Zebre Parma (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdzɛbre], meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season.^[1] They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) and replaced Aironi in the Pro12.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

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Zebre Parma

Union	Italian Rugby Federation
Nickname(s)	The XV of the North-West («il XV del Nord-Ovest»)
Founded	1973 (as Invitational Team – disbanded in 1997) 2012; 12 years ago (2012) (as Professional Team)
Location	Parma, Italy
Ground(s)	Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma (Capacity: 5,000)
President	Michele Dalai
Coach(es)	Fabio Roselli
Captain(s)	David Sisi
League(s)	United Rugby Championship
2022–23	4th, Scottish/Italian Shield (16th overall)
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
www.zebreparma.it

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Zebre Parma, often referred to as "the XV of the North-West" (Italian: il XV del Nord-Ovest), represents the four committees of Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy and Piedmont, which includes tens of thousands of members and several clubs.^[7] Since 2018, it represents also teams from others committees like Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche, Tuscany and Sicily.^[8] The team was officially named Zebre Parma at the start of the 2021–22 United Rugby Championship season.^[9][10]

The entry of Italian teams into the Celtic League had been proposed for many years. After several failed attempts, there was hope that a deal for Italian entry would be done in time for the 2010–11 season, with the Scots delaying support for entry until changes were made to the Celtic League management structure. In February 2010, it was announced that the planned expansion of the Celtic League was to be put on hold. The reasons were the insistence by existing members that the Italian teams could be ejected after three years. Also, the financial demands that the league placed on the Italians could not be met. The existing teams said this was to cover the need to have larger squads to cover the extra fixtures and additional travel expenses.^[11] Agreement was reached in early March 2010 to allow Italian teams entry to the Celtic League in time for the 2010–11 season.^[12] The clubs will also be guaranteed places in the annual Heineken Cup, which had previously been awarded to the two top teams in the National Championship of Excellence.

Italy have failed to make an impact in the Six Nations Championship since joining in 2000. This has largely been blamed on the fact their best players do not have a competitive enough domestic tournament or are forced to play abroad. The fact that the Six Nations decider in 2009 between Wales and Ireland featured 42 Celtic League players out of 44 in their squads supported this notion.^[13]

After initial applications in 2010, it was proposed that Aironi would join along with a new team, Praetorians Roma,^[14] but Benetton Treviso were nominated instead. Benetton Treviso and Duchi Nord-Ovest could not agree to form one club to represent the Veneto region and lost out in the first round of bidding despite the region being the traditional home of Italian rugby.^[15] However, Pretorians Roma failed to satisfy the evaluators of their financial muscle and Benetton Treviso were nominated in their place.^[16]

Aironi struggled in their first season; a surprise European Cup win over Biarritz was the only highlight of a campaign in which they managed only one Pro12 victory. At the end of a second season of struggle on the pitch, Aironi succumbed to financial difficulties off it. Their licence to play both in the European Cup and Pro12 was revoked by the Italian Rugby Federation.^[17] The Federation decided against another domestic Italian club taking over the running of the licence, instead opting to maintain complete control of a planned new franchise.^[18] In June 2012, it was announced that the new franchise would be known as Zebre and based in Parma.^[19]

Zebre did not enjoy much success in their first season, 2012–13, finishing bottom after winless campaigns in both the Pro12 and the Heineken Cup. Although they finished the subsequent 2013–14 season bottom once again, their performance was much improved, seeing their first victory against Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park into Round 3 of Pro12,^[20] in a season in which they had five league victories, with their away win in Cardiff followed by home victories against the Ospreys, Edinburgh, Cardiff Blues and Italian Rivals Treviso, who finished the season a single point ahead of Zebre. They fared somewhat worse in 2014–15, managing only 3 victories and finishing bottom of the table for the third season running. In the 2015–16 seasons they again earned five victories including back to back victories against Treviso and a bonus-point victory against the Newport Gwent Dragons. Zebre avoided finishing in last place for the first time.^{[citation needed]}

• Italian Celtic League/Pro12/Pro14 derbies:
  • Winners: 1 (2015–16)

Former players who have played for Zebre and have caps for their respective country