The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) and is contested by 10 teams as of the 2019–2020 season, following the Italian federation's decision to name Peroni as the official partner of the Top10 competition.
The leading teams qualify to play against teams from the other leading rugby union nations in Europe in the
European 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 i ...
.
Aironi and
Benetton Treviso began competing in the league now known as
Pro14
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 Afr ...
in the 2010–11 season, and took both Italian places in the
Heineken Cup. Owing to financial problems, the FIR revoked Aironi's professional licence after the 2011–12 season; that team was replaced in Pro12 by the FIR-operated
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...
. From 2014 to 2015, one of the two Italian Pro12 sides competes in the Heineken Cup's replacement, the
European Rugby Champions Cup; the other plays in 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 ...
. Both Pro12 teams are intended to concentrate the best domestic talent and help develop the quality of Italian players and therefore improve the talent pool for the national team.
History
The competition was originally named Divisione Nazionale since its origin in 1928 until the 1945–46 season where the name of the National Championship was changed to the Serie A. Upon 1959, the competition's name was changed was changed to the Eccellenza before becoming the Serie A once again 26 years after in 1985. However, shortly after the name change, in 1986 the Serie A became the Serie A1 with the second tier taking the name of the Serie A2.
Since the 1987–88 season, the championship has been played under a play-off phase format after a regular season with the title being assigned through a final (several cities to have hosted finals include
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
,
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
). After a major restructuring in 2001, the national championship was named Super 10 leaving the Serie A1 and Serie A2 to become the second and third divisions of Italian rugby respectively. Upon the 2009–10 season, the Super 10 championship which was founded (in 2001) and operated by the L.I.R.E. (Lega Italiana Rugby d'Eccellenza) (''Italian Elite Rugby Union League'' in Italian) had folded in 2009, the
Federazione Italiana Rugby
The Italian Rugby Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Rugby) or FIR is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Italy. The FIR has one seat on the 28-member World Rugby Council, the governing body of World Rugby. (All other members of ...
(FIR) had taken over organising the championship.
The name of championship was changed once again to the Eccellenza for the 2010–11 season. After 8 years of the Eccellenza, the competition was increased to 12 teams and was rebranded as the Top12.
Upon the year 2010, the then known Celtic League (now the
Pro14
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 Afr ...
) had decided to expand their competition to 12 teams and add two Italian teams, one of them being
Benetton Treviso (which would mean they would stop participating in the Super 10 and another being
Aironi (a newly founded team that was later replaced by
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...
in the 2012–2013 season of the Pro 12 after folding due to financial reasons and having its license revoked by the Italian Rugby Federation).
The competition's name was changed from Top 12 to Top 10 in 2020 when teams
I Medicei and
San Donà withdrew their participation.
Current teams
The leading title holder is
Amatori Milano who have won eighteen titles (the first one in 1929, the most recent in 1996) before being disbanded in 2011;
Benetton Treviso follow with fifteen (first in 1956 as Rugby Treviso);
Petrarca
Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...
(rugby union club from
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
that won their first title in 1970) with thirteen and
Rovigo
Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province.
Geography
Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...
(first title in 1951) who won twelve titles.
Apart from the aforementioned teams no one has won more than five titles. The team that wins the Italian championship wears the ''Scudetto'' on their jerseys the following season, The clubs that hold at least ten titles win the right to wear a golden star on their jerseys.
Celtic League participation
Despite rising playing standards and more media attention on
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 ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
teams competing in the
Heineken Cup and
European 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 i ...
have generally struggled to compete against the established club teams of the other
Six Nations countries. In response both
John Kirwan, the former Italian
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
, and
David Pickering, the
Welsh Rugby Union chairman, suggested that merged Italian teams should enter the
Celtic League
The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...
, now known as
Pro14
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 Afr ...
, and in March 2009 the Celtic Rugby Board and
FIR announced an agreement in principle to add two Italian teams to the
Magners League for
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
.
The two teams were intended to offer Italian qualified players a higher standard of rugby to hone their skills. It removed the best Italian players from the top-tier league, and it was envisaged that the Super 10 would be a
semi-professional league.
On 18 July 2009 it was announced that the two Magners League teams would be the newly formed
Aironi, based in
Viadana Viadana may refer to:
Surname
* Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560 – 1627), Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar
* Gilberto Viadana (born 1973), Italian figure skater
Other
* Viadana, Lombardy, a town in the province of Mantua, Lom ...
, and "Praetorians Roma", from the
capital. As of October 2009, there was a change and it was announced the two teams will be Aironi and
Benetton Treviso. Praetorians Roma were nominated in the first round but failed to meet the criteria set down by the evaluators and Benetton Treviso took their place. These new sides will also played in the
Heinken Cup and Italy retained its four places in the
Challenge Cup, which were taken by top Super 10 teams, become Eccellenza, orphan of Benetton Treviso and
Viadana Viadana may refer to:
Surname
* Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560 – 1627), Italian composer, teacher, and Franciscan friar
* Gilberto Viadana (born 1973), Italian figure skater
Other
* Viadana, Lombardy, a town in the province of Mantua, Lom ...
.
After the
2011–12 season, the first for the league under the Pro12 name, the FIR revoked the licence of Aironi due to financial problems. That team was replaced in
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 Afr ...
by a new FIR operated side,
Zebre
Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...
.
Beginning in the
2014–15 season, the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup will be replaced by a new three-tiered European competition structure: the Heineken Cup will be replaced by the
European Rugby Champions Cup, the European Challenge Cup will be replaced by 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 a new third-tier
Qualifying Competition will be added. The highest-placed Italian Pro12 side automatically qualifies for the Champions Cup, the other Pro12 side will compete in the new Challenge Cup unless it qualifies for the Champions Cup by being one of the three highest-placed teams apart from the top team of each Pro12 country (Italy,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
). Select sides from the Excellence will play in the Qualifying Competition, to be held before the main season. Along with club sides from second-tier
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an rugby nations, the Eccellenza sides will compete for two places in the new
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 ...
with 4 teams. From the 2016–17 season the third-tier is named
European Rugby Continental Shield.
Format
Currently the Italian senior leagues are structured in the following way:
*Top12 made up of 12 teams; the first four go into the
playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
stage and the winner is the "Champion 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 ...
"; the last two classified are
relegated
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
in
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
.
*Serie A: is the second level of Italian rugby union, divided in 3 same-rank territorial pools of 10 teams each, who play each other home and away. There are 4 relegations in
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
, scheduled for the 3 teams that end the season in 10th place in their own pool and one of the three teams ranked 9th after a mini-playout. With the same scheme are organized the 4 promotions to Top12: the three teams that win their own pool automatically qualify for the finals, reached by one of the second teams after a mini-round of playoff. The finals, played home and away, are used to determine the two teams promoted to Top12.
*Serie B: divided in 4 same-rank territorial pools of 12 teams each, who play each other home and away. A playoff stage determines the 4 teams promoted to Serie A and a playout stage the 8 teams relegated in
Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
.
* Serie C: is the very 4th tier of Italian rugby union, divided into regional divisions. A playoffs stage determines the 8 teams that are promoted to Serie B.
Past winners
Finals
Performance by club
:
See also
*
Rugby union in Italy
Rugby union in Italy is governed by the Italian Rugby Federation. Rugby was introduced into Italy in the early 1900s. It is also known as ''pallovale'' or ''palla ovale'' ("oval ball") within Italy. Two Italian professional teams (Treviso and Ze ...
*
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team (Italian: ''Squadra nazionale italiana di rugby'') represents Italy in men's international rugby union. The team is known as ''gli Azzurri'' (the light-blues). Savoy blue is the common colour of the national ...
*
European Rugby Champions Cup
*
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 ...
*
European Shield
*
European Rugby Continental Shield
*
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 ...
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Top10
Sports leagues established in 1929
Rugby union leagues in Europe
Rugby union leagues in Italy
1929 establishments in Italy
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 ...