The Rugby Roma Olimpic Club 1930 is an Italian

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

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 ...

. The club won 5 Italian titles, in 1935, 1937, 1948, 1949 and 2000, the

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 ...

in 1998 and competed in 58 editions of the Italian top tier championship (now, the Top12) from his foundation in 1930 as Rugby Roma. From 1969 to 2011 Rugby Roma's home ground was the

Stadio Tre Fontane Stadio Tre Fontane is a sports stadium located in Rome, Italy. It is the home ground of rugby union side Rugby Roma Olimpic, who play in the Super 10 competition. It currently has a capacity of 4,000, although there are plans to redevelop and ex ...

, located in the Roman South-western suburb of EUR. In the last 2010–11 Excellence season Rugby Roma Olimpic's

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 asso ...

es were Danie de Villiers and Jaco Stoumann led the team to conquer the Excellence Trophy. In 2011 the club is disbanded. In the same year the name is changed to Rugby Roma Olimpic 1930, but without participating in any league. In 2015 the new Rugby Roma Olimpic Club 1930 compete in 2015–16

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 P ...

season, conquering the promotion to Serie B. The club currently plays 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 ...

History

The Rugby Roma was founded on 21 October 1930, from the ashes of A.S. Roma Rugby (1929) and S.S. Lazio Rugby (1927), clubs associated with the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

clubs of the Italian capital, when, after two seasons bankruptcy, under the management of the football clubs the decision was taken to form a separate organisation devoted to

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. The colours adopted were those of the

Club Atlético San Isidro The Club Atlético de San Isidro (mostly known for its acronym CASI) is an Argentine sports club based in the city of San Isidro in Greater Buenos Aires. Originally established as a football club, San Isidro has gained recognition for its rug ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

. The new team were soon successful, winning the Italian championship in the 1934–35 season and again in 1936–37, before financial difficulties restricted ambitions during the war years. In 1937 the team is incorporated into A.S. Roma and reconstituted in 1940 like Amatori Rugby Roma. In 1945 the club returns to the name of Rugby Roma for a year before merging with the Olympic '44 (a rugby club based in Rome) and become Rugby Roma Olimpic. This resurgent post war team were champions again in 1947–48 and 1948–49, before further lean years throughout the 1950s and 1960s, during which the team were relegated. The subsequent years saw the arrival of a new

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Dick Greenwood John Richard Heaton Greenwood, (born 11 September 1940) is an English former rugby union player and coach. A flanker, he played for Waterloo, Cambridge University, Lancashire and . He later coached Preston Grasshoppers and England. Biograph ...

during the 1970s. The club also toured

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...

in 1976, playing games against teams like

and

Scorpions RFC The Scorpions RFC is an invitation rugby team in East Africa that was established upon principles that have many parallels with the Barbarian F.C. in terms of values, playing style, selection policy and the lack of a home ground. The team wears ...

. Rugby Roma Olimpic qualified for the Italian

playoffs 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 eit ...

in 1985, before further difficulties resulted in another relegation. The next boom period led to

All Blacks 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, ...

imports, victory in the

in 1998 and a fifth Italian championship in 2000 before yet another financial crisis resulted in relegation once more. In the last 2010–11 Excellence season Rugby Roma Olimpic's head coaches were Danie de Villiers and Jaco Stoumann led the team to conquer the Excellence Trophy. In 2011 the club is disbanded. In the same year the name is changed to Rugby Roma Olimpic 1930, but without participating in any league. In 2015 the new Rugby Roma Olimpic Club 1930 compete in 2015–16

season, conquering the promotion to

. The club currently plays in Serie B.

Honours

* Italian championship ** Champions (5): 1934–35, 1936–37, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1999–2000 ** ''Runners-up (2)'': 1930–31, 1945–46 *

** Champions (1): 1998/99 ** ''Runners-up (1)'': 1970–71 * Excellence Trophy ** Champions (1): 2010–11

References

{{Rugby union in Italy Rugby clubs established in 1930 Sports clubs in Rome Rugby union in Rome