Italian
Ilaria Arrighetti, flanker for Stade Rennais, has announced her departure from the Italian national rugby team.
63 caps over thirteen years. Seven tries. Captain once in Italy vs Japan, 2019, in L’Aquila. It’s hard to sum up Ilaria Arrighetti’s international career in just a few lines.
Her debut for the national team came during the 2012 Six Nations in Rovato, in Italy’s 29–12 victory over Scotland. Her final appearance was at the recent 2025 Rugby World Cup, in the defeat against France in Exeter.
In between: three World Cups, one WXV tournament, and an impressive thirteen Six Nations championships, making her one of the pillars and most recognisable faces of Italian women’s rugby. But now, the 1993-born flanker from Stade Rennais has decided to call it a day. She will no longer wear the Azzurra jersey. Her journey continues in France, in Rennes, where she’s been living and teaching Italian since 2015.
Arrighetti’s Farewell
The 32-year-old from Lombardy stated:
“My personal growth went hand in hand with my sporting growth,” said Arrighetti.
“The journey with the national team helped me discover a lot about myself and allowed me to express who I really am.
Not just the good times, but also the tough ones injuries, setbacks they were all part of the path. In the end, it’s not just about the numbers, but the experiences. I grew up with this team: over the years, we built unbreakable bonds, we became women together, we laughed and cried always together. And I have to say, the driving force that always pushed me forward was the desire to represent Italy in the best way possible. Club rugby has been important, but when the anthem plays, when you step onto the pitch in the Azzurra jersey, all the effort, all the hard work and dedication take on meaning.
For years, I introduced myself as Ilaria Arrighetti, teacher and rugby player for Italy. Now I’ll have to find a new way to introduce myself” (she laughs).
“I’ll still follow the matches with the same passion and warmth you’ll see me celebrating, getting mad, cheering, maybe even more intensely than before. I’ll carry with me unforgettable memories: from our second place in the 2019 Six Nations to the pranks on staff during the World Cups every moment spent with the national team had, and will always have, a special flavour.”
The FIR President’s Tribute
These were the words of FIR President Andrea Duodo: “It’s always difficult to acknowledge the farewell of key players like Arrighetti, but these moments also give us the chance to highlight the significance of the contribution that people like Ilaria have made both to the entire movement and to those who shared part of the journey in Azzurro with her.
She has our deepest thanks and best wishes for her future endeavours, which I’m certain she’ll pursue just as she did with her international career with determination, resilience, and energy.
The very same energy that defined every moment of her time with our national team.”
