37–15. The second game played the next day at the Stadio Omobono Tenni in Treviso, saw Australia win 67–22 in front of 3,105 fans. Italian rugby league national team was revived in 1995 in Australia through the passion of a couple of enthusiasts by the names of Domenic (Mick) Pezzano and John Benigni. Both, were determined to have a rugby league team representing their origins compete again on the world stage, with a team formed with athletes from Australia and some from Italy. This dream was soon realised when the Italian team was invited to play in the 1995 World Sevens, which was Italy's first game since the 1960s. Pezzano coached the Italian team in the 1995 Coca-Cola World Sevens in Sydney and 1996 Super League Nines in Fiji. Other Coaches of the Italian National Team have been; David Riolo, David Penna, Craig Salvatori, Carlo Napolitano, Cameron Ciraldo and Leo Epifania. Italy went on to record their first win, in their first year and play many other international tournaments such as the Super League World Nines and the 1997 World Sevens to name a few. There were also a number of one-off international appearances against a Lebanese Sevens team, a Lebanese 13 a side team in a promotional match for the Mediterranean Cup and in 2004 when Italy played Greece in Sydney. In 2006 the Federazione of Italia Rugby League (FIRL) was founded. The Federazione of Italia Rugby League was officially moved to the "official observer" status by the Rugby League European Federation from an unranked position on 15 April 2008. Governing bodies Federazione Italiana Rugby League (FIRL) is the governing body for rugby league in Italy and has "associate member" status with the Rugby League European Federation. Domestic competitions The Italian Rugby League Championship is an amateur rugby league competition called the r-Evolution League that began in 2010. There are three conferences, north, central and south. Rugby league nines Veneto 9s is a rugby league nines tournament held annually in Monselice, Italy. It is the main event of Italian rugby league and has been running since 2006. National team The Italy national team were victorious in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying tournament. They will therefore contest their first Rugby League World Cup in 2013. Italy has also participated in the 2009 European Cup and the 2000 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament. See also Sport in Italy References