Rugby thrives in Roman suburbs / Photo: © AFP
-
Real Madrid comeback stuns Roma as Mourinho enjoys happy reunion
-
US Treasury chief urges stronger IMF role against 'distortionary policies'
-
Shakhtar make winning start at new Champions League 'home'
-
Giant-killers Bodo sink Dortmund in Champions League
-
Hat-trick hero Barcola primed to shine for Liverpool: Iraola
-
PSG outgun embattled Man City in six-goal Champions League thriller
-
Villa put six past Fenerbahce in record rout
-
In Chicago, pope's hometown, Catholics express shock and support
-
US stocks fall after hot inflation report as leading AI shares tumble
-
Musk suggests US govt behind any slowdown in Ukraine's Starshield system
-
Government buildings torched in violent Albanian protests
-
Chiclayo prays for recovery and return of the 'Peruvian pope'
-
Wall Street grills Bank of America over money laundering fine
-
Barcola scores hat-trick as Liverpool hit LASK for six
-
Mekies extends contract as Red Bull team principal until 2031
-
Healthy corals help bleached neighbors regain color: study
-
Indonesia rescues starved orangutan from fires: officials
-
Hope ton helps West Indies level T20 series at 2-2 in India
-
Real Madrid's Vinicius banned for Clasico after red card
-
Ukraine war reaches shores of Bulgarian fishing village
-
Restrictions expose Ukraine's Starlink dependency in Russia war: observers
-
Brazil probing 'criminal' origin of forest fires: minister to AFP
-
Espada out as Astros manager while Mattingly stays with Phillies
-
Sally Rooney books cannot be sold in UK amid Palestine Action ban: publisher
-
Houthis say targeted Saudi oil giant Aramco, vow more attacks
-
Italian ski stars Goggia and Brignone to miss season opener
-
Govt takes control of Turkey's most-watched news channel
-
Bournemouth boss Rose urges Cherries to bounce back from Chelsea 'slap'
-
FIFA to offer members $6.35-billion development fund windfall
-
Top seed Sabalenka falls at first hurdle in Wuhan
-
US consumer inflation hotter than expected as midterms loom
-
FX Junction Brings Copy Trading to Everyone, While Their Money Never Leaves With Their Broker
-
INmune Bio Inc. and Quantum Computing Inc. Partner to Apply Quantum Optimization and AI to Advance Alzheimer’s Drug Research and Explore New Applications for XPro
-
Brighton defender Struijk's red card overturned
-
Hot US inflation data dents Wall Street stocks
-
Saudi league postpones three matches after Houthi attacks
-
India sends 'cockroach' leaders to jail after protest
-
US consumer inflation up more than expected as midterms loom
-
'Sinners' director Ryan Coogler to reboot 'X-Files' for Disney
-
Canadian publisher supports novelist Orelien after AI denial
-
Lufthansa wins contest for TAP Air Portugal stake
-
Medvedev sees off Tsitsipas to reach Shanghai Masters quarters
-
AI worms, 'major' incident fears spur safety calls at industry summit
-
Louvre boss warns of closure risk without major renovations
-
Fuel shortage triggers queues on Indonesia's Bali island
-
Lawes and Genge urge England to end ban on overseas-based players
-
Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. Reaffirms $400 Million to $460 Million FY2027 Revenue Guidance, Unveils Eight Sintered Magnet Grades Covering an Estimated 75% of Global NdFeB Revenue, and Moves to Answer U.S. Army Call for Rare Earth Magnets
-
Metrika Selected by OCC to Support Stablecoin Supervisory Framework Under the GENIUS Act
-
Trial defence says Russia used Nord Stream pipelines as 'weapon'
-
Kenya hosting 2029 World Championships will help doping fight, says Coe
Rugby thrives in Roman suburbs
If Idrissa Di Porto hits the headlines as a star of Italian rugby in a future World Cup, Azzurri supporters will surely offer up a prayer of thanks to a club which has been beavering away in the unfashionable southern suburbs of Rome for over 40 years.
Arvalia Villa Pamphili Rugby Roma, to give the club its full title, was founded in 1980 by PE teacher Salvatore Gallo.
Some saw it as an act of futility in a city dominated by the football clubs of Roma and Lazio but the rugby club has become an important nurturing ground for the game in an unlikely setting.
In 2007 it set up shop in the Corviale district, best known for its forbidding 1970s housing complex, 60 hectares of cement and social problems and it's where Di Porto and his teammates train and play.
The club, however, has gained in strength, rising last season to Serie A - Italy's second division.
Rugby has been played in Italy since the late 19th century with an Italian XV from Milan making its first bow against French opponents in 1911.
The national team stepped on to the stage with two matches against Spain in 1929 but it was not until a series of strong results in the 1990s took them into the Six Nations that it began to gain any kind of traction.
Even today, however, with over 1000 clubs and 70,000 registered players rugby is still the poor relation to the round ball.
Italy have qualified for every World Cup since the inaugural edition in 1987 but they have yet to make it out of the pool stage.
This year, even with former All Blacks World Cup winner Kieran Crowley at the helm, they face yet another struggle. They should be good enough to beat Uruguay and Namibia but their other two opponents in Pool A are hosts France and the mighty New Zealand,
Italian rugby may need to wait a while longer for Idrissa and his friends to deliver some World Cup glory.
++ Ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France, Agence France-Presse asked 20 aspiring photographers from each country qualified for the competition to show one aspect of the rugby union culture in their homeland, with the help of Canon cameras who are sponsoring the tournament. From Namibia to Fiji via Georgia and Scotland this photo essay gives us a glimpse of the core values of rugby on five continents.
J.Bergmann--BTB
