Zebre

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For the car, see Le Zèbre. For the writer, see Zdenka Žebre.
Zebre
File:Zebre logo.png
Union Italian Rugby Federation
Nickname(s) The XV of the North-West
Founded 1973 (as Invitational Team – disbanded in 1997) 2012; 12 years ago (2012) (as Professional Team)
Location Parma, Italy
Ground(s) Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma (Capacity: 5,000)
President Pier Luigi Bernabò
Coach(es) Gianluca Guidi
Captain(s) George Biagi
League(s) Pro12
2014–15 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]

Zebre, often referred to as "the XV of the North-West" (Italian: il XV del Nord-Ovest ), represents the four committees of Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy and Piedmont, which includes tens of thousands of members and several clubs.[7]

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 2010–11 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.[8] Agreement was reached in early March 2010 to allow Italian teams entry to the Celtic League in time for the 2010–11 season.[9] 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.[10]

After initial applications in 2010, it was proposed that Aironi would join along with a new team, Praetorians Roma,[11] 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.[12] However, Pretorians Roma failed to satisfy the evaluators of their financial muscle and Benetton Treviso were nominated in their place.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15] In June 2012, it was announced that the new franchise would be known as Zebre and based in Parma.[16]

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,[17] 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

2015–16 Pro12 watch · edit · discuss
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Diff Tries For Tries Against Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Ireland Leinster (RU) 22 16 0 6 458 290 +168 51 27 6 3 73
2 Ireland Connacht (CH) 22 15 0 7 507 406 +101 60 46 8 5 73
3 Scotland Glasgow Warriors (SF) 22 14 1 7 557 380 +177 68 37 8 6 72
4 Ireland Ulster (SF) 22 14 0 8 488 307 +181 61 29 8 5 69
5 Wales Scarlets 22 14 0 8 477 458 +19 45 54 2 5 63
6 Ireland Munster 22 13 0 9 459 417 +42 56 36 6 5 63
7 Wales Cardiff Blues 22 11 0 11 542 461 +81 62 53 5 7 56
8 Wales Ospreys 22 11 1 10 490 455 +35 55 49 6 3 55
9 Scotland Edinburgh 22 11 0 11 405 366 +39 41 36 2 8 54
10 Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 22 4 0 18 353 492 −139 33 57 0 10 26
11 Italy Zebre 22 5 0 17 308 718 −410 35 99 3 1 24
12 Italy Benetton Treviso 22 3 0 19 320 614 −294 35 79 0 8 20
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[18]
  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) were play-off places, and earned places in the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup.
Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places that earned places in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
To facilitate the 2015 Rugby World Cup, there were no play-offs for the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup; the 20th place went to the winner of the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup if not already qualified. Because Challenge Cup winner Montpellier qualified via the Top 14, its place passed to the top team from that league not already qualified.
Plain background indicates teams that earned a place in the 2016–17 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 Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 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

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For player movements leading up to the 2016–17 season, see List of 2016–17 Pro12 transfers § Zebre.

2016–17 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
Bruno Mercanti Hooker Argentina Argentina
Pietro Ceccarelli Prop Italy Italy
Dario Chistolini Prop Italy Italy
Andrea de Marchi Prop Italy Italy
Andrea Lovotti Prop Italy Italy
Bruno Postiglioni Prop Argentina Argentina
Guillermo Roan Prop Argentina Argentina
Valerio Bernabò Lock Italy Italy
George Biagi (c) Lock Italy Italy
Joshua Furno Lock Italy Italy
Quintin Geldenhuys Lock Italy Italy
Gideon Koegelenberg Lock South Africa South Africa
Federico Ruzza Lock Italy Italy
Johan Meyer Flanker South Africa South Africa
Jacopo Sarto Flanker Italy Italy
Maxime Mbanda Number 8 Italy Italy
Dries van Schalkwyk Number 8 Italy Italy
Player Position Union
Guglielmo Palazzani Scrum-half Italy Italy
Marcello Violi Scrum-half Italy Italy
Carlo Canna Fly-half Italy Italy
Edoardo Padovani Fly-half Italy Italy
Giulio Bisegni Centre Italy Italy
Tommaso Boni Centre Italy Italy
Tommaso Castello Centre Italy Italy
Matteo Pratichetti Centre Italy Italy
Mattia Bellini Wing Italy Italy
Gabriele Di Giulio Wing Italy Italy
Kurt Baker Fullback New Zealand New Zealand
Dion Berryman Fullback New Zealand New Zealand
Kayle van Zyl Fullback South Africa South Africa
  • Players in bold capped internationally.
  • Players qualified to play for Italy on residency or dual nationality. *
  • Players and their allocated positions from the Zebre Rugby Website[24]

Extended Playing Squad

Additional members of the Extended Playing Squad:[25]

Academy Squad

Additional players from F.I.R. Academy

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 [1]
2013–14 12th 22 5 2 15 5 29 [2]
2014–15 12th 22 3 0 19 3 15 [3]

Heineken Cup / Rugby Champions Cup

Season Pool/Round Pos Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Matches
2012–13 Pool 3 4th 6 0 0 6 1 1 [4]
2013–14 Pool 3 4th 6 0 0 6 0 0 [5]

European Rugby Challenge Cup

Season Pool/Round Pos Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Matches
2014–15 Pool 5 3rd 6 2 0 4 0 8 [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=35483
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ http://www.zebrerugby.eu/io-ci-sono-nasce-la-comunita-della-franchigia-delle-zebre-rugby/
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/matchcentre/12879.php
  18. ↑ Competition Rule 3.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ http://www.zebrerugby.eu/giocatori/
  25. ↑ http://www.pro12rugby.com/teams/zebre/squad.php
  26. ↑ http://www.pro12rugby.com/teams/zebre/squad.php

External links

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