Zebre

For the car, see Le Zèbre. For the writer, see Zdenka Žebre.
Zebre
Union Italian Rugby Federation
Nickname(s) The XV of the North-West
Founded

1973 (as Invitational Team - disbanded in 1997)

2012 (as Professional Team)
Location Parma, Italy
Ground(s) Stadio XXV Aprile, Parma (Capacity: 3,500)
Coach(es) Victor Jimenez
Captain(s) Marco Bortolami
League(s) Pro12
2013–14 12th
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.zebrerugby.eu

Zebre (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdzɛbre], meaning "Zebras"), are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the Guinness Pro12 and the Heineken Cup from the 2012/13 season.[1] They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the FIR and replaced Aironi in the Pro12.[2][3][4][5][6]

History

The entry of Italian teams into the Celtic League had been proposed for many years. After several failed attempts, there was hope 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 that 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.[7] Agreement was reached in early March 2010 to allow Italian teams entry to the Celtic League in time for the 2010–11 season.[8] The clubs will also be guaranteed places in the annual 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 since joining in 2000. 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.[9]

After initial applications in 2010, it was proposed that Aironi would join along with a new team, Praetorians Roma,[10] 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.[11] However, Pretorians Roma failed to satisfy the evaluators of their financial muscle and Benetton Treviso were nominated in their place.[12]

Aironi struggled in their first season; a surprise European Cup win over Biarritz was the only highlight of a campaign that saw them manage only one Pro12 victory. At the end of a second season of struggle on the pitch, Aironi succumbed to financial difficulties off it. Their licence to play both in the European Cup and Pro12 was revoked by the Italian Rugby Federation.[13] The Federation decided against another domestic Italian club taking over the running of the licence, instead opting to maintain complete control of a planned new franchise.[14] In June 2012, it was announced that the new franchise would be known as Zebre and based in Parma.[15]

Zebre did not enjoy much success in their first season, 2012–13, finishing bottom after winless campaigns in both the Pro12 and the Heineken Cup. Although they were to end up bottom once again in 2013-14, their season fared somewhat better, seeing their first official victory against Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park into Round 3 of Pro12,[16] in a season that also saw them beat Italian Rivals Treviso (who finished the season only a point ahead of Zebre) and a second victory against the Blues.

Current standings

Pro12 Table
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Tries For Tries Against Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Scotland Glasgow Warriors (Q) 20 15 1 4 498 329 +169 58 30 8 0 70
2 Ireland Munster (Q) 20 14 1 5 508 317 +191 59 25 7 3 68
3 Ireland Ulster (Q) 20 14 1 5 491 317 +174 56 29 6 3 67
4 Wales Ospreys (Q) 20 14 1 5 501 328 +173 48 27 6 2 66
5 Ireland Leinster 20 9 3 8 437 352 +85 48 37 7 4 53
6 Wales Scarlets 20 9 3 8 419 369 +50 40 37 4 3 49
7 Scotland Edinburgh 20 10 1 9 371 364 +7 38 42 3 3 48
8 Ireland Connacht 20 9 1 10 387 385 +2 41 44 2 4 44
9 Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 20 7 0 13 347 429 −82 33 46 3 6 37
10 Wales Cardiff Blues 20 6 1 13 395 524 −129 41 55 2 2 30
11 Italy Benetton Treviso 20 3 1 16 293 614 −321 32 78 2 2 18
12 Italy Zebre 20 3 0 17 251 570 −319 25 69 0 3 15

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[17]

  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.
  7. the fewest number of yellow cards received.

Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places, and earn a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places, that earn a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The top team from each country will qualify.
Yellow background indicates the team that advances to a play-off semi-final against Aviva Premiership side Gloucester, who qualified for the play-off as the 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup winners.[18]
Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

    The team

    Name History

    Originally founded in 1973 by the former Italian national captain Marco Bollesan, Zebre (English: Zebras) was chosen, in 2012, by the Italian Rugby Federation as the new franchise's name. Previously, the name had been used by an invitational select rugby union team based in Northwest Italy that played regular fixtures between 1973 and 1997. In those 23 years, 25 matches were held against international clubs; and resulted in a high number of victories for Zebre. The opening match was an unofficial test played in Milan in 1973 against the Australian team of Randwick Sydney, who won 21-50. Zebre had a memorable 48-38 victory against the Barbarians in Brescia in June 1997.[19]

    Two other former select teams are I Dogi (The Doges) based in Triveneto and I Lupi (The Wolves) based in Central and Southern Italy.[20]

    Stadium and training

    The team play in Parma at the XXV Aprile Stadium, the home ground of Crociati Parma and the F.I.R. Academy. Initially, the ground is being refurbished and expanded. Zebre usually hold their summer training camp at Parma University.[21] They played one match in the 2012–13 Pro12 season at Reggio Emilia's Stadio Città del Tricolore, against Leinster.[22]

    Staff and coaching team

    Players

    Zebre is mostly based around Italian players, rather than foreigners.[23] In 2012, of the initial list of 36 contracted players, only three were ineligible to play for Italy. Nineteen former Aironi players were included in the original squad. An emphasis on youth development was also visible, with a significant portion of the squad being made up of members of the Italian Rugby Federation Academy.[21]

    Current squad

    For player movements leading up to the 2015–16 season, see List of 2015–16 Pro12 transfers#Zebre.

    2014/15 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
    Oliviero Fabiani Hooker Italy Italy
    Andrea Manici Hooker Italy Italy
    Matías Agüero Prop Italy Italy
    Dario Chistolini Prop Italy Italy
    Andrea de Marchi Prop Italy Italy
    Luciano Leibson Prop Argentina Argentina
    Andrea Lovotti Prop Italy Italy
    Lorenzo Romano Prop Italy Italy
    Luca Redolfini Prop Italy Italy
    Valerio Bernabò Lock Italy Italy
    George Biagi Lock Italy Italy
    Marco Bortolami (c) Lock Italy Italy
    Quintin Geldenhuys Lock Italy Italy
    Andrei Mahu Lock Moldova Moldova
    Mauro Bergamasco Flanker Italy Italy
    Filippo Cristiano Flanker Italy Italy
    Filippo Ferrarini Flanker Italy Italy
    Jacopo Sarto Flanker Italy Italy
    Dries van Schalkwyk Number 8 South Africa South Africa
    Samuela Vunisa Number 8 Italy Italy
    Player Position Union
    Alberto Chillon Scrum-half Italy Italy
    Brendon Leonard Scrum-half New Zealand New Zealand
    Guglielmo Palazzani Scrum-half Italy Italy
    Kelly Haimona Fly-half Italy Italy
    Luciano Orquera Fly-half Italy Italy
    Edoardo Padovani Fly-half Italy Italy
    Gonzalo García Centre Italy Italy
    Giulio Bisegni Centre Italy Italy
    Mirco Bergamasco Centre Italy Italy
    Tommaso Iannone Centre Italy Italy
    Matteo Pratichetti Centre Italy Italy
    David Odiete Wing Italy Italy
    Leonardo Sarto Wing Italy Italy
    Giulio Toniolatti Wing Italy Italy
    Giovanbattista Venditti Wing Italy Italy
    Michele Visentin Wing Italy Italy
    Dion Berryman Fullback New Zealand New Zealand
    Hennie Daniller Fullback South Africa South Africa

    Extended Playing Squad

    Additional members of the Extended Playing Squad:[25]

    Academy Squad

    Selected former players

    Former players who have played for Zebre and have caps for their respective country

    Season records

    Celtic League/Pro12

    Season Pos Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Matches
    2012–13 12th 22 0 0 22 10 10
    2013–14 12th 22 5 2 15 5 29

    Heineken Cup

    Season Pool/Round Pos Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Matches
    2012–13 Pool 3 4th 6 0 0 6 1 1
    2013–14 Pool 3 4th 6 0 0 6 0 0

    Franchise Area

    Zebre Rugby, often referred to as "the XV of the North-West", represents the four committees of Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy and Piedmont, which includes tens of thousands of members and several clubs.[27]

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ "Zebras to take over from Aironi - The Irish Times - Thu, Jun 07, 2012". The Irish Times. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
    2. ↑ "Italian side Aironi to pull out of Pro12 after their licence is revoked". BBC Sport. 2012-04-06.
    3. ↑ "Italy announces new club". Ercrugby.com. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
    4. ↑ "Zebre will replace Aironi for Italy - RTÉ Sport". Rte.ie. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
    5. ↑ http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=35483
    6. ↑ "London Wasps sign Italy back Andrea Masi from Aironi". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
    7. ↑ "Peter Bills: Italian fury at 'insult' after Magners League snub". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    8. ↑ "RTÉ Sport: Italian teams to join Magners League". Rte.ie. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    9. ↑ Roberts, Gareth (2009-03-21). "Wales 15-17 Ireland". BBC News. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    10. ↑ "Aironi and Praetorians set for Magners League | Live Rugby News | ESPN Scrum". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    11. ↑ "International Rugby Union | Italy Rugby Union News". Planet Rugby. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    12. ↑ "Italians' bid to join the League not a done deal". The Irish Times. 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
    13. ↑ "Italian side Aironi to pull out of Pro12 after their licence is revoked". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
    14. ↑ "Tournaments | Magners League | Aironi | Viadana's Pro12 bid rejected". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
    15. ↑ "Rugby Union News | New PRO12 team to be called Zebras". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
    16. ↑ http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/matchcentre/12879.php
    17. ↑ Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro12. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
    18. ↑ "Future of European Rugby resolved" (Press release). RFU. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
    19. ↑ http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1997/giugno/15/Zebre_battono_Barbarians_ga_0_9706154773.shtml
    20. ↑ http://books.google.it/books?id=mYBtMajLAaAC&pg=RA1-PA424&lpg=RA1-PA424&dq=dogi+rugby+history&source=bl&ots=MawCgSfDaF&sig=uPtpwyMO1iKdc-3t8-TcfJMNaio&hl=it&sa=X&ei=ZXuoU92jJan9ywOKkoKIBg&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=dogi%20rugby%20history&f=false
    21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/news/18452.php
    22. ↑ "Zebre 22 - 41 Leinster Rugby". Pro12. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
    23. ↑ "Tournaments | Magners League | Aironi | French coach for new Italian Pro12 team". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
    24. ↑ http://www.zebrerugby.eu/giocatori/
    25. ↑ http://www.pro12rugby.com/teams/zebre/squad.php
    26. ↑ http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/zebre.php?section=3
    27. ↑ http://www.zebrerugby.eu/io-ci-sono-nasce-la-comunita-della-franchigia-delle-zebre-rugby/

    External links