"Forza Azzurri!"- Top 5 Italy Rugby Moments Ahead of England Clash in 2026 Six Nations

Italy are steadily undergoing a progressive 'renaissance', with a talented young squad who will leave it all on the line throughout the 2026 Six Nations. The Azzurri have already achieved a hard-fought win over Scotland, as the likes of Paolo Garbisi, Michelle Lamaro and Ange Capuozzo generate an excitable buzz, with serious potential ahead of this weekend's fourth round clash against England.

Gonzalo Quesada has pieced together exciting Italian side, with the head coach settled into his third Six Nations campaign at the helm. The incoming clash with England is an opportunity for Italy to end a 32 match losing streak, which dates back to the sides' first meeting at the 1991 Rugby World Cup. History is on the line as a down-trodden England team look to bounce back from consecutive Six Nations defeats to Scotland and Ireland, with Italy presented a strong opportunity to secure a first ever triumph.

So, ahead of what will be a momentous match this Saturday in Rome, we've taken a look back upon some of the biggest and best moments from the history of Italian rugby. From their tide turning Six Nations win over Wales in 2022, to their previous heroics across Rugby World Cups, here's the greatest matches that had all the mutual fans chanting "Forza Azzurri!"

Where else to begin but with the victory that ended Italy's seven year wait for a Six Nations win. The hotly contested match in Cardiff was looking to be heading for a Wales win, on the final weekend of the 2022 Championship. With two minutes left to play, Wales led 21-15, thanks to earlier tries from Owen Watkin, Dewi Lake and Josh Adams.

Then a lightning bolt of blue struck the Principality Stadium, in the form of Ange Capuozzo. Receiving the ball within his own 22m, the fullback put his head down, and made Italian rugby history. Capuozzo skipped passed the tackle attempts of Josh Adams and Jonny McNicholl, before playing in Edoardo Padovani to score a memorable try for the “Azzurri”.

With the final kick of the game, Paolo Garbisi slotted the following conversion from in front of the posts, and Italy recorded their first win in a staggering 36 Six Nations matches. The losing streak was over, and Wales hung their heads. All eyes turned to Wales Head Coach Wayne Pivac, who would be ousted from his post after a woeful Autumn International series, in favour of the returning Warren Gatland.

What has proven to become Italy’s lucky score line, the Azzurri pulled off a shock victory over France in the 2011 Six Nations. Heading into Rome’s Stadio Flaminio as expected favourites, France had secured victories over Scotland and Ireland on their way through to the match. Defeat to England set Les Blues off-course for their goal of retaining the Grand Slam, yet a dominant performance over Italy would get the camp back on track, for an expected title decider against Wales.

Italy struck first through the boot of Mirco Bergamasco, yet France responded strongly, as winger Vincent Clerc’s try put the visitors in front after 14 minutes. Andrea Masi’s second half try kept Italy in the fight, with the remaining match fizzling down to a place-kicking contest between Bergamasco and Morgan Parra.

The Italian left winger slotted five penalties, and established enough breathing space for a shock victory in Rome. Italian celebrations disrupted the capital, with France devastated after failing expectations of back-to-back Six Nations Championships. England went on to win that year’s title, with France proving their strengths in the following Rugby World Cup, as they reached the final and narrowly lost to the All Blacks.

In Italy’s debut match after being added to the Six Nations, there was little expectations on them to perform. Despite finishing bottom of the table that year, Italy started off with a win against the odds, and thrived under their 'no expectations' tag. Scotland entered the competition as the reigning holders of the 1999 Five Nations Championship, and had great expectation to regain the title that same year.

Yet Italy’s unpredictability was their secret weapon. They effectively silenced the critics who didn’t wish to add a sixth nation, with a try from Giampiero de Carli, and 29 points coming from the boot of Diego Dominguez. The fly half kicked six penalties, a conversion, and an impressive hat-trick of drop goals to keep Italy’s points ticking over for a debut victory.

Undeniably the ultimate underdogs, Italy were 250/1 odds to win the 2000 Championship. They had yet to demonstrate their skills on the biggest stage, with a 101-3 loss to the All Blacks at the 1999 Rugby World Cup highlighting the difference in quality. Yet Italy persevered on their Six Nations debut, and stretched into the lead as Scotland's Kenny Logan missed four penalty attempts at goal. A milestone victory for Italy, who have made upset wins a highlight of their Six Nations tenure.

Two memorable matches in one here, as Italy pulled off stunning back-to-back victories in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool Stages. Italy have not had the best track record at Rugby World Cups, as they have never managed to progress out of the Pool Stages in the competition.

However, Kieran Crowley's side of talented youngsters aim to break that trend at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the nation's history. Four years ago, Italy fell just short of achieving that feat, as they started off their campaign in style. A 47-22 victory over Namibia presented the Italians at full force, as Tommaso Allan, Tito Tebaldi, Mattia Bellini, Carlo Canna, Jake Polledri and Matteo Minozzi all crossed over for tries.

Italy followed up this bonus point win, with another landslide victory in the 2019 RWC Pool Stages. Italy decimated Canada 48-7 in round two, with Minozzi and Bellini on the scoreboard once again. Additional Italian tries came from Abraham Steyn, Dean Budd, Sebastian Negri and Federico Zani, as the Azzurri put Canada to the sword. This victory ensured Italy third place in the group behind rugby titans New Zealand and South Africa.

This bronze medal finish secured Italy automatic qualification for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. And who knows, they could have pulled of a miracle against the All Blacks to progress out of the group. The infamous Typhoon Hagibis cancelled the fixture and ruled the match a 0-0 draw, as Japan was struck by the catastrophic natural disaster.

Wrapping up this list is the unbelievable finish to Italy's victory over the Wallabies, in last year's Autumn Nations Series. This was a monumental victory for the Azzurri, as they followed up their aforementioned Six Nations victory over Wales with a jaw-dropping Autumn win.

For the first time in 10 years Italy recorded back-to-back home wins, as they also ran out resounding victors over Samoa, with a 49-17 win earlier in the Autumn Series. This match against Australia also marked the beginning of the end of Dave Rennie's time as Wallabies Head Coach, with the Italians one again starting off the sands of time for their opposition managers.

Australia were one kick away from victory, as they muscled their way across the line through lock Cadeyrn Neville. However, Ben Donaldson failed to add the 82nd minute conversion from out wide, and Italy rejoiced with jubilant scenes in Florence.

Another key milestone in the upwards trajectory of Italian rugby, the Azzurri have turned into a fearless force to be reckoned with, as they took the Wallabies to their very limit in the Autumn. Italy proved that this was no fluke in the 2025 Autumn Series, as they again picked up a win over the Wallabies, before pushing the Springboks to their limits the following week.

The latest meeting between the two sides, saw Italy run in a solid 26-19 triumph over Australia, who had claimed a Test match victory over the British & Irish Lions in the previous Summer. The statement of intent was quite the sight to behold, as tries from Monty Ioane and Louis Lynagh - the son of none other than Wallabies great Michael Lynagh - laid the foundations for Paolo Gabisi to kick the extra daylight.