The1973 Italy rugby union tour of South Africa and Rhodesia was a series of matches played between June and July 1973 in South Africa and Rhodesia byItaly national rugby union team.
It was the second time that the "Azzurri" toured outside Europe, after a short tour inMadagascar in 1970.
The experience signed a turn in the story of Italian rugby: before of that, contact with the bigger union members was almost non-existent, and limited only to confrontations with France (between 1952 and 1967).
The tour was arranged by Italian federation andSARB, that sent coachAmos du Plooy to Italy to prepare the team. It was an historical tour, but the results were very poor: only a victory against the SARF Leopard selection.
The most important player of the last match, against Transvaal XV, wasRocco Caligiuri: the fly-half (but normally play ad full-back) scored three drops. It was the first time that a player scored three drops in an international match in South Africa. A plate was then put on the wall ofEllis Park Stadium.
Rhodesia
