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	Fabio Roselli
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	9 (as of 22 September 2025)
Highest	5 ((2021–2023))
Lowest	9 (2024)
First international
Italy 0–0 France (Riccione, Italy; 22 June 1985)
Biggest win
Italy 64–3 Brazil (Northampton, England; 7 September 2025)
Biggest defeat
Italy 0–74 England (Parma, Italy; 3 April 2022)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (First in 1991)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2021)

Women's
World Rugby Rankings

Top 20 rankings as of 15 September 2025

Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		England	097.76
2		Canada	090.13
3		New Zealand	088.76
4		France	086.42
5		Ireland	078.20
6		Scotland	077.39
7		Australia	075.46
8		United States	072.90
9		Italy	072.37
10		South Africa	071.62
11		Japan	069.72
12		Wales	066.13
13		Fiji	063.98
14		Spain	062.42
15		Samoa	059.72
16		Hong Kong	057.56
17		Netherlands	057.42
18		Russia	055.10
19		Kazakhstan	053.88
20		Kenya	050.68
*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 22 June 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	Pool Stage	—	3	1	0	2	88	56
2029	TBD
2033
Total	6/10	9th†	25	9	0	16	408	485
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	—N/a
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 26 April 2025

Rugby: Italy internationals 1985-

Opponent	First game	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Percentage
Belgium	2006	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Canada	1991	3	0	0	3	0.00%
England	1991	26	0	0	26	0.00%
France	1985	30	4	1	25	16.67%
Great Britain	1988	2	0	0	2	0.00%
Germany	1996	7	7	0	0	100.00%
Ireland	1997	24	4	0	20	16.67%
Japan	2002	8	6	1	1	75%
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	26	16	1	9	61.54%
South Africa	2018	3	3	0	1	66.66%
Spain	1991	15	5	0	10	33.33%
Sweden	1991	8	5	0	3	62.50%
United States	2012	4	2	0	2	50%
Wales	1999	25	10	1	14	36%
Summary	1985	197	73	4	120	37.06%

Players

Current squad

On 11 August, Italy named their final 32-player squad to the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup in England.

Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 22 August 2025, the first day of the tournament.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Desiree Spinelli	Hooker	(2005-04-28)28 April 2005 (aged 20)	4	Benetton
Vittoria Vecchini	Hooker	(2002-01-13)13 January 2002 (aged 23)	38	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Gaia Maris	Prop	(2001-12-05)5 December 2001 (aged 23)	39	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Alessia Pilani	Prop	(1999-03-06)6 March 1999 (aged 26)	8	Stade Bordelais
Sara Seye	Prop	(2000-08-26)26 August 2000 (aged 24)	34	Trailfinders
Emanuela Stecca	Prop	(1997-02-24)24 February 1997 (aged 28)	18	Villorba Rugby
Silvia Turani	Prop	(1995-07-06)6 July 1995 (aged 30)	44	Harlequins
Giordana Duca	Second row	(1992-09-18)18 September 1992 (aged 32)	58	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Valeria Fedrighi	Second row	(1992-09-05)5 September 1992 (aged 32)	64	Rugby Colorno
Alessandra Frangipani	Second row	(2003-07-12)12 July 2003 (aged 22)	12	Villorba Rugby
Isabella Locatelli	Second row	(1994-10-23)23 October 1994 (aged 30)	55	Rugby Colorno
Sara Tounesi	Second row	(1995-07-19)19 July 1995 (aged 30)	50	Stade Bordelais
Ilaria Arrighetti	Back row	(1993-03-02)2 March 1993 (aged 32)	62	Stade Rennais
Elisa Giordano (c)	Back row	(1990-11-01)1 November 1990 (aged 34)	75	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Laura Gurioli	Back row	(1995-02-02)2 February 1995 (aged 30)	16	Villorba Rugby
Alissa Ranuccini	Back row	(2000-06-28)28 June 2000 (aged 25)	15	Lyon OU
Francesca Sgorbini	Back row	(2001-01-07)7 January 2001 (aged 24)	34	ASM Romagnat
Beatrice Veronese	Back row	(1996-03-11)11 March 1996 (aged 29)	29	Toulon Provence Méditerranée
Alia Bitonci	Scrum-half	(2006-03-27)27 March 2006 (aged 19)	7	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Francesca Granzotto	Scrum-half	(2002-03-22)22 March 2002 (aged 23)	21	Exeter Chiefs
Sofia Stefan	Scrum-half	(1992-05-12)12 May 1992 (aged 33)	98	Toulon Provence Méditerranée
Beatrice Capomaggi	Fly-half	(1997-04-29)29 April 1997 (aged 28)	23	Villorba Rugby
Veronica Madia	Fly-half	(1995-01-16)16 January 1995 (aged 30)	58	Blagnac SC
Sara Mannini	Fly-half	(2005-08-28)28 August 2005 (aged 19)	9	Rugby Colorno
Emma Stevanin	Fly-half	(2002-04-11)11 April 2002 (aged 23)	24	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Gaia Buso	Centre	(2002-08-19)19 August 2002 (aged 23)	3	Villorba Rugby
Giada Corradini	Centre	(2002-04-17)17 April 2002 (aged 23)	1	Montpellier HR
Beatrice Rigoni	Centre	(1995-08-01)1 August 1995 (aged 30)	86	Sale Sharks
Michela Sillari	Centre	(1993-02-23)23 February 1993 (aged 32)	92	Valsugana Rugby Padova
Alyssa D'Incà	Wing	(2002-03-23)23 March 2002 (aged 23)	33	Blagnac SC
Aura Muzzo	Wing	(1997-04-12)12 April 1997 (aged 28)	55	Lyon OU
Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi	Fullback	(2001-12-06)6 December 2001 (aged 23)	41	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
2024	20 April	Alyssa D'Incà	vs. Scotland	Six Nations	—

Six Nations Awards

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

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
2025	1.	Silvia Turani	11.	Aura Muzzo	2

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
2025	Aura Muzzo	vs. Scotland	—

See also

• Italy national rugby union team

External links

• Federazione Italiana Rugby official site