Amatori Catania
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| Full name | Amatori Catania Rugby | ||
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| Union | Federazione Italiana Rugby | ||
| Founded | 1963 | ||
| Location | Catania, Italy | ||
| Ground(s) | Stadio Santa Maria Goretti | ||
| President | Santino Granata | ||
| League(s) | Serie B | ||
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| Official website | |||
| amatoricataniarugby |
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Amatori Catania is an Italian rugby union club who got relegated from the National Championship of Excellence. They are based in Catania, they are the only professional rugby union team in Sicily. The club was founded in 1963, and play at the Stadio Santa Maria Goretti.
Amatori Catania have thus far not won the Italian premiership, but have in recent years qualified for European Cup competition. Though they have yet to play in a Heineken Cup, Amatori Catania played in both the 2004-05 and 2005-06 European Challenge Cup seasons. Their uniform is red and white stripes.
History
Between 1963 and 1965 the first team played in Serie C but won promotion to Serie B. In 1969-1970 they won promotion to Serie A, but managed to survive at this level for only one season. They stayed in this league for sixteen years until 1987-1988.
After a season in Serie A2 they won a play-off taking them back to Serie A where they stayed for seven years. In 1996-1997 they were relegated back to Serie A2 and two years later back to Serie B but managed to return to Serie A four years later. They made the play-offs for the National Championship of Excellence Grand Final but were knocked out by Benetton Treviso.
Statistics
European Challenge Cup
| Season | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 81 |
| 2005-06 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 116 | 257 |
