Italy Rugby team

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Pool C

Italy joined the international Rugby community in the 1920s. In 2000, Italy (known as the Azzurri) have competed in every Rugby World Cup Tournament, but are yet to make it past the pool phase.

Expect the Italians to bring a little piece of home to New Zealand. Fans will be decking the streets in red, white and green to welcome the team.

Keep up with the Azzurri

Official site of Federazione Italiana Rugby

Italy in Nelson

The Italians are playing in Nelson against Russia on 20 September 2011 and against USA on 27 September 2011.

They will be staying and practicing in Nelson for 21 nights, one of the longest stays of any team coming for RWC 2011.

Italian connection to Nelson

Nelson's Italian heritage blends well with our unique Kiwi outlook - we both live life to the fullest! Plus, we sport great wine, olives and a Mediterranean climate of our own, so Italian fans are likely to feel very at home.

Māori batallion

A special relationship exists amongst the men from Nelson who were part of the Māori Battalion. That battalion contributed and participated in World War II for New Zealand. These brave men fought in Italy and, when they came back, they were able to speak fluent Italian. Their relationship with the people of Italy was very strong.

For a number of years families of members of the Māori Battalion have asked why there is nothing in place to recognise their fathers, uncles and grandfathers. For RWC 2011, this relationship will be acknowledged when Team Italy is playing in Nelson with a plaque bearing the names of those from the region who fought in the Māori Battalion.

Italian migrants to Nelson

One of the first recorded Italians who came to Nelson was Stefano de Filippi, who arrived in 1862. He went to the Wakamarina goldfields and there is an unsubstantiated story that, en route, he had a cup of tea with the men who were to become the Maungatapu murderers.  In 1869 he moved to the Lyell goldfields, and by the 1870s had accumulated 360 acres  of grazing land.

Read more about Nelson's Italian heritage on The Prow.