Italy have competed in all the Rugby World Cup tournaments, having made their first appearance in the inaugural 1987 tournament. They have finished third in their pool at every tournament, except in 1999, the only tournament where they lost more than two games. Having never finished in the top two in their pool, they have never qualified to progress to the quarter-finals. They have won the most matches of those that have never made it to the quarter-finals.
Because they finished third in Pool C of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, they automatically qualified to compete in the 2011 tournament in New Zealand. A similar finishing position in that tournament saw them automatically qualify for the 2015 World Cup in England, where they retained the third place and the automatic qualification for France 2023.
See main article: 1987 Rugby World Cup and 1987 Rugby World Cup Pool 3. --------
See main article: 1991 Rugby World Cup.
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See main article: 1995 Rugby World Cup.
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See main article: 1999 Rugby World Cup.
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See main article: 2003 Rugby World Cup and 2003 Rugby World Cup Pool D.
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See main article: article, 2007 Rugby World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cup Pool C. ------------
See main article: article, 2011 Rugby World Cup and 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C.
All times are local New Zealand time (UTC+12 until 24 September, UTC+13 from 25 September[1])
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See main article: article, 2015 Rugby World Cup and 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool D.
| width=15% | width=25% | width=10% | width=25% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 September 2015 | 32–10 | Twickenham Stadium, London | |||||
| 26 September 2015 | 23–18 | Elland Road, Leeds | |||||
| 4 October 2015 | 16–9 | Olympic Stadium, London | |||||
| 11 October 2015 | 32–22 | Sandy Park, Exeter |
See main article: 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool B.
Notes:
See main article: 2023 Rugby World Cup and 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A.
Most points in a tournament
Most points in a game
Biggest winning margin
Highest score against
Biggest losing margin
Most tries in a tournament
Most tries in a game
Most appearances
Most points overall
Most points in a game
Most tries overall
Most tries in a game
Most penalty goals
Most penalty goals in a game
See main article: article and Rugby World Cup hosts. The Rugby World Cup is held every four years, and tends to alternate between the northern and southern hemispheres. Italy has yet to host the World Cup, although the Italian Rugby Federation made unsuccessful bids for the 2015 and 2019 competitions.