1995–1997 FIRA Trophy

European rugby union championship 1995-97 FIRA Trophy 19 November 1995 – 23 May 1997 BEL FRA DEUITA MAR PRT ROU RUSESPTUN ITA 41 1992–1994 1992–1994 FIRA Trophy 1996–1997 1996-1967 FIRA Tournament The 1995–1997 FIRA Trophy was the 31st edition of the European rugby union championship for national teams. The 1995-97 edition was arranged once again with a new format. Due preparations for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, France, Italy and Romania did not participate in the 1994-95 season of the competition, so for that season a Preliminary Tournament was arranged with ten other teams. The higher ranked seven teams were admitted to this tournament, with France, Italy and Romania. The tournament was undergoing a difficult time, due to decreased interest from the strongest teams: France usually sent reserve teams, and Italy were playing matches with the likes of Australia, England and Wales. This is evident looking the results and the programme. France played the first round robin with their Military team, Italy and Romania did not arrange a match for this tournament, but played a match on neutral ground against Argentina for the "Latina Cup". Italy sent two lower level teams to play (during the same weekend) the last two matches. The previous edition's final between Italy and France was played in March 1997, while the 1996-97 edition was already half completed. This edition was the first ever triumph of Italy in the competition, defeating France by 40-32 in the final, fr http://www.liberation.fr/sports/0101207562-l-italie-toute-jeu-la-france-toute-flemmeles-rugbymen-transalpins-ont-cree-la-sensation-samedi-a-grenoble Libération L'Italie toute jeu, la France toute flemme. Les rugbymen transalpins ont créé la sensation samedi à Grenoble 24 March 1997 Rémy Fiere 17 September 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20160418210214/http://www.liberation.fr/sports/1997/03/24/l-italie-toute-jeu-la-france-toute-flemmeles-rugbymen-transalpins-ont-cree-la-sensation-samedi-a-gre_198345 dead Italy all play, France all laziness. The Italian rugbymen made a sensation last Saturday in Grenoble 18 April 2016 Paris 23 March 1997 11 August 2008 http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1997/marzo/23/Storica_meta_Italia_insegna_rugby_co_0_97032313300.shtml https://web.archive.org/web/20090218150136/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1997/marzo/23/Storica_meta_Italia_insegna_rugby_co_0_97032313300.shtml Storica meta, l'Italia insegna rugby ai francesi Emanuele Rossano Corriere della Sera dead 18 February 2009 Milan Historic try, Italy teach rugby to the Frenchmen it thus cementing their claims to be the sixth European rugby nation powerhouse. Italy had started to play in this tournament with France in 1966 and, despite some close results, had never previously beaten their strong rivals. Italy's win, shortly after France had won the 1997 Five Nations Championship, was a historical feat that proved to be crucial for Italy's admission at the Six Nations Championship in 2000. First Division Preliminary tournament 1994-1995 FIRA Preliminary Tournament Three directly admitted FRA ITA ROU And seven qualified from the preliminary tournament BEL MAR POL PRT RUS ESP TUN Pool A Place Nation Games Points Tablepoints played won drawn lost for against diff.1FRA4 4 0 0 194 29+165122ESP 4 3 0 1 91 90+1103RUS 4 2 023795-5884MAR 4 1 03 41 70 -29 65TUN 4 00 41178 -672 France qualified to Final 19 November 1995 France Military FRA 33 - 12 RUS Blanc-Mesnil ITA G. Giacomel 10 December 1995 TUN 11 - 20 MAR Sousse FRA A. Fernandez 6 January 1996 MAR 8 - 22 FRA France Military Casablanca SPA I. Atorrasagasti 16 March 1996 MAR 3 - 24 ESP Casablanca FRA D. Salles 16 March 1996 France Military FRA 58 - 0 TUN Albertville POR J. Mendes da Silva 31 March 1996 ESP 9 - 81 FRA France XV Estadi Baldiri Aleu, Sant Boi de Llobregat 14 April 1996 ESP 52 - 6 RUS Campo Universitario, Madrid Velazco Querol, Gallastegui, Souto, Tayeb (2), Gerendiaga Nanclares (3) Gerendiaga Nanclares (4) Gerendiaga Nanclares (3) Yakovlev (2) 28 April 1996 ESP 6 – 0 withdraw TUN Madrid 11 May 1996 MAR 10 - 13 RUS Safi SPA I. Aguirre 19 May 1996 TUN 0 – 6 withdraw RUS Tunis Pool B Place Nation Games Points Tablepoints played won drawn lost for against diff.1ITA4 4 0 0 249 35+214122ROU 4 30 1 21854+164103PRT 420270177-10784POL 4 10 3 61195 -134 65BEL 40 0 4 43 180-137 4 Italy qualified to the final Point system: try 4 pt, conversion: 2 pt., penalty kick 3 pt. drop 3 pt Click "show" for more info about match (scorers, line-up etc.) 21 October 1995 ITA 40 - 3 ROU Stadium Etcheverri, Buenos Aires Efraim Sklar ARG Checchinato 2, Mazzariol, Moscardi, Roselli Bonomi 3 Bonomi 3 Besarau Italy: 15. Paolo Vaccari, 14. Fabio Roselli, 13. Marco Platania, 12. Ivan Francescato, 11. Francesco Mazzariol, 10. Massimo Bonomi, 9. Alessandro Troncon, 8. Carlo Checchinato, 7. Andrea Sgorlon, 6. Massimo Giovanelli, 5. Mark Giacheri, 4. Pierpaolo Pedroni, 3. Andrea Castellani, 2. Carlo Orlandi, 1. Massimo Cuttitta (cap.) - replacements: 16. Alessandro Moscardi, 17. Orazio Arancio, 18. Carlo Caione, 19. Gabriel Filizzola Romania: 15. Valentin Maftei, 14. Gheorghe Solomie, 13. Marius Nedelcu, 12. Tiberiu Luca, 11. Radu Fugigi, 10. Vasile Besărău, 9. Vasile Flutur, 8. Adrian Gîrbu, 7. Alexandru Gealapu, 6. Andrei Gurănescu, 5. Constantin Cojocariu (cap.), 4. Micușor Marin, 3. Adrian Saălăgeanu, 2. Ionel Negreci, 1. Gabriel Vlad - replacements: 16. Ionel Rotaru, 17. Cătălin Drăguceanu, 18. Dragoș Niculae, 19. Constantin Dragnea 28 October 1995 POL 30 - 10 BEL Łódź 3 March 1996 PRT 3 - 64 ITA Lisbon University Stadium, Lisbon ESP García Mostaza Babbo (2), DomínguezFrancescato (2), Mazzucato, Orlandi, Platania (2), Properzi Domínguez N. Gomes Portugal: 15. José Gomes, 14. Pedro Murinello, 13. Nuno Durão, 12. Nuno Mourão, 11. Rohan Hoffmann, 10. Nuno Gomes, 9. Luís Pissarra, 8. Pedro Castro, 7. António Cunha, 6. João Catulo, 5. José Luís Rodrigues, 4. Pedro Rogério Arsénio, 3. Joaquim Ferreira, 2. Paulo Silva, 1. José Pedro Costa - replacements: 16. Vasco Durão, 17. Éric Galvão, 18. Alexandre Lima Italy: 15. Massimo Ravazzolo, 14. Nicola Mazzucato, 13. Marco Platania, 12. Ivan Francescato, 11. Simone Babbo, 10. Diego Dominguez, 9. Gianluca Guidi, 8. Orazio Arancio, 7. Andrea Sgorlon, 6. Carlo Caione, 5. Roberto Favaro, 4. Andrea Gritti, 3. Franco Properzi, 2. Carlo Orlandi, 1. Massimo Cuttitta (cap.) - replacements: 16. Piergiorgi Menapace, 17. Riccardo Piovan, 18. Francesco Mazzariol, 19. Walter Cristofoletto 16 March 1996 BEL 18 - 29 PRT King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels 13 April 1996 ROU 92 - 0 PRT Stadionul Steaua II, Bucharest ITA A. Condorelli 1,000 Radoi (2), Vlad, Fugigi, Gontineac, Sîrbu, Slusariuc, Rotaru (5), Tufa Popisteanu (12) Popisteanu This was the heaviest defeat of Portugal until their loss to New Zealand (108-13) at the 2007 Rugby World Cup 19 April 1996 ROU 83 - 5 BEL Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest 27 April 1996 PRT 38 - 3 POL Lisbon University Stadium, Lisbon 12 May 1996 POL 9 - 40 ROU Sochaczew 24 May 1996 BEL 10 - 38 ITA Emerging ItalyThis team was based on the "Students' team", preparing for the incoming University World Cup, reinforced with the presence of the national captain Massimo Giovanelli King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels 25 May 1996 ITA 107 - 19 POL Otello Gerli Stadium, Udine FRA D. Artigeas Final 22 March 1997 FRA 32 - 40 ITA Stade Lesdiguières, Grenoble Ireland rugby union David McHugh 15,000 14' Penalty try 52' e 82' Bondouy 79' Sadourny 14', 52' e 82' Aucagne 20', 24' Aucagne 5' I. Francescato 34' Gardner 56' Croci 74' Vaccari 5', 34', 56' e 74' Domínguez 17', 30', 62' e 68' Domínguez FRAJean-Luc SadournyStéphane OugierYann DelaiguePierre BondouyPhilippe Saint-AndréDavid AucagneGuy AccoceberryFabien Pelous (c.)Arnaud CostesPhilippe BenettonHugues MiorinOlivier MerleFranck TournaireMarc Dal MasoMarc de Rougemont  Serge BetsenRaphaël Ibañez  Pierre Villepreux  FB 15FB RW 14RW OC 13OCIC 12ICLW 11LWFH 10FHSH 9 SHN8 8 N8OF 7 OFBF 6 BFRL 5 RLLL 4 LLTP 3 TPHK 2 HKLP 1 LPSubstitutions:   Coaches ITA Javier PértilePaolo VaccariStefano BordonIvan FrancescatoMarcello CuttittaDiego DominguezAlessandro TronconJulian GardnerAndrea SgorlonMassimo Giovanelli (c.)Giambattista CrociWalter CristofolettoFranco ProperziCarlo OrlandiMassimo Cuttitta   Francesco MazzariolGianluca Guidi Georges Coste Second Division Pool 1 (Gold) Place Nation Games Points Tablepoints played won drawn lost for against diff.1NLD4 3 1 0 107 31 +76112GEO 1990 4 3 0 1 40 61 -21 103DEU 4 2 0 2 52 48 +4 84CZE 4 1 0 3 62 80 -18 65DNK 4 0 1 3 37 75 -38 4 23 September 1995 DEU 28 - 17 CZE Hanover 15 October 1995 GEO 1990 14 - 3 DEU National Stadium, Tbilisi Iurini E. Dzagnidze, D. Dzagnidze (2) Kocher 29 October 1995 DNK 20 - 20 NLD Copenhagen 19 November 1995 DNK 0 - W GEO 1990 Aalborg Zboralsky (France) GEO duly arrived but DNK did not take the frozen field claiming it was not safe Reference: Georgia Rugby Record 1959-2009, p 152,155 http://issuu.com/qaflan/docs/ka-mataine50 24 November 1995 NLD 55 - 3 GEO 1990 Castricum 30 March 1996 CZE 3 - 26 NLD Říčany 12 April 1996 GEO 1990 20 - 3 CZE Vake Stadium, Tbilisi Iurini, Jimsheladze, Kavtarachvili Modebadze Machitidze Stourac 21 April 1996 NLD 6 - 5 DEU Sportpark Berestein, Hilversum 27 April 1996 CZE 39 - 6 DNK Říčany 12 May 1996 DEU 16 - 11 DNK Hanover Pool 2 (Silver) Place Nation Games Points Tablepoints played won drawn lost for against diff.1FR Yugoslavia2 2 0 0 69 21 +48 62AND 2 1 0 1 25 38 -13 43BGR 2 0 0 2 17 52 -35 2 24 March 1996 FR Yugoslavia 30 - 12 AND 20 April 1996 AND 13 - 8 BGR Andorra-la-Vella 18 June 1996 BGR 9 - 39 FR Yugoslavia Third Division Pool 1 Place Nation Games Points Tablepoints played won drawn lost for against diff.1UKR3 3 0 0 84 11 +73 92LAT 3 2 0 1 50 44 +6 73MDA 3 1 0 2 20 61 -41 54LTU 3 0 0 3 38 76 -38 3 1 May 1996 UKR 38 - 0 MDA Kyiv 11 May 1996 LAT 34 - 20 LTU 10 October 1996 LAT 3 - 19 UKR Riga 21 October 1996 LAT 13 - 5 MDA Riga 1996 LTU 8 - 27 UKR Vilnius 1996 LTU 10 - 15 MDA Pool 2 Place Nation Games Points Tablepoints played won drawn lost for against diff.1AUT21013120+1142HUN21114232+1043SVN21012344-214 5 November 1995 AUT 21 - 8 HUN Wien 20 April 1996 SVN 12 - 10 AUT 11 May 1996 HUN 34 - 11 SVN Kecskemét Pool 3 Place Nation Games Points Tablepoints played won drawn lost for against diff.1HRV2 2 0 0 37 18+1962ISR 2 1 0 1 26 33 -7 43LUX 2 0 0 2 24 36 -12 2 28 October 1995 LUX 12 - 16 HRV Luxembourg 7 April 1996 ISR 20 - 12 LUX Tel Aviv 27 April 1996 HRV 21 - 6 ISR Split Notes and references Bibliography it Francesco Volpe, Valerio Vecchiarelli (2000), 2000 Italia in Meta, Storia della nazionale italiana di rugby dagli albori al Sei Nazioni, GS Editore (2000) 88-87374-40-6. it Francesco Volpe, Paolo Pacitti (Author), Rugby 2000, GTE Gruppo Editorale (1999). 13 December 2018 European Cup FIRA Trophy First Division 1994/96 http://www.rugbyarchive.net/compseasons/39?Stagione=1995%2F97 The Rugby Archive 28 February 2022 bot: unknown https://web.archive.org/web/20220228132049/http://www.rugbyarchive.net/compseasons/39?Stagione=1995%2F97 28 February 2022 dmy-all 13 December 2018 European Cup FIRA Trophy Second Division 1994/96 http://www.rugbyarchive.net/compseasons/144?Stagione=1995%2F97 The Rugby Archive 28 February 2022 live https://web.archive.org/web/20220228132158/http://www.rugbyarchive.net/compseasons/144?Stagione=1995%2F97 28 February 2022 dmy-all 13 December 2018 European Cup FIRA Trophy Third Division 1994/96 http://www.rugbyarchive.net/compseasons/145?Stagione=1995%2F97 The Rugby Archive 28 February 2022 live https://web.archive.org/web/20220228132355/http://www.rugbyarchive.net/compseasons/145?Stagione=1995%2F97 28 February 2022 dmy-all 1995–97 Category:1995–96 in European rugby union Category:1996–97 in European rugby union Category:1995 rugby union tournaments for national teams Category:1996 rugby union tournaments for national teams Category:1997 rugby union tournaments for national teams