Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso ( or ), is an Italian professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team based in

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Vene ...

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

competing in the United Rugby Championship, the

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

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. Treviso have supplied many players to the Italian national team, such as Alessandro Zanni and

Leonardo Ghiraldini Leonardo Ghiraldini (born 26 December 1984) is a retired Italian international rugby union player. Ghiraldini's playing position is hooker. Club career Ghiraldini began his career with Petrarca Rugby in his home town of Padua before moving to ...

. Conversely, several notable foreign internationals have played for Treviso, including Rugby World Cup winners Craig Green,

John Kirwan John Kirwan may refer to: * John Óge Kirwan (fl. 1530–1531), mayor of Galway * Sir John Kirwan (1650–1721), Irish entrepreneur * John Kirwan (cricketer) (1816–1899), English cricketer * John Kirwan (politician) (1869–1949), Australian ...

and

Michael Lynagh Michael Patrick Thomas Lynagh, AM (born 25 October 1963) is an Australian former rugby union player who played mainly as a fly-half. Lynagh represented Australia from 1984 to 1995, playing at both inside centre and fly half. Lynagh was capped ...

. 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.

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. They also won the Italian Cup in 1998. Benetton Treviso has competed in the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

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 The 1995–96 Heineken Cup was the first edition of the Heineken Cup, which was to become the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. Competing teams, from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales ...

, 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 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

). In the

2009–10 Heineken Cup The 2009–10 Heineken Cup was the 15th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2009 and ended on 22 May 2010 with the final at Stade d ...

opener, they defeated reigning French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

champions

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

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 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Af ...

. 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. 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 Aironi Rugby (, "herons") was an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the Pro12 and the Heineken Cup, representing the Italian regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. It lost its status as a regional side at the end of the 2011–12 ...

and a new team, Praetorians Roma, would join, 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. However, Pretorians Roma failed to satisfy financial criteria, and Treviso instead joined the Pro12. 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 Kieran James Crowley (born 31 August 1961) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who is the head coach of Italy. He has also coached the New Zealand Under-19s in the 2007 World Championships as well as coaching provincial side ...

. The former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

formed a new coaching team with two ex-Italian internationals,

Marco Bortolami Marco Bortolami (; born 12 June 1980) is a rugby union coach and retired Italian international player, whose career includes experience playing in the national top-level Italian ( Petrarca Padova), French (RC Narbonne), and English (Gloucester Ru ...

and Fabio Ongaro. Treviso finished the season in 10th place. In 2017/2018, the championship was joined by two

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

ns teams, becoming the Pro14, and was divided into two conferences. This season Treviso nearly reached the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pr ...

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.

Honours

* Italian Championship: ** Champions: 15 (1956, 1978, 1983, 1989, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

) *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

: ** Champions: 4 (1970, 1998, 2005, 2010) * Supercoppa d'Italia: ** Champions: 2 (2006, 2009) * Pro14 Rainbow Cup ** Champions: (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

)

Current standings

Season records

Celtic League / Pro12

Pro14

European Rugby Challenge Cup

Heineken Cup / European Rugby Champions Cup

Stadium

The team play at the

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Stadio Comunale di Monigo is a sports stadium in the Treviso frazione of Monigo, Italy. The stadium is used for rugby union, and is the home ground for Benetton. The stadium has a total capacity of , divided between the two covered stands: the ...

, 4 km northwest of the city centre. The stadium has two covered stands and a capacity of 6,700.

Staff and coaching team

The staff for the 2022–23 season is: * Sports Director –

Antonio Pavanello Antonio Pavanello (born 13 October 1982 in Agordo) is an Italian former rugby union player. His preferred position was in the Second Row although he can also played equally well in the back-row. He played for Benetton Treviso in the Pro14 compe ...

* Head Coach –

* Assistant Coach – Fabio Ongaro * Assistant Coach –

Calum MacRae Calum MacRae (born 26 January 1980 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is the defence coach for Benetton. He was head coach of the Scotland rugby 7s team 2014–2017. Playing career MacRae played rugby union as a centre and had also operated at full ...

* Assistant Coach – Andrea Masi * Assistant Coach – Julian Salvi * Assistant Coach –

Alessandro Troncon Alessandro Troncon (born 6 September 1973 in Treviso) is a former Italian rugby union player. Troncon is the 6th most capped player in Italian rugby union history, and the first Italian to gain 100 caps. The veteran scrum-half made his Italy deb ...

* Team Manager – Enrico Ceccato * Trainer – Jim Molony − Alberto Botter – Mario Disetti – Giorgio Da Lozzo – Riccardo Ton – Alessandro Zanni - Alberto Antonelli * Video Analyst – Nicola Gatto − Mattia Geromel

Current squad

Additional player squad

Selected former players

Italian players

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

Tommaso Allan Tommaso Allan (; born 26 April 1993) is an Italian professional rugby union player who primarily plays fly-half for Harlequins of the English Premiership. He has also represented Italy at international level, having made his test debut again ...

* Orazio Arancio * Enrico Bacchin *

Robert Barbieri Robert Julian Barbieri (born 5 June 1984) is a retired Canadian-born Italian rugby union player. He played as a flanker. He decided to represent Italy. Club career He played for Yeomen (2000–03) in Canada, before moving to the Italian side O ...

Marco Barbini Marco Barbini (born 16 October 1990) is a retired Italian rugby union player. His usual position was in the back-row. From 2014 to 2021, Barbini played with Italian Pro14 team Benetton. From 2009 to 2012 Barbini was named in the Italy Under ...

* Alberto Benettin * Tommaso Benvenuti *

Mauro Bergamasco Mauro Bergamasco (born 1 May 1979) is a former Italian rugby union footballer who last played for Zebre. He predominantly played as an open-side flanker, although his versatility means that he had also played a number of international games on th ...

Valerio Bernabò Valerio Bernabò (born 3 March 1984 in Rome) is a retired Italian rugby union player. He has also been selected for the Italian national team with 33 caps, making his debut in 2004 against the USA. He also captained the Italian under-21 tea ...

Stefano Bettarello Stefano Bettarello (born 2 April 1958, in Rovigo) is an Italian former rugby union player. He played as a fly-half for several clubs, mainly Rovigo and Benetton Treviso, winning an Italian Championship with each. Son of Romano Bettarello and n ...

Callum Braley Callum Braley (born 23 March 1994) is an English rugby union player who plays for Northampton Saints in the Premiership Rugby. Braley played his early rugby with St Mary's Old Boys RFC. His first taste of senior rugby came when he made his full ...

Luca Bigi Luca Bigi (born 19 April 1991) is an Italian professional rugby union player who primarily plays hooker for Zebre Parma of the United Rugby Championship. He has also represented Italy at international level, having made his test debut against ...

* Lucio Boccaletto * Tobias Botes * Giorgio Bronzini * Dean Budd * Kris Burton *

Michele Campagnaro Michele Campagnaro (; born 13 March 1993) is an Italian professional rugby union player who primarily plays centre for Colomiers of the Pro D2. He has also represented Italy at international level, having made his test debut against Fiji durin ...

Gonzalo Canale Gonzalo Canale (born 11 November 1982) is an Italian Argentine rugby union footballer. His usual position is in the centre or at full back. He plays for French club ASM Clermont Auvergne. Canale has also been capped for the Italy national tea ...

* Carlo Checchinato * Lorenzo Cittadini * Oscar Collodo * Walter Cristofoletto * Mauro Dal Sie * Denis Dallan * Manuel Dallan *

Santiago Dellapè Santiago Dellapè (born 9 May 1978) is an Italian Argentine rugby union footballer. His usual position is at lock. He plays for Italy, and was included their 2003 Rugby World Cup squad to Australia. He has played for the French Top 14 side ...

Benjamin de Jager Benjamin "Ben" de Jager (born 12 January 1980) is a South African born former Italian rugby union player. References External links * 1980 births Living people South African rugby union players Italian rugby union players South Af ...

* Andrea De Marchi *

Paul Derbyshire Paul Derbyshire (born 3 November 1986) is an Italian rugby union player. Derbyshire, who is a flanker, plays club rugby for Mogliano in Top12. Derbyshire joined Benetton Treviso from Petrarca in June 2010 for their first season in the Celt ...

Alberto Di Bernardo Alberto Di Bernardo (born 4 November 1980 in Rosario, Argentina) is an Italian/Argentine rugby union player, who gained four caps for in 2013. He played club rugby for Treviso in Celtic League, Leeds Carnegie in Premiership Rugby and for Bou ...

* Raffaele Dolfato * Piermassimiliano Dotto *

Angelo Esposito Angelo Esposito (born February 20, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played for České Budějovice Motor of the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League. Esposito was drafted in the first round (20th overall) by the Pi ...

* Hame Faiva * Gianluca Faliva *

Simone Favaro Simone Favaro (born 7 November 1988) is a retired Italian international rugby union player. He made his debut for Italy against Australia on 20 June 2009. He formerly played for Glasgow Warriors and Treviso in the Pro12. Favaro plays at flanke ...

* Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet * Ivan Francescato * Marco Fuser *

Ezio Galon Ezio Galon (born 22 July 1977) is a former Italian rugby union player. He played for Mogliano Rugby in the Excellence competition. A native of Treviso, he formerly played for Rugby Parma and, in 2000-2005, in the French sides of Bourgoin-Jalli ...

* Paolo Garbisi * Gonzalo Garcia * Julian Gardner * Ornel Gega *

* Mark Giacheri * Edoardo Gori * Giovanni Grespan *

Andrea Gritti Andrea Gritti (17 April 1455 – 28 December 1538) was the Doge of the Venetian Republic from 1523 to 1538, following a distinguished diplomatic and military career. He started out as a successful merchant in Constantinople and transitioned into t ...

Jayden Hayward Jayden Hayward (born 11 February 1987) is a New Zealand-born rugby union player who played for the Italy national rugby union team and for Benetton Rugby.Tommaso Iannone * Monty Ioane * Alberto Lucchese *

Andrea Marcato Andrea Marcato (born 17 April 1983) is an Italian rugby union coach and former international player. He won 16 caps for Italy and played in the 2008 and 2009 Six Nations Championships. After the end of his playing career he began coaching and is ...

* Ramiro Martínez * Francesco Mazzariol * Nicola Mazzucato * Luke McLean *

Ian McKinley Ian McKinley (born 4 December 1989) is a retired Irish-born, Italian rugby union player. He played at fly-half and he represented Italy on 9 occasions. Career In 2011, after playing 6 times for Irish province Leinster, McKinley was forced t ...

* Francesco Minto * Jean-François Montauriol * Luca Morisi *

Alessandro Moscardi Alessandro Moscardi (born 26 March 1969) is a former Italian rugby union player. He played as a hooker. Moscardi was born in Rovigo, Veneto. He played for Rugby Rovigo Delta, from 1988/89 to 1995/96, where he won the Italian Championship, in 1989 ...

* Ludovico Nitoglia * David Odiete * Fabio Ongaro * Scott Palmer *

Sergio Parisse Sergio Francesco Parisse (; born 12 September 1983) is an Italian rugby union player. He currently plays for French club Toulon and played for the Italy national team from 2002 until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Parisse is Italy's most-capped player ...

* Enrico Pavanello * Mario Pavin *

Massimiliano Perziano Massimiliano Perziano (born 1 January 1973) is an Italian former rugby union international. A winger, Perziano played in 10 Test matches for Italy, debuting against the All Blacks in 2000. He scored three Test tries and has an elder brother Leonar ...

* Simon Picone * Giancarlo Pivetta * Walter Pozzebon * Andrea Pratichetti * Franco Properzi *

Nicola Quaglio Nicola Quaglio (born 9 March 1991) is an Italian rugby union player. His usual position is as a Prop, and he currently plays for Italian Top12, Top10 team Rugby Rovigo Delta, Rovigo Delta. Quaglio played with Italian Pro14 team Benetton Rugby, B ...

* Iliesa Ratuva Tavuyara * Marco Riccioni * Michele Rizzo * Guido Rossi * Leonardo Sarto *

Stefano Saviozzi Stefano Saviozzi (born 4 March 1975 in Pisa) was an Italian rugby union player and is a current coach. He played as a hooker and as a flanker. Saviozzi first played for Rugby Livorno, from 1994/95 to 1995/96, moving afterwards to Benetton Trev ...

* Franco Sbaraglini * Diego Scaglia *

Fabio Semenzato Fabio Semenzato (born 6 May 1986) is an Italian rugby union player. His regular playing position is as a scrum-half. He plays currently for Mogliano. Semenzato played for Benetton Treviso from 2005 to 2014 and in 2015 he was named as ''Additi ...

* Michele Sepe * Alberto Sgarbi * Andrea Sgorlon * Luca Sperandio * Tito Tebaldi * Giulio Toniolatti * Moreno Trevisiol *

* Giorgio Troncon * Corniel van Zyl * Tommaso Visentin * Manoa Vosawai * Alessandro Zanni * Gianni Zanon * Matteo Zanusso * Sergio Zorzi

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

and

Friuli Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

. 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. In the past, Dogi was a historical invitational team that included the best players of

Triveneto The Triveneto (), or Tre Venezie () ( vec, Tre Venesie, german: Venetien), is a historical region of Italy. The area included what has become the three Italian regions of ''Venezia Euganea'', ''Venezia Giulia'' and ''Venezia Tridentina''. This ter ...

, area of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in which this sport is very widespread. The team was founded on 17 December 1973 in

, 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.

References

External links

* {{Benetton squad Rugby clubs established in 1932 Benetton Group United Rugby Championship teams