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Benetton Rugby

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Italy Benetton Rugby
Full nameBenetton Rugby
UnionFederazione Italiana Rugby
NicknameLeoni (Lions)
Founded1932; 94 years ago (1932)
LocationTreviso, Italy
GroundStadio Comunale di Monigo (Capacity: 5,000)
PresidentAntonio Pavanello
CoachCalum MacRae
Captain(s)Sebastian Negri
Michele Lamaro
LeagueUnited Rugby Championship
2024–2510th (Scottish/Italian Shield: 2nd)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.benettonrugby.it
Current season

Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso,[1] is an Italian professional rugby union team based in Treviso, Veneto which competes in the United Rugby Championship, the European Rugby Challenge Cup 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. Conversely, several notable foreign internationals have played for Treviso, including Rugby World Cup winners Craig Green, John Kirwan and Michael Lynagh.

The club's president is Antonio Pavanello, elected in December 2025.[2]

The club has also a women's section established in 1982, known as Red Panthers, which has won 16 national championships.[3]

History

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Amateur era: 1932–1995

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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

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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.[4] They also won the Italian Cup in 1998.

Benetton Treviso has competed in the Heineken Cup 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, 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). In the 2009–10 Heineken Cup opener, they defeated reigning French Top 14 champions Perpignan 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. 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.[5] 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 and a new team, Praetorians Roma, would join,[6] 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.[7] However, Pretorians Roma failed to satisfy financial criteria, and Treviso instead joined the Pro12.[8]

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. The former All Black formed a new coaching team with two ex-Italian internationals, Marco Bortolami and Fabio Ongaro. Treviso finished the season in 10th place.

In 2017/2018, the championship was joined by two South Africans teams, becoming the Pro14, and was divided into two conferences. This season Treviso nearly reached the European Rugby Champions Cup 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. In the 2022/23 season it founded a U23 academy and a regional U19 academy.[9]

Honours

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Current standings

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Glasgow Warriors 18 13 0 5 479 338 +141 72 48 11 2 65 Qualification for the Champions Cup and knockout stage
2 Leinster (CH) 18 12 0 6 515 370 +145 77 51 13 2 63
3 Stormers 18 12 1 5 504 344 +160 63 48 9 1 60
4 Bulls (RU) 18 12 0 6 576 406 +170 82 59 10 1 59
5 Munster 18 11 0 7 396 376 +20 59 51 8 3 55
6 Cardiff 18 11 0 7 353 372 −19 52 52 7 4 55
7 Lions 18 10 1 7 532 473 +59 73 70 9 3 54
8 Connacht 18 10 0 8 442 395 +47 62 56 10 4 54
9 Ulster 18 9 1 8 494 420 +74 72 60 10 4 52 Qualification for the Challenge Cup
10 Sharks 18 8 1 9 467 428 +39 71 57 9 3 46
11 Ospreys 18 7 2 9 376 454 −78 55 69 4 3 39
12 Edinburgh 18 7 0 11 362 439 −77 57 66 6 4 38
13 Benetton 18 6 2 10 327 493 −166 41 71 4 1 33
14 Scarlets 18 4 2 12 361 460 −99 52 63 3 5 28
15 Dragons 18 3 4 11 350 481 −131 46 71 4 4 28
16 Zebre 18 2 0 16 312 587 −275 43 85 3 4 15
Updated to match(es) played on 16 May 2026. Source: UnitedRugby.com
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won 2) The difference between points for and points against 3) The number of tries scored 4) The most points scored 5) The difference between tries for and tries against 6) The fewest red cards received 7) The fewest yellow cards received.[10]

Season records

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Celtic League / Pro12

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Benetton Treviso joined the Celtic League for the 2010–11 season.

Season Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Pos
2010–1122901323810th
2011–1222701583610th
2012–1322102106507th
2013–1422511683011th
2014–1522311851911th
2015–1622301982012th
2016–1722501732310th

Pro14

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Season Conference Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Pos
2017–18Conference B211101011555th
2018–19 Conference B2111289573rd
Quarter-finals Munster 15 – 13 Benetton Rugby
2019–20Conference B1561810365th
2020–21Conference B160115776th

Pro14 Rainbow Cup

[edit]
Season Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Pos
202154102221st
Final Benetton Rugby 35 – 8 Bulls

United Rugby Championship

[edit]
Season Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Pos
2021-2218611193513th
2022-2318801094111th
2023-241811168507th
Quarter-finals Bulls 30 – 23 Benetton Rugby
2024-251891884610th

Heineken Cup / European Rugby Champions Cup

[edit]
Season Pool/Round Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Pos
1995–96Pool 12101022nd
1996–97Pool 14103024th
1997–98Pool 56204043rd
1998–99Pool 46303063rd
1999–00Pool 56204043rd
2001–02Pool 26105024th
2003–04Pool 56105153rd
2004–05Pool 263032143rd
2005–06Pool 46006334th
2006–07Pool 16006004th
2007–08Pool 16105154th
2008–09Pool 36006004th
2009–10Pool 16105154th
2010–11Pool 56006114th
2011–12Pool 56114174th
2012–13Pool 26105154th
2013–14Pool 56006004th
2014–15Pool 56105044th
2015–16Pool 46006004th
2017–18Pool 56006444th
2019–20Pool 16105264th
2024–25Pool 242023113rd
Round of 16 Castres Olympique 39 – 37 Benetton Rugby

European Rugby Challenge Cup

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Season Pool/Round Played Won Drawn Lost Bonus Points Pos
2000–01 Pool 165010102nd
2002–03 2nd round Newcastle Falcons 43 – 32 Benetton Rugby (aggregate score)
2016–17 Pool 16204083rd
2018–19 Pool 564024202nd
2020-21 Preliminary stage2101157th
Round of 16 Benetton Rugby 29 – 16 Agen
Quarter-finals Montpellier Hérault Rugby 31 – 25 Benetton Rugby
2021–22 Pool B4202083rd
Round of 16 Toulon Rugby 36 – 17 Benetton Rugby
2022–23 Pool B43013152nd
Round of 16 Benetton Rugby 41 - 19 Connacht
Quarter-finals Benetton Rugby 27 - 23 Cardiff Rugby
Semi-finals Toulon Rugby 23 – 0 Benetton Rugby
2023–24 Pool 243003151st
Round of 16 Benetton Rugby 27 - 17 Lions
Quarter-finals Benetton Rugby 39 - 24 Connacht
Semi-finals Gloucester Rugby 40 – 23 Benetton Rugby
2025–26 Pool 244003191st
Round of 16 Benetton Rugby 38 - 35 Cardiff Rugby
Quarter-finals Benetton Rugby 41 - 44 Exeter Chiefs

Stadium

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The team play at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo in Treviso, 4 km northwest of the city centre. The stadium has two covered stands and a capacity of 5,000.

Staff and coaching team

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The staff for the 2026–27 season is:[11]

Current squad

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2026–27 Benetton squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks


(cc) denotes co-captain.
Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Italy on residency or dual nationality.
Taking into account signings and departures ahead of 2026–27 season as listed on List of 2026–27 United Rugby Championship transfers.
Source: [12]

Additional players

[edit]
2026–27 Benetton additional players

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain.
Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Italy on residency or dual nationality.
Taking into account signings and departures ahead of 2025–26 season as listed on List of 2025–26 United Rugby Championship transfers.
  1. ↑ Additional player from CUS Padova.
  2. ↑ Additional player from Calvisano.
  3. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano.
  4. ↑ Additional player from Rugby Casale.
  5. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano.
  6. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano.
  7. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano.
  8. ↑ Additional player from Benetton academy.
  9. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano
  10. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano.
  11. ↑ Additional player from Rugby Valpolicella.
  12. ↑ Additional player from Benetton academy
  13. ↑ Additional player from Valsugana Rugby
  14. ↑ Additional player from Rangers Vicenza
  15. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano.
  16. ↑ Additional player from Benetton academy.
  17. ↑ Additional player from Benetton academy.
  18. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano.
  19. ↑ Additional player from Mogliano.
Source: [13]

Selected former players

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Italian players

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

Overseas players

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Former players who have played for Benetton and have caps for their Representative Team

I Dogi

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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 Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.[14] 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.[15]

In the past, Dogi was a historical invitational team that included the best players of Triveneto, area of Italy in which this sport is very widespread. The team was founded on 17 December 1973 in Treviso, 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.

Benetton Women

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Since November 2023, the Franchise has also had a women's team, which plays official tests with Spanish team.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ (Italian pronunciation: [ˌbenetˈtoŋ ˈrɛɡbi treˈviːzo] or Italian pronunciation: [ˌbenetˈtoŋ ˈraɡbi treˈviːzo])
  2. ↑ "Rugby: Antonio Pavanello nuovo presidente del Benetton Treviso" [Rugby: Antonio Pavanello elected as Benetton Treviso's new president]. ANSA. Rome. 16 December 2025. Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  3. ↑ "AVVIATO IL NUOVO PROGETTO BENETTON RUGBY RED PANTHERS". Benetton Rugby. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  4. ↑ National Championship of Excellence
  5. ↑ "Italian teams to join Magners League". RTÉ News. 8 March 2010.
  6. ↑ "Celtic League 2008/09 News : Aironi and Praetorians set for Magners League | Live Rugby News | ESPN Scrum". Scrum.com. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "International Rugby Union | Italy Rugby Union News". Planet Rugby. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "Tue, Nov 03, 2009 – Italians' bid to join the League not a done deal". The Irish Times. 11 November 2009. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "BENETTON RUGBY ANNUNCIA L'ACCADEMIA DELLA MARCA UNDER 19". Benetton Rugby. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "Competition rules – United Rugby Championship". United Rugby Championship. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  11. ↑ "Staff". Benetton Rugby.
  12. ↑ "Team". Benetton Rugby (in Italian). Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Comincia la stagione 2026/27: primo giorno di raduno e lista convocati". Benetton Rugby (in Italian). 13 July 2026. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "I Dogi Ritrovano la Propria Anima Triveneta". Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Nasce a Monigo l'Unione Rugby Dogi". Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "BENETTON E ZEBRE PARMA, DAL 2024 NASCONO LE FRANCHIGIE FEMMINILI". Benetton Rugby (in Italian). 16 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
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