Silvia Turani was one of two Azzurri to be named in the 2025 Women’s Six Nations Team of the Championship, (alongside Aura Muzzo), with the loosehead prop inspiring her team to wins over Scotland and Wales to secure fourth in the table.
The front row plays her rugby for Harlequins in Premiership Women’s Rugby in England, and has thrived since moving to play in the most international domestic league in the world.
Turani’s life in rugby started when she was in her early 20s, after a positive experience – that she had almost forgotten – while on Erasmus in Spain. When she moved back to Parma in Italy, she searched for the closest rugby team to her, which was Colorno.
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“People kept saying that I was too old to start, that Colorno was packed with international players, that it was late for me to learn. It just made me want it more,” said the Italian powerhouse.
“The team’s standard was very high. Cristian Prestera was the head coach. It could be seen as demanding, but that’s what immediately attracted me to the sport and club. I was like on an island surrounded by a big ocean. I knew almost nothing, but I kept exploring and finding new things. I had a willingness to learn more, even if I stumbled.”
Since the beginning of her journey, she has amassed 42 international caps, and is known as a very consistent player. But not every cap was an enjoyable experience, as Turani reveals on her debut in 2017.
“(My debut) was horrible. I remember just getting smashed when I was trying to clean out the ruck. I felt frustrated and mad. I didn’t even want to tell my family that I had been called up for the national team, because I felt I didn’t belong there.”
Turani was added to the Italian setup just nine months after her first ever 15s game, with the national team staff putting the fresh face to the test.
“I had played my first official game for Colorno in March, and in November, I was called to join the national team’s camp. It was crazy when you think about it. As some props had retired after the World Cup, there was a need to resupply the national team, but… it was insane. I think Andrea Di Giandomenico saw something in me.”
Rugby wasn’t Turani’s first team sport, as she had previously played basketball, leaving the orange ball behind just before going to college. However, she believes basketball ended up helping her retain her place in the Colorno outfit.
“Because of my time as a basketball player, I had a special knack for catching the ball without making a knock-on. It was natural for me to grab it. The Colorno staff told me they wanted me to stay because I didn’t drop one ball the whole session.”
One of two siblings, Silvia Turani grew up in a very close-knit family. However, her parents did not react well to her choice of sport.
“My parents thought that I was going to give up after a few games, but time went by, and I didn’t. I couldn’t show how enthusiastic I was, as I was afraid of their reaction. However, my brother understood, and he went back to playing rugby because of me. Nonetheless, my family arranged a meal to speak with both of us.”
She goes on, revealing what happened at the entertaining but quite stressful family lunch.
“I had a feeling that the lunch wasn’t just a normal get-together. My father eventually stared us in the eyes and told my brother and me, ‘You both should stop playing rugby. If you get seriously injured, I will not be there for you.’.
He kept going on and explaining how rugby was taking our focus away from getting a good job or studying. We said no, and we kept going. I understand where my parents were coming from, but I wanted rugby more than anything else.”
Fortunately, her parents nowadays are 100% supportive of her career choices and have been behind her, albeit with the occasional worry that she might get injured.
In 2020, Turani faced a pivotal choice: achieve a performance that she could take pride in or retire from her international duties.
“It was the make-or-break moment of my international career. In the week before we played England (in the Six Nations), we had faced Ireland, and I didn’t perform well. I told myself that the next game was going to be decisive for me.
“If I failed to add anything to the team, I was going to retire, as rugby was dragging down my professional career. Fortunately for me, it was one of my best games. It was one of those first times that I really felt I deserved to play for Italy.”
Turani reveals how rugby has pulled her out of a dark corner more than once and how it pushed her to have more confidence and belief in herself. She went from strength to strength to finally feel overjoyed, shedding one or two happy tears.
“In the game against South Africa in the last year’s WXV 2 tournament, that was the first time I cried on the pitch, not out of sadness, but because of how proud I was of my team’s effort and resilience. We worked so hard to overcome them. It was the first game that I played with freedom. I was able to be Silvia.”
Between 2020 and 2024, Silvia’s life underwent a massive change: moving to England. After years playing as an amateur, she was invited to join the Exeter Chiefs, signing with the club in the summer of 2022. Although she was an undisputed starter in the Italian national team, it wasn’t the case when she first started playing for Exeter.
“The Chiefs made a proposal at the right time, as I was weighing whether I should stay in rugby or if I opted to start my career in management. It was a huge change for many reasons. For the first time in a very long time, I didn’t start in the first 15.
“I had to fight to earn my place in the team. I needed to be challenged to grow even more. I wasn’t mad for not starting, I relinquished that challenge.”
For Turani, moving to England opened her gaze and allowed her to witness the disparity between what was happening at home and in England.
“The Premiership Women’s Rugby makes you feel that women’s rugby is moving faster than it is. You are seriously well taken care of in England.
“The club will protect you and get the best possible help for you to grow, develop and recover. It is a great way to show other nations where we all need to go in the future.”
While she acknowledges the several improvements made in the last decade or so, Turani thinks there’s still a long road ahead and that the women’s game needs further support.
“(In Italy) on the positive side, we are more respected (now). People take us more seriously, especially people in the Italian rugby community. The perception is changing.
“It was only recently that I started to realise that people know me in Italy. For example, the other day I went to a dinner hosted by the Italian embassy in London, and someone turned to me, saying they were big fans.
“Or the time I went to the mall in Bergamo, and someone said ‘Ciao! My son is a big fan of yours! Can he take a picture of you?’ I was over the moon. It was the first time it had happened outside of the pitch.
“I enjoy it because it shows that women’s rugby is breaking through and people are watching us. But I still fear that the fans don’t realise how much we are still struggling from a career point of view and the sacrifices we make.”
With the Rugby World Cup just around the corner, Turani departs by defining her team in one word.
“Unpredictable. You never know what this group of players will do. We can have the best training session ever, and then we play our worst game. Then we have a drama-packed session, where everything goes wrong and we play our best game.
“But that’s our identity, and that’s what makes us special.”
