tries for and tries against;
  6. the fewest number of red cards received;
  7. the fewest number of yellow cards received.
Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places. Qualification for the Heineken Cup is based on each country's allocation, i.e. three highest-ranked Irish teams, three highest-ranked Welsh teams, both Italian teams and both Scottish teams. Because Leinster won the 2012 Heineken Cup Final, Ireland earned an extra Heineken Cup place, which will go to Connacht. Aironi were denied a licence for the 2012–13 season due to financial issues; the newly established Zebre side replaced Aironi in the Pro12 and Heineken Cup.

Updated 5 May 2012. Source: RaboDirect PRO12

    Squad 2011/12 - Final Season

    [28] Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

    Player Position Union
    Tommaso D'Apice Hooker Italy Italy
    Antonio Denti Hooker Italy Italy
    Davide Giazzon** Hooker Italy Italy
    Fabio Ongaro Hooker Italy Italy
    Roberto Santamaria Hooker Italy Italy
    Matías Agüero Prop Italy Italy
    Alberto de Marchi Prop Italy Italy
    Andrea de Marchi Prop Italy Italy
    Salvatore Perugini Prop Italy Italy
    Luca Redolfini Prop Italy Italy
    Lorenzo Romano Prop Italy Italy
    Fabio Staibano Prop Italy Italy
    George Biagi Lock Italy Italy
    Marco Bortolami Lock Italy Italy
    Filippo Cazzola** Lock Italy Italy
    Carlo Del Fava Lock Italy Italy
    Joshua Furno Lock Italy Italy
    Quintin Geldenhuys (c) Lock Italy Italy
    Andrea Benatti Flanker Italy Italy
    Mauro Bergamasco Flanker Italy Italy
    Nicola Cattina Flanker Italy Italy
    Simone Favaro Flanker Italy Italy
    Filippo Ferrarini Flanker Italy Italy
    Frans Viljoen Flanker South Africa South Africa
    Josh Sole Number 8 Italy Italy
    Nick Williams Number 8 New Zealand New Zealand
    Player Position Union
    Giorgio Bronzini Scrum-half Italy Italy
    Tyson Keats Scrum-half New Zealand New Zealand
    Tito Tebaldi Scrum-half Italy Italy
    Naas Olivier Fly-half South Africa South Africa
    Luciano Orquera Fly-half Italy Italy
    Alberto Benettin Centre Italy Italy
    Gilberto Pavan Centre Italy Italy
    Gabriel Pizarro Centre Italy Italy
    Matteo Pratichetti Centre Italy Italy
    Roberto Quartaroli Centre Italy Italy
    Riccardo Pavan** Wing Italy Italy
    Kaine Robertson Wing Italy Italy
    Sinoti Sinoti Wing Samoa Samoa
    Giulio Toniolatti Wing Italy Italy
    Giovanbattista Venditti Wing Italy Italy
    Paolo Buso Fullback Italy Italy
    Andrea Masi Fullback Italy Italy
    Ruggero Trevisan Fullback Italy Italy

    **World Cup Cover

    Transfers

    Players Out 2012-2013

    References

    1. Roberts, Gareth (2010-04-29). "BBC Sport - Rugby Union - Italy beckons for defence coach Rowland Phillips". BBC News. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    2. "Rugby Union Tournaments | RaboDirect PRO12". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    3. "Italian side Aironi to pull out of Pro12 after their licence is revoked". BBC Sport. 2012-04-06.
    4. "Zebre will replace Aironi for Italy". RTÉ News. 2012-06-07.
    5. "Adidas kit out 'All Black' Aironi". Ruggavibe.com. 2010-07-22. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    6. "Rugby Union News, Live Rugby Scores, Results & Fixtures". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    7. "Super 10 - E alla fine fu GranDucato Parma Rugby - Rugby 1823". Rugby1823.blogosfere.it. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    8. "Rugby Parma-Noceto, la storia infinita". Sport Parma. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    9. "La Fusione tra Rugby Parma e Noceto: sintomo di un'epoca". Guide.supereva.it. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    10. London (2010-02-02). "Peter Bills: Italian fury at 'insult' after Magners League snub - Magners League, Rugby". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    11. "RTÉ Sport: Italian teams to join Magners League". Rte.ie. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    12. Roberts, Gareth (2009-03-21). "BBC Sport - Rugby Union - Wales 15-17 Ireland". BBC News. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    13. "news Aironi, Praetorians gets Italian pick". www.rugby365.com. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    14. "Celtic League 2008/09 News : Aironi and Praetorians set for Magners League | Live Rugby News | ESPN Scrum". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    15. 21 July 2009 (2009-07-21). "International Rugby Union | Italy Rugby Union News". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    16. "Tue, Nov 03, 2009 - Italians' bid to join league not a done deal". The Irish Times. 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    17. "RTÉ Sport: Phillips named new Aironi coach". Rte.ie. 2010-11-08. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    18. "RaboDirectPRO12 : Match Centre : Competition Table". Magnersleague.com. 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    19. '+ dateCreated +' (2010-12-11). "Rugby Union News | Match Report | Aironi Rugby v Biarritz - 11th December 2010". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    20. "RaboDirectPRO12 : Match Centre : Fixtures & Results : Fixtures List". Magnersleague.com. 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    21. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,19077_7587332,00.html
    22. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,19077_7198375,00.html
    23. http://www.planetrugby.com/tables/0,25806,3825,00.html#3825
    24. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,19077_7770342,00.html
    25. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,19077_7790039,00.html
    26. Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro12. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
    27. "Rugby - Team details Aironi - Squad". Itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    28. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,19077_7759674,00.html
    29. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3823_7798862,00.html
    30. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,19077_7790240,00.html
    31. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/18496667
    32. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/18460759
    33. http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2012/06/15/1378290-neveu-pilier-droit-et-furno-2e-ligne-rejoignent-le-club.html
    34. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7855901,00.html
    35. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/19477383

    External links