Italy change three for France test
Italy's Maxime Mbanda during the International Friendly at St James' Park, Newcastle.
Franco Smith, head coach of the Italian team, has named his side that will face France on Saturday, making three changes to the XV.
In the initial XV, Matteo Minozzi starts at full-back alongside wingers Jacopo Trulla and the returning Luca Sperandio on the opposite side.
The centre partnership is formed by Carlo Canna, the player with the most caps on the field with 45, and Marco Zanon.
Back-row alterations
Meanwhile, there are two alterations in the back-row where Johan Meyer and Maxime Mbanda line up at flanker. Braam Steyn duly shifts across to number eight in the absence of Jake Polledri, who suffered a serious injury against Scotland.
The front five is once again unchanged with Niccolo Cannone and Marco Lazzaroni at lock, while captain and hooker Luca Bigi is flanked by Giosue Zilocchi and Danilo Fischetti in the front-row.
Smith said: “We had extra days to better prepare for this meeting. The cancellation last week further increased our desire to take the field on Saturday against France. It will be an intense match where we will have the opportunity to see other young players in action as we continue our path of increasing the depth and building our DNA.”
Italy: 15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Carlo Canna, 11 Luca Sperandio, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Braam Steyn, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Maxime Mbanda, 5 Niccolò Cannone, 4 Marco Lazzaroni, 3 Giosuè Zilocchi, 2 Luca Bigi (c), 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Simone Ferrari, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Cristian Stoian, 20 Michele Lamaro, 21 Stephen Varney, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Federico Mori
Date: Saturday, November 28
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 21:10 local (20:10 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Television match official: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)