Italy change five for Six Nations clash with Wales

Italy have named their team that will take on Wales in their Six Nations clash at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

Head coach Franco Smith has made five changes to the line-up that started against Ireland in a 48-10 loss a fortnight ago in Rome.

The tweaks to the backline see Stephen Varney recover from injury to reclaim his jersey at nine while Mattia Bellini is on the wing.

Up front there’s a new prop pairing as Danilo Fischetti and Giosuè Zilocchi replace Andrea Lovotti and Marco Riccioni respectively.

There’s also a change at second-row where Niccolo Cannone gets the nod over Marco Lazzaroni as Italy look to spring a shock result.

The Azzurri are currently rooted to the bottom of the Six Nations table after suffering three straight defeats in their opening matches.

Make sure to sign up to Planet Rugby’s newsletter by clicking here

Italy: 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Carlo Canna, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Michele Lamaro, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 David Sisi, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Giosuè Zilocchi, 2 Luca Bigi (c), 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Marco Lazzaroni, 20 Maxime Mbanda, 21 Marcello Violi, 22 Federico Mori, 23 Edoardo Padovani

Date: Saturday, March 13
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Pascal Gauzere (France), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)