Sara Barattin holds the record for most appearances in the Women’s Six Nations with 78, but when she debuted for Italy in 2005 the Azzurre weren’t even involved in the championship.
In September 2021, she became the first Italian woman to play 100 Test matches, honoured in a ceremony at the Stadio Olimpico a year later, dedicated to all the Italian rugby players – male and female – who gained at least a century of caps.
In April 2023, Barattin captained Italy in her 116th and final international against Wales in Parma. In the 17 years her Test career spanned, the Azzurre achieved 51 of their then 67 all-time victories.
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“Rugby has changed a lot throughout my career,” the scrum-half told RugbyPass. “The game has become faster and much more physical. The athletes train better, the rules have evolved, which presents new challenges and the visibility of women’s rugby has improved.
“When we started winning games the newspapers started following it and that added pressure to be prepared and perform strongly.”
Italy played their first women’s international against France in 1985, sharing a 0-0 draw. Opportunities for Tests thereafter were limited with the Azzurre only playing 48 times between 1986 and 2004.
Barattin was born and raised in Casale sul Sile, Treviso, close to Venice, in northeast Italy. She was initially a gymnast and track and field competitor before a desire to do something different saw her take up rugby.
Treviso is an Italian rugby stronghold. The ‘Red Panthers’ won every national club title between 1984 and 2003. Barattin joined the club and helped to add another four titles to that tally up to 2010. She made her Test debut as a 19-year-old in 2005.
“My first Test match was the semi-final of the European Women’s Championship against Germany. What I remember is that the strength and conditioning coach told me to ‘cheer up, get on the pitch and score a try’ which I did,” Barattin laughed
Italy won the game 52-0 and kicked on to the title with a 22-3 victory over the Netherlands in the final.
Spain was the sixth country in the Six Nations between 2000 and 2006. They fashioned a respectable record finishing third on three occasions and winning 10 of the 33 games, defeating Ireland, France, Scotland and Wales at least once.
However, in 2007 they were replaced by Italy because the Six Nations Committee wished to align the women’s tournament with the men’s.
Italy struggled in their initial appearance, failing to win a game, though they did run Ireland close. In 2008 a breakthrough victory was secured against Scotland (31-10).
Barattin was crucial in driving Italian improvement. Her 50th cap was secured in a 65-22 World Cup qualifying win against Samoa in 2013. However, she highlighted maiden victories against Wales (19-15) in 2010, France (20-18) in 2011 and Ireland (29-27) in 2019 as pinnacle achievements in her career.
In fact, Italy defeated six-time Six Nations champions France three times in five years between 2011 and 2015. In 2013 Veronica Schiavon kicked an 83rd-minute penalty in a 13-12 victory in Rovato. Two years later, Maria Magatti broke a 12-12 deadlock with an 80th minute try in Rovigo.
The 2019 victory against Ireland was a genuine thriller with powerful loose forward Giada Franco scoring twice. Irish newspaper The42 reported: “The Azzurri (sic) attacked with dynamic energy backed up by silky handling skills and their movement caused problems for Ireland’s defence.”
Italy was second in the 2019 Six Nations following the victory against Ireland as well as defeats of Scotland (28-7), France (31-12) and a 3-3 draw against Wales.
Barattin appeared in the Rugby World Cup twice. In 2017, she captained Italy in all five matches when they finished ninth in Ireland. The Azzurre lost all three pool matches but recovered strongly to topple Japan (22-0) and Spain (20-15) in their placing play-offs.
Italy almost missed out on qualifying for the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand altogether. In her 100th appearance, Italy were downed 15-7 by Ireland at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma in a European qualifying fixture.
That left Ireland only requiring a win against last-placed Scotland, in a four-country tournament, to secure a place at the World Cup. Stunningly Ireland were upset 20-18 by Scotland and Italy overpowered Spain 34-10 to make it.
“The qualifying tournament was a real satisfaction. We obviously take a lot of credit, but we have to pay tribute to Scotland too who helped us in the final game,” Barattin said.
“My heart was going 100 miles an hour during the Ireland vs Scotland game, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”
On September 9, 2022, Italy caused a boilover in a World Cup warm-up match when they beat France 26-19 at Stadio del Rugby, Biella. France, who beat the Black Ferns twice in 2021, had won the weekend previous 21-0.
“We studied our opponents and improved our game in comparison to the previous week. We were more precise and aggressive. Our goal at the World Cup is to at least make the quarter-finals,” Barattin said at the time.
Italy achieved that goal in October by winning their pool matches in the World Cup against the USA (22-10) and Japan (21-8). Barattin started in the Japan game and was a study of composure against a committed opposition who produced their best performance in three losses at the tournament.
But Barattin was unable to prevent Italy being eliminated by France in their quarter-final in Whangarei, coming off the bench with 15 minutes of a 39-3 defeat remaining.
A fitness trainer, coach, and farmer, Barattin identified England duo Danielle Waterman and Katy Daley-Mclean as her toughest opponents.
In 2022 president of the Italian Rugby Federation Marzio Innocenti paid tribute to Barattin.
“Sara is an extraordinary athlete and an example for every rugby player in Italy,” he said. “The clarity in reading the game, her technical skills, determination and leadership are just some of the traits that make her one of the living legends of Italian rugby.
“She was Italy’s guiding light in the toughest moments and played a key role in leading the team to the highest positions in the world rankings.”
In April 2024, prop Lucia Gai emulated Barattin and became the second Italian woman to play 100 Tests in a 20-22 defeat to Wales in Cardiff.
