Italy

World Rugby not changing rules yet

The Azzurri refused to engage in rucks as the home side won 36-15 at Twickenham.

taly's plan, masterminded by defence coach Brendan Venter, left no offside line after a tackle allowing the Italians to crowd the England backline.

England boss Eddie Jones criticised Italy's tactics, and said law-makers should have a "very close look at it".

A spokesperson for World Rugby told the BBC it could 'clarify' the law, rather than drastically change it.

'Catastrophe' in central Italy on day of four big quakes

Luca Ceriscioli said quakes and snow had caused landslides and thousands of families were suffering power cuts, with some villages left isolated.

A man was killed and another reported missing in the nearby Abruzzo region.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker vowed EU solidarity with Italy after the tremors.

Marche was one of the regions worst hit by the earthquake of 24 August, with 46 of its 298 victims losing their lives in a single mountain village there, Pescara del Tronto.

Tonga score big upset a week after Italy down South Africa

Halfback Sonatane Takulua converted the winning kick after stand-in captain Simone Favaro was penalised.

Italy scored two tries to one and had two more tries disallowed. But they started and finished the second half down a man because of yellow cards. Even so, fullback Edoardo Padovani seemed to give the home side victory with a penalty in the 78th minute.

But Takulua got a chance at his fourth penalty kick and didn't miss, and Tonga earned their first win over Italy since their first match-up, which occurred at the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

Back to back wins boost 'Ikale Tahi

The 'Ikale Tahi defeated Spain 28-13 in their opening match before holding on to edge the United States 20-17.

Tonga led 14-3 after 24 minutes and had another try disallowed before allowing the US Eagles back into the match.

Head coach Toutai Kefu said they should have been up by 20-25 points at halftime but managed the game well in the closing stages.

All Blacks run riot in Rome

But coach Steve Hansen was satisfied.

"It bodes well for next week, we have a lot of people in form," he said, referring to a rematch against Ireland set for Dublin next weekend.

"Above all, it bodes well for the future, next week and beyond."

New Zealand ran the hosts ragged, scoring five tries in the first half, Malakai Fekitoa starting the rout after three minutes with Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Israel Dagg and Wyatt Crockett all going over for further scores before the break.

Italy 'father-only' surname law rejected

 Lawyers argued that preventing families from giving children their mother's surname discriminated against women.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had earlier condemned the legislation - which dates from Roman times - and ordered Italy to change it.

Campaigners hailed Tuesday's ruling and called for parliament to endorse it.

"The court has declared the unlawfulness of rules providing for the automatic attribution of the paternal surname to legitimate children, when the parents wish otherwise," the constitutional court said in a statement.

Ventura lauds Italy recovery

Daniele De Rossi struck an 82nd-minute penalty as Italy came from behind after Gianluigi Buffon's error allowed Vitolo to open the scoring in Turin.

Ventura was pleased with what he saw from his team following that set-back as they kept pace with Spain in Group G, which is topped by Albania.

"It's a good result, especially if we take into account our players' physical problems and Spain's quality," he told a news conference.

Italy pulls out of race for 2023 Rugby World Cup

Italy only tabled its bid for the tournament at the start of the month.

The announcement leaves France, South Africa and Ireland as the three countries bidding to host the tournament.

The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) said the two bids had been closely linked and it was not possible to carry on.

"As it has always been closely connected to that of the Olympic Games of Rome 2024, the candidacy for the 10th edition of the Rugby World Cup has no more conditions to continue," FIR president Alfredo Gavazzi said.

Italy: Public masturbation not a crime

The decision came down from the Italian Supreme Court -- La Corte di Cassazione -- in the case of a 69-year-old man, identified only as "PL," who was caught masturbating in Catania, a city on Sicily's east coast.

The man was convicted in May 2015 after he performed the act in front of students on the University of Catania campus, according to documents filed with Supreme Court. The man was sentenced to three months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of €3,200 (around $3,600).

Italy Apulia train crash probe focuses on alert system

They are looking into one of the black boxes recovered at the scene of the collision, on a remote single-track line north of the city of Bari.

The system relied on telephone calls and "human error" remains the main line of inquiry, reports say.

Dozens of rescue workers are still searching the wreckage.

The inquiry is focusing on the lack of automatic signalling system on a small part of the Italian railway network.