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Italy propose new European club competition

Danilo Fischetti of Zebre Parma at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi on December 28, 2024 in Parma, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Levati/Getty Images)

The Italian Rugby Federation (Federazione Italiana Rugby) are open to the possibility of creating a new international club competition with the help of the Georgian, Spanish, Romanian, and Portuguese unions as stated in an interview given by its president Andrea Duodo.

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In a recent interview given to the La Gazzetta di Mantova, the newly elected chair of the FIR revealed: “We sent a proposal to Rugby Europe’s new board. It will take some time, but we are looking for the collaboration of Spain, Portugal, Romania and Georgia to make it work.”

The idea had already been discussed in the 2000s and 2010s. However, the proposal never came to fruition as most of the mentioned unions were unable to find a long-term sponsor capable of paying the travelling and accommodation expenses.

The last time an Italian club participated in an international was in 2018 when Rovigo, Viadana, Calvisano and Petrarca competed in the European Rugby Continental Shield. Since then, the Italian clubs have only played in the local competition, while the Georgians, Portuguese, Spanish and Romanian sides found the Rugby Europe Super Cup a way to better prepare their players for the Test match season.

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The Rugby Europe Super Cup kicked off in 2021 and was highlighted by former Portugal’s head coach Patrice Lagisquet as a decisive stepping stone for the European emergent Nations.

The four-time champions Georgian Black Lion franchise were invited to the EPCR Challenge Cup due to their Super Cup performances and claimed successful victories over the Scarlets and Vannes.

The FIR are looking for options and ideas to bolster their club rugby, and a seasonal international competition played against European emergent sides would fulfil that purpose.

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However, Andrea Duodo didn’t offer any specifics about how the competition would work, what teams/nations would compete in it and if it would be under Rugby Europe’s or the EPCR’s banner. It is also unclear whether the Dutch, Belgian and Czech franchises will be welcomed to the new competition.

In the last four months, the FIR have undergone a series of changes, namely Zebre’s sale and the decision to host the next U20s Men’s World Cup. More news to follow in the coming months.

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Comments

7 Comments
S
SM 86 days ago

Cheetahs, Eastern Province,Griquas and Pumas should be a part of it

K
KH 87 days ago

Adding a 3rd Italian Franchise based in Rome, a 3rd Scottish team from the Borders, a 2nd Spanish team based in Barcelona to the Super cup to make it 10 team comp, playing a full 14 match season would be a great addition.

f
fl 86 days ago

this is about clubs, not franchises.


There are already two top-flight clubs based in Rome, 1 based in the scottish borders, and two based in Barcelona.

J
JW 87 days ago

Exciting stuff. A URC europe group combined with a URC Africa group would add a great counter to the tradutional pro 10 URC teams.


Either a massive 20+ team comp or two split Super Bowl style.

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f
fl 4 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“Why do you downplay his later career, post 50? He won a treble less than two years ago, with a club who played more games and won more games than any other team that managed the same feat. His crowning achievement - by his own admission.”

He’s won many trebles in his career - why do you only care about one of them?

I think its unsurprising that he’d feel more emotional about his recent achievements, but its less clear why you do.


“Is it FA cups or League cups you’re forgetting in his English trophy haul? You haven’t made that clear…”

It actually was clear, if you knew the number he had won of each, but I was ignoring the league cup, because Germany and Spain only have one cup competition so it isn’t possible to compare league cup performance with City to his performance with Bayern and Barcelona.


“With Barcelona he won 14 trophies. With Bayern Munich he won 5 trophies. With City he has currently won 18 trophies…”

I can count, but clearly you can’t divide! He was at Barca for 4 years, so that’s 3.5 trophies per year. He was at Bayern for 3 years, and actually won 7 trophies so that’s 2.3 trophies per year. He has been at City for 8 completed seasons so that’s 2.25 trophies per year. If in his 9th season (this one) he wins both the FA cup and the FIFA club world cup that will take his total to 20 for an average of 2.22 trophies per year.


To be clear - you said that Pep had gotten better with age by every metric. In fact by most metrics he has gotten worse!

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f
fl 6 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“He made history beyond the age of 50. History.”

He made history before the age of 50, why are you so keen to downplay Pep’s early career achievements? In 2009 he won the sextuple. No other manager in history had achieved that, and Pep hasn’t achieved it since, but here you are jizzing your pants over a couple of CL finals.


“If continuing to break records and achieve trophies isn't a metric for success”

Achieving trophies is a metric for success, and Pep wins fewer trophies as he gets older.


“He's still competing for a major trophy this year. Should he get it, it would be 8 consecutive seasons with a major trophy. Then the world club cup in the summer.”

You’re cherry picking some quite odd stats now. In Pep’s first 8 seasons as a manager he won 6 league titles, 2 CL titles, & 4 cup titles. In Pep’s last 8 seasons as a manager (including this one) he’s won 6 league titles, 1 CL title, & 2 (or possibly 3) cup titles. In his first 8 seasons he won the FIFA world club cup 3 times; in his last 8 seasons he’s won it 1 (or possibly soon to be 2) time(s). In his first 8 seasons he won the UEFA super cup 3 times; in his last 8 he won the UEFA super cup once. His record over the past 8 seasons has been amazing - but it is a step down from his record in his first 8 seasons, and winning the FA cup and FIFA club world cup this summer won’t change that.


Pep is still a brilliant manager. He will probably remain a brilliant manager for many years to come, but you seem to want to forget how incredible he was when he first broke through. To be clear - you said that Pep had gotten better with age by every metric. That was false!

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