Zebre

Zebre are one of Italy's finest rugby sides. They're based in Parma and compete in the PRO14, the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup. Often referred to as 'the XV of the North-West', they represent the four committees of Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy and Piedmont, and clubs from other committees in the surrounding area.

The Zebre Rugby team was initially founded as an invitational team back in 1973. However, they only formed fully as a professional team in 2012 when they were invited to join the PRO12 (now the PRO14). It was hoped that adding Italian teams to the competition would help improve the Italian national team, who had struggled in the Six Nations Championship.

However, ever since Zebre Rugby formed, they've struggled to establish themselves in the tournament. In their first three years of participation in the PRO12, they finished bottom of the league. In fact, in the five years they played in the competition, they only avoided finishing bottom of the league once. Even then, they finished 11th.

A similar fate followed Zebre Rugby when the competition rebranded to the PRO14. Between 2018 and 2020, the side finished bottom of their conference on each occasion.

In the club's history, they've featured in the Heineken Champions Cup three times. However, they're yet to qualify for the knockout rounds. They've also played in the European Rugby Challenge Cup five times without advancing past the pools stage. They did finish 2nd in their pool in 2015-16, but failed to qualify as a best runner-up.

Due to the fact that Zebre Rugby feature in elite competitions, they do attract top talent and a number of internationals play for the Zebre Rugby team. They include prop Andrea Lovotti, scrum-half Guglielmo Palazzani and fly-half Carlo Canna. In the history of Zebre Rugby, more than 40 players have been capped for Italy after featuring for Zebre Rugby.

Read on to learn even more about Zebre Rugby. On this page you can see the latest news about the team and take a look at their upcoming fixtures and recent results.