History of rugby union matches between Italy and New Zealand
The All Blacks first played against Italy at the opening game of the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, beating them 70-6 at Eden Park, Auckland. The two teams have played a total of 16 Test matches recognised by both sides as full internationals, with New Zealand winning all of them by an average margin of 51 points.
The two sides have been in the same pool in 7 of the 10 Rugby World Cup tournaments to date but have only played each other 6 times because Typhoon Hagibis caused their scheduled meeting in the 2019 tournament to be cancelled. The first 11 meetings between the two sides since their first clash in 1987 were never played at the same venue, then two tests had been held back to back at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Summary
Note: Summary below reflects test results by both teams.
Overall
Details | Played | Won by Italy |
Won by New Zealand |
Drawn | Italy points | New Zealand points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 161 |
In Italy | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 73 | 428 |
Neutral venue | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 62 | 374 |
Overall | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 157 | 963 |
Records
Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set.
Record | Italy | New Zealand |
---|---|---|
Longest winning streak | NA | 16 (22 May 1987–2023) |
Largest points for | ||
Home | 19 (25 November 2000) | 70 (22 May 1987) |
Away | 21 (13 October 1991) | 101 (14 October 1999) |
Largest winning margin | ||
Home | NA | 64 (22 May 1987) |
Away | NA | 98 (14 October 1999) |
Results
Notes
- ^1 The 2019 Rugby World Cup match between the two sides was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis and awarded in the tournament as a 0–0 draw.
XV Results
Below is a match that Italy has awarded test match status by virtue of awarding caps, but New Zealand did not award caps.
Date | Venue | Score | Victor | Competition | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
22 October 1977 | Padua | 9 – 17 | ![]() |
1977 New Zealand rugby union tour of Italy and France | Italian President's XV - not classed as a full international |
28 November 1979 | Rovigo | 12 – 18 | ![]() |
1979 New Zealand tour of England, Scotland & Italy | Classed as a full international by Italy only |