National Championship of Excellence
| National Championship of Excellence | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Instituted | 1929 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Country | Italy |
| Holders | Rovigo Delta (2015–16) |
The National Championship of Excellence is the highest tier of the national rugby union competition in Italy The first Italian championship took place in 1929, contested by six of the sixteen teams that existed in Italy at that time.
The competition runs from September to May. After a home-and-away season, the top four teams play a knock-out competition to decide the championship and the bottom team is relegated. The season-ending play-offs have one feature which distinguish them from rugby play-offs in most other countries; the semi-finals are two-legged, with the winner determined by aggregate score.
Until season 2008–09 the Super 10 was operated by the L.I.R.E. (Lega Italiana Rugby d'Eccellenza, Italian Elite Rugby (Union) League), but since its folding (in 2009), the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) has taken over its organisation.
The leading Super 10 teams qualify to play against teams from the other leading rugby union nations in Europe in the European Challenge Cup. Aironi and Benetton Treviso began competing in the league now known as Pro12 in the 2010–11 season, and took both Italian places in the Heineken Cup. Due to financial problems, the FIR revoked Aironi's professional licence after the 2011–12 season; that team was replaced in Pro12 by the FIR-operated Zebre. From 2014–15, one of the two Italian Pro12 sides will compete in the Heineken Cup's replacement, the European Rugby Champions Cup; the other will play in the newly launched European Rugby Challenge Cup. Both Pro12 teams are intended to concentrate the best domestic talent and help develop the quality of Italian players and therefore improve the talent pool for the national team.
Originally named Serie A since its origin in 1928–29 until 1959–60 season, the name of the national championship was changed to Eccellenza from 1960–61 until 1964–65, then Serie A again until 1985–86. In 1986–87 it was named Serie A1 and the second tier took the name as Serie A2. Since the season 1987–88 the Championship has gone into a play-off phase after a regular season, and the title is assigned through a final (several venues have hosted the final match, notably Padua, Bologna and Rome). After a major restructuring for the 2001–02 season, the national championship was named Super 10 and Serie A1 and A2 became the second and third divisions respectively. The name of championship was changed to Eccellenza once again for the 2010-11 season.
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