Italian rugby in mourning for Alfredo Gavazzi

Farewell to Alfredo Gavazzi

Alfredo Gavazzi has died. The seventy-two-year-old businessman from Brescia had chaired Italian rugby’s governing body for two terms, from September 2012 to March 2021, after serving as a member of the Federal Council, holding numerous positions, during the four terms of Giancarlo Dondi’s presidency.

As federal president, Gavazzi experienced some of the most unforgettable days of Italian rugby in the third millennium: the fourth-place finish in the men’s Six Nations in 2013, with Olympic victories over France and Ireland, the success in Edinburgh in 2015, Florence’s historic win over South Africa in 2016, and Italdonne’s second-place finish in the 2019 Tournament.

Federal President Marzio Innocenti has ordered that, in memory of Gavazzi, a minute’s silence be observed on all fields in Italy over the weekend and that the Women’s National Team take the field in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup “New Zealand 2021” on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Auckland with mourning on their arms.