Benetton Rugby

Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso (Italian pronunciation: [ˌbenetˈtoŋ ˈrɛɡbi treˈviːzo] or Italian pronunciation: [ˌbenetˈtoŋ ˈraɡbi treˈviːzo]), is an Italian professional rugby union team based in Treviso, Veneto competing in the United Rugby Championship, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Champions Cup. Treviso rugby team was founded in 1932 and has won 15 Italian national championships. The team has been owned by the Benetton clothing company since 1979. Treviso have competed in the United Rugby Championship (formerly the Pro14 and Pro12) since 2010, and have previously competed in the Italian domestic championship.

Benetton Rugby
Full nameBenetton Rugby
UnionFederazione Italiana Rugby
Founded1932; 92 years ago (1932)
LocationTreviso, Italy
Ground(s)Stadio Comunale di Monigo (Capacity: 5,000)
PresidentAmerino Zatta
Coach(es)Marco Bortolami
Captain(s)Eli Snyman
Michele Lamaro
League(s)United Rugby Championship
2022–239th (Scottish/Italian Shield: 2nd)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.benettonrugby.it

Treviso have supplied many players to the Italian national team, such as Alessandro Zanni and Leonardo Ghiraldini. Conversely, several notable foreign internationals have played for Treviso, including Rugby World Cup winners Craig Green, John Kirwan and Michael Lynagh. The President of Treviso Rugby is Amerino Zatta. Since 1982, the club has also had a women's team, known as Red Panthers, which has won 16 national championships.[1]

History

Amateur era: 1932–1995

Treviso rugby team was founded in 1932. The club won its first honour when it took the 1956 Italian premiership. Benetton Treviso won its first Italian Cup in 1970 and in 1978 won the Italian premiership again. The year after Benetton became the main sponsor, the team's name became "Benetton Rugby Treviso". Treviso won the domestic premiership in 1983, then again in 1989 and in the 1992 season.

Professional era: 1995–present

Benetton Treviso Rugby turned professional after 1995. They dominated the Italian league from 1997 until 2010, winning the championship 10 times (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010) during those 14 seasons and twice finishing second.[2] They also won the Italian Cup in 1998.

Benetton Treviso has competed in the Heineken Cup competition almost every year since the competition began in 1995 along with the professional era. Benetton Treviso competed in the inaugural 1995–96 Heineken Cup, winning one game and losing one. The following season they played four matches, winning one game. In the 1998–99 Heineken Cup, they won three games. Benetton Treviso spent the 2000–01 and 2002–03 seasons in the European Challenge Cup, but have appeared in the Heineken Cup in each season since then. They won half of their games during the 2004–05 Heineken Cup, but won only one match in the following four seasons (at Newport Gwent Dragons in 2007). In the 2009–10 Heineken Cup opener, they defeated reigning French Top 14 champions Perpignan 9–8 in Treviso.

Following the 2009–10 season, Treviso left the Italian domestic competition and in 2010–11 was one of two Italian teams to join the Celtic League to play against clubs from Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The new league was to be known as the Pro12. Both Italian teams were guaranteed places annually into the Heineken Cup, which had previously been awarded to the two top teams in the domestic Italian National Championship of Excellence.[3] An agreement had been reached in early March 2010 to allow two Italian teams a place in the Celtic League. In 2010, it was proposed that Aironi and a new team, Praetorians Roma, would join,[4] but Treviso were nominated instead. Treviso and a combination of Duchi Nord-Ovest rugby clubs could not agree to form one regional representative club and lost out in the first round of bidding.[5] However, Pretorians Roma failed to satisfy financial criteria, and Treviso instead joined the Pro12.[6]

Treviso finished their first two season in the Pro12 (2010–11 and 2011–12) in 10th place, while in the 2012–13 season they finished 7th with 50 points. In the next three seasons, Treviso performed poorly, ending 11th, 11th and 12th out of twelve teams.After that, a new head coach was engaged for the 2016/2017 season, the New Zealander Kieran Crowley. The former All Black formed a new coaching team with two ex-Italian internationals, Marco Bortolami and Fabio Ongaro. Treviso finished the season in 10th place.

In 2017/2018, the championship was joined by two South Africans teams, becoming the Pro14, and was divided into two conferences. This season Treviso nearly reached the European Rugby Champions Cup play-offs, ending 5th in the conference with 55 points. For first time since Treviso joined this league the club has been able to record more wins than losses (11 against 10).

Ahead of the 2017/18 season, Benetton Rugby Treviso was renamed Benetton Rugby. From 2022/23 season, he instituted an Academy Under 23 and a territorial Academy Under 19.[7]

Honours

Current standings

2023–24 United Rugby Championship
watch · edit · discuss
TeamPWDLPFPAPDTFTATBLBPts
1 Munster (h,E)171214454294+160613410363
2 Bulls (h,E)171205613419+194815210361
3 Leinster (h,E)171205521343+178764210260
4 Glasgow Warriors (h,E)171205481327+154703310260
5 Stormers (Q)171106439324+11554436454
6 Ulster (Q)171106413380+3350515453
7 Edinburgh171106410366+4447473249
8 Benetton171016380394–1446565249
9 Lions17908502369+13365468549
10 Connacht17908397399–250524545
11 Ospreys17908381420–3948497245
12 Cardiff (X)174112360381–2146463930
13 Sharks (X)174013329405–7645513625
14 Scarlets (X)174013281560–27933753322
15 Dragons (X)173014285579–29434801316
16 Zebre Parma (X)171115319605–28640884515
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[8]
  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 red cards received;
  7. the fewest yellow cards received.
Green background indicates teams that are play-off places and earn a place in the 2024–25 European Champions Cup

Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2024–25 European Challenge Cup.
Q: qualified for play-offs. H: home field advantage secured for quarter-and semi-final. h; home field advantage secured for quarter-final X: cannot reach play-offs. E: qualified for Champions Cup.

Season records

Celtic League / Pro12

SeasonPosPlayedWonDrawnLostBonusPoints
2010–1110th229013238
2011–1210th227015836
2012–137th2210210650
2013–1411th225116830
2014–1511th223118519
2015–1612th223019820
2016–1710th225017323

Pro14

SeasonConferencePosPlayedWonDrawnLostBonusPoints
2017–18Conference B5th21110101155
2018–19Conference B3rd211128957
Quarter-finalMunster 15–13 Benetton Rugby
2019–20Conference B5th156181036
2020–21Conference B6th16011577

Pro14 Rainbow Cup

SeasonPosPlayedWonDrawnLostBonusPoints
20211st5401222
FinalBenetton Rugby 35–8 Bulls

United rugby Championship

SeasonPosPlayedWonDrawnLostBonusPoints
2021-2213th186111935
2022-2311th188010941

Heineken Cup / European Rugby Champions Cup

SeasonPool/RoundPosPlayedWonDrawnLostBonusPoints
1995–96Pool 12nd210102
1996–97Pool 14th410302
1997–98Pool 53rd620404
1998–99Pool 43rd630306
1999–00Pool 53rd620404
2001–02Pool 24th610502
2003–04Pool 53rd610515
2004–05Pool 23rd6303214
2005–06Pool 44th600633
2006–07Pool 14th600600
2007–08Pool 14th610515
2008–09Pool 34th600600
2009–10Pool 14th610515
2010–11Pool 54th600611
2011–12Pool 54th611417
2012–13Pool 24th610515
2013–14Pool 54th600600
2014–15Pool 54th610504
2015–16Pool 44th600600
2017–18Pool 54th600644
2019–20Pool 14th610526

European Rugby Challenge Cup

SeasonPool/RoundPosPlayedWonDrawnLostBonusPoints
2000–01Pool 12nd6501010
2002–032nd roundNewcastle Falcons 43 – 32 Treviso (aggregate score)
2016–17Pool 13rd620408
2018–19Pool 52nd6402420
2020–21Quarter-finalsMontpellier Hérault Rugby 31 – 25 Treviso
2021–22Round of 16Toulon Rugby 36 – 17 Treviso
2022–23Semi-finalsToulon Rugby 23 – 0 Treviso

Stadium

The team play at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo in Treviso, 4 km northwest of the city centre. The stadium has two covered stands and a capacity of 5,000.

Staff and coaching team

The staff for the 2023–24 season is:[9][10]

Current squad

Benetton United Rugby Championship squad[a]

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

(cc) denotes the team co-captains, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Italy on residency or dual nationality.
L denotes a player on loan at the club.
Players and their allocated positions from the Benetton Rugby website.[11]

Additional player squad

Benetton Additional Players squad [a][b][c][d][e][f]

Props

Hookers

Locks

  • Riccardo Andreoli [b]

Back row

Scrum-halves

  • Lorenzo Casilio [b]

Fly-halves

  • Giuliano Avaca* [a]

Centres

Wings

  • Marco Scalabrin [b]

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Italy on residency or dual nationality.
Players and their allocated positions from the Benetton Rugby website and F.I.R. website.[19][20]

Selected former players

Italian players

Former players who have played for Benetton and have caps for Italy

Overseas players

Former players who have played for Benetton and have caps for their Representative Team

I Dogi

Treviso is an executive member of the historical territorial representative of I Dogi (the Doges) that have recovered in 2015 and represents several clubs in Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.[21] Currently no provision is made for a selection Seniors who take the field with the shirt of The Doges: to represent its brand and colors are at this stage the representative under-14, under-16 male and female under-18 male and female managed by Veneto Regional Committee. May occur during the right conditions, there is still the desire to be able to field, even if it is currently not a priority.[22]

In the past, Dogi was a historical invitational team that included the best players of Triveneto, area of Italy in which this sport is very widespread. The team was founded on 17 December 1973 in Treviso, and played its last game on 17 November 1993. In twenty years they played 22 games with teams of international level, collecting 15 victories. The selection shirt was red, with golden edges.

Benetton Women

Since November 2023, the Franchise has also had a women's team, which plays official tests with Spanish team.[23]

See also

References

External links