Zebre Parma enter 2026-27. Massimo Brunello's first season produced five URC wins, a draw. His second ended 2-16, last in the table and on a 16-match league losing streak. That contradiction defines the new campaign.
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These are the five questions that will determine whether 2025-26 was a setback or evidence that Zebre's apparent breakthrough had stalled.
Was 2024-25 A Breakthrough Or A One-Season Spike?
Zebre's trajectory had been unmistakably upward. They went winless in the 2022-23 URC, won once and drew once in 2023-24, then surged to five wins, one draw, 29 table points and 15th place in 2024-25.
Zebre won their first two league matches against Edinburgh and the Lions and never won another. They finished with 15 points and a minus-275 differential.
Brunello nevertheless has important evidence that his project still works.
The question is whether Zebre can make those performances routine. Another bottom-place season would make 2024-25 increasingly look like the exception. Five league victories and movement back toward 29 points would suggest the progress was real but interrupted.
Can Tommaso Allan Turn Close Losses Into Wins?
Zebre's biggest signing addresses one of last season's most painful patterns.
Allan arrives from Perpignan after entering the summer Nations Championship with 89 Italy caps. He can play fly-half or fullback, but his most important contribution may be less glamorous: controlling matches that Zebre previously allowed to escape.
Four URC defeats in 2025-26 came by seven points or fewer. In April, Zebre lost a Challenge Cup quarterfinal to Dragons 35-32, then fell 31-30 at Edinburgh and 19-18 against Dragons in the league. Three matches disappeared by five combined points.
Allan brings goal kicking, territorial management, and the judgment to recognize when Zebre should stop chasing another attacking phase.
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Alongside established Italy scrum-half Alessandro Fusco, he gives Brunello a potentially transformative halfback combination. Their problem is not insufficient ambition.
Watch the final quarter of close games. If Zebre start converting those opportunities, Allan's influence could become the season's clearest change.
Can Zebre Finally Win Away From Parma?
No statistic better explains why Zebre finished last than 0-9.
They did not win a single away URC match last season. They scored 143 road points and conceded 338.
The contrast with Parma was substantial. Zebre conceded 27.7 points per league game at home, nearly 10 fewer than on the road. They beat Edinburgh and the Lions at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi and added home Challenge Cup victories over Montauban, Ospreys and Pau.
Away performances ranged from frustrating near-misses to collapses. Zebre lost by six at Benetton and one at Edinburgh, but Glasgow scored 47 against them, Leinster reached 50, and the Bulls and Sharks each scored 54.
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The 2026-27 schedule provides immediate tests. Zebre travel to Cardiff, Connacht and Dragons during their first five URC rounds.
One road win would break the drought. More important is whether Zebre can stop traveling with a defensive floor dramatically lower than the one they show in Parma.
Can Zebre Develop Italy Players Without Constantly Losing Their Progress?
Zebre's development pathway is producing exactly what Italian rugby wants. That success creates a difficult club problem.
Recent exports tell the story. Danilo Fischetti and Andrea Zambonin left before 2025-26 after becoming Italy internationals. This offseason, tighthead Ion Neculai joined Northampton after returning to Italy contention, while emerging wing Malik Faissal also moved to Northampton. Argentina scrum-half Gonzalo García departed for Pau.
Meanwhile, Zebre keep producing more candidates. David Odiase and Giulio Bertaccini are capped. Alessandro Ortombina made his Italy debut during the summer. Samuele Locatelli earned a first Six Nations call-up after making 129 tackles in 11 URC appearances last season.
Brunello has explicitly treated winning winnable matches and developing players for Italian rugby as parallel objectives. The tension is obvious: international recognition removes players during national windows, while successful development can make young talent attractive to richer clubs.
The 2026-27 roster again leans heavily into that pathway. Beyond Allan, the incoming class largely consists of players from Italian domestic or developmental environments.
Zebre need the next generation to improve faster than the roster loses established professionals.
Will The Pack And Depth Let Zebre's Backline Matter?
Zebre's backline is good enough to make their last-place finish misleading at first glance.
A plausible first-choice group includes Fusco and Allan at halfback, Marco Zanon and Bertaccini in midfield, and Pani, Gesi and Jacopo Trulla across the back three.
The question is what happens before the ball reaches them.
Zebre's front five enters the season with uncertainty. Neculai's departure removes an emerging Italy tighthead, while experienced Pumas prop Enrique Pieretto also left. Luca Rizzoli is returning from a major Achilles injury.
Zebre added specialist scrum coach Giampiero De Carli for 2026, joining a staff with David Sisi handling the lineout and Gilberto Pavan the breakdown. That coaching structure shows where details must improve.
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Back row is different. Giovanni Licata, Odiase, Locatelli, Ortombina and others give Brunello one of his deepest groups.
The larger issue is maintaining quality when injuries and Italy absences arrive. Fusco's understudies are inexperienced after García's departure, and center depth thinned after Luca Morisi and Enrico Lucchin retired.
If Zebre's pack can secure stable possession and the bench can protect the starters' work, Allan and the backs give this team genuine threat. If not, the familiar pattern returns: promising rugby for stretches, physical deterioration, defensive pressure and another close match slipping away.
That is ultimately the test of Zebre's season. Their ceiling is no longer mysterious. Their ability to reach it repeatedly is.
Zebre Parma 2026-27 Frequently Asked Questions
How Can Rugby Fans In The United States Watch Zebre Parma On FloRugby?
Rugby fans in the United States can watch Zebre Parma throughout the 2026-27 season on FloRugby, with matches also available to stream through the FloSports app.
Zebre Parma 2026-27 Schedule: Every URC And Challenge Cup Match
Zebre Parma 2026-27 URC Schedule
- Round 1: Zebre Parma vs. Bulls, Sept. 26, 2026
- Round 2: Cardiff Rugby vs. Zebre Parma, Oct. 2, 2026
- Round 3: Zebre Parma vs. Edinburgh Rugby, Oct. 10, 2026
- Round 4: Connacht Rugby vs. Zebre Parma, Oct. 23, 2026
- Round 5: Dragons RFC vs. Zebre Parma, Oct. 31, 2026
- Round 6: Zebre Parma vs. Munster Rugby, Dec. 5, 2026
- Round 7: Zebre Parma vs. Benetton Rugby, Dec. 19, 2026
- Round 8: Benetton Rugby vs. Zebre Parma, Dec. 27, 2026
- Round 9: Zebre Parma vs. Glasgow Warriors, Jan. 2, 2027
- Round 10: 10Bet Lions vs. Zebre Parma, Jan. 23, 2027
- Round 11: Stormers vs. Zebre Parma, Jan. 30, 2027
- Round 12: Zebre Parma vs. Scarlets, Feb. 27, 2027
- Round 13: Ulster Rugby vs. Zebre Parma, March 20, 2027
- Round 14: Glasgow Warriors vs. Zebre Parma, March 26, 2027
- Round 15: Zebre Parma vs. Hollywoodbets Sharks, April 17, 2027
- Round 16: Zebre Parma vs. Ospreys, April 23, 2027
- Round 17: Edinburgh Rugby vs. Zebre Parma, May 7, 2027
- Round 18: Zebre Parma vs. Leinster Rugby, May 15, 2027
Zebre Parma 2026-27 Challenge Cup Pool Schedule
- Challenge Cup Round 1: Zebre Parma vs. Ulster Rugby, Oct. 17, 2026
- Challenge Cup Round 2: Perpignan vs. Zebre Parma, Dec. 13, 2026
- Challenge Cup Round 3: Zebre Parma vs. Toyota Cheetahs, Jan. 10, 2027
- Challenge Cup Round 4: Bayonne vs. Zebre Parma, Jan. 16, 2027