Explore the Pitch
Each zone of the pitch leads to a different part of the site. Works with keyboard navigation (Tab and Enter) too, and with a screen reader, exactly like any other link on the page.
Every zone of the pitch is clickable — try it with your mouse, keyboard, or a screen reader.
What's behind each zone
The History zone leads to the full Aironi Rugby story: founded in 2010 from a merger of eight clubs across Lombardy and Emilia, the surprise Heineken Cup win over Biarritz Olympique in the debut season, and the financial reasons behind the club's closure in 2012.
The Players zone leads to Nick Williams's profile, the New Zealand number 8 most searched among former Aironi players, covering his full career from Auckland through two seasons in Viadana to his retirement at Cardiff Blues in 2020.
The Rugby zone is the English-language overview of Italian and European rugby today: the Six Nations, how Zebre and Benetton are organised in the URC, and Italy's participation in the European club cups.
Why a pitch-shaped map
Most content sites are navigated through a text menu at the top, and that's exactly what you'll find here too, in the header of every page. This map adds a second way to get around, built specifically around the site's subject: a real rugby pitch photographed from above, where each area of the playing field corresponds to an editorial section rather than a tactical zone.
The idea follows the same logic that runs through the rest of the site: covering Italian and European rugby while staying close to the sport's own visual language, from the name Touchline itself (the sideline of the pitch) down to small graphic details repeated across the site, like comparison tables designed to look like a real playing field rather than a plain spreadsheet.
Each zone also carries a short label, visible on hover or when navigating by keyboard, so you know what to expect before clicking through. It's the same principle behind any text link elsewhere on the site, just applied to an image instead of a line of text.
The photograph itself is a real aerial shot of a rugby pitch. The same image style runs through Touchline Rugby's comparison tables and other pitch-themed pages, so the pitch imagery looks the same wherever it appears on the site.
If you'd rather skip the map entirely, every zone links to a page that's also reachable from the main navigation menu at the top of the site — nothing here is exclusive to this page, it's simply a different, more visual way to reach the same three destinations, whichever one you happened to be looking for in the first place.
Frequently asked questions
How does the zone navigation work?
Each zone of the pitch is a real HTML link, positioned over the aerial photograph. Clicking or tapping one of the three zones — History, Players, or Rugby — opens the corresponding page, exactly like a text link anywhere else on the site.
Can I navigate without a mouse?
Yes, every zone is reachable with the Tab key and activates with Enter, and is announced correctly by screen readers, following the same accessibility standard as the rest of the site. A short label also appears when navigating by keyboard, before you even press Enter.
Does this page replace the main navigation menu?
No, it's an alternative, themed way to reach the same sections already available from the main menu at the top, for readers who prefer a more visual way to explore the site. The text menu stays available on every page too, for anyone who prefers that instead.
Why use a pitch-shaped map instead of a normal menu?
The map is a second way to get around, built specifically around the site's subject: a real rugby pitch photographed from above, where each area corresponds to an editorial section. The text menu at the top stays available on every page too.
Is the pitch photograph real or an illustration?
It's a real aerial photograph of a rugby pitch, not an illustration. The same photograph and photographic style also appear in the comparison tables on the homepage and the betting pages, so the pitch imagery looks consistent everywhere you see it on the site.