Italy

The inspirational Sergio Parisse is back to captain Italy in the 6 Nations. The No 8 from La Plata, Argentina famously captained Italy to an historic triumph over South Africa in November. That saw him adding to previous scalps as Italian captain including France, Ireland and Scotland. Parisse was absent from …

Rugby has been given a wake-up call as the FIFA World Cup has expanded to 48 teams. Tuesday’s announcement that the 2026 FIFA World Cup would be increased from 32 to 48 participants sees it having more than double that of rugby’s showpiece event. FIFA World Cup Expansion The FIFA …

Argentine second row Leandro Cedaro will be moving from La Rochelle to Agen next season according to the French press. The 28-year-old is originally from the Regatas club in Resistencia but qualifies for Italy through ancestry and won a single cap for the Azzurri against Scotland in 2013. Despite showing …

Numbers were a bit down this week with the Pro D2 on hiatus and the California Cup also on holidays. A few regulars were also missing by way of rest or injury. As such we’ve had to squeeze a few players into unusual spots, and we’ve even plucked a couple …

The June test series for the Americas looks all but complete with multiple sources indicating that Georgia will play Canada, the USA, and Argentina during the June international window. Originally proposed as a trip to South America, the Lelos will now face tougher competition with the North Americans replacing Brazil …

The pools for the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup have now been determined. While the draw took place last month, three spots were still to be determined in regional qualifying matches. Those have now been completed and all 12 teams are now ready to begin their tournament preparations. Spain took …

One of Argentina’s most noteworthy exports has called it a day. Martín Castrogiovanni has hung up his boots. The 35-year-old has said goodbye to rugby at home. He appeared in a recent Rugby Sevens event for players weighing over 100kg. The tournament took place in his home town of Paraná, …

Namibia, Russia and Spain are to play in Uruguay in June 2017. The three countries will all compete in the 2017 Nations Cup, joining the Argentina XV, Emerging Italy and Uruguay. All matches will be played in Montevideo. The Nations Cup will have three match days – June 10, 14 …

Bruno Doglioli is to face the wrath of the Italian judiciary for a shocking tackle on referee Maria Beatrice Benvenuti during a game between Venezia Rangers and Valsugana in the Italian Serie A on the weekend. Originally from Argentina, Doglioli has been in Italy since joining Petrarca Padova in 2005 …

What a terrible week for Americas teams. Of the six involved in November tour matches, all six were defeated by their opponents. Chile’s catastrophic collapse in the second half against South Korea was the worst of the bunch. With such results we debated including European-based club players in this week’s …