Gonzalo Quesada backs brothers as Italy look to end Six Nations drought against England

Adam Kyriacou
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Italy scrum-half Alessandro Garbisi.

Italy scrum-half Alessandro Garbisi.

Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has named the first team of his tenure as the Azzurri look to spring a shock in round one of the Six Nations against England.

Picking a largely experienced line-up, the Argentine includes the likes of captain Michele Lamaro, Sebastian Negri, Paolo Garbisi and Ange Capuozzo in his XV.

The Italians will be looking to pick up their first Six Nations victory since the final weekend of the 2022 championship when they stunned Wales 22-21 in Cardiff.

Garbisi pairing

Quesada’s half-back pairing sees Alessandro Garbisi join his brother Paolo in the playmaking positions with Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex at centre.

Alongside the dangerous wing, Capuozzo, out wide will be the powerful Monty Ioane and versatile Tommaso Allan, who dons the number 15 shirt for the clash in Rome.

Up front, there’s a familiar trio of Danilo Fischetti and Pietro Ceccarelli either side of hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi where the hosts will look to gain a crucial advantage.

Niccolò Cannone and Federico Ruzza form the lock pairing while the back-row sees Negri and Lamaro on the flanks while Lorenzo Cannone, Niccolò’s brother, is at eight.

There is a potential new Italy cap on the bench as prop Mirco Spagnolo is included in the squad alongside fellow front-row forwards Giacomo Nicotera and Giosuè Zilocchi.

A six-two split sees Andrea Zambonin, Edoardo Iachizzi, and Manuel Zuliani complete the forward replacements, with Stephen Varney and Lorenzo Pani as the backline duo.

Italy have yet to beat England in the international arena, with the Red Rose the only Six Nations team the Azzurri have been unable to claim a Test victory against thus far.

Following this game at the Stadio Olimpico, Quesada’s troops will head to Dublin to face Ireland on February 11 before the first week’s break in the 2024 championship.

Italy line-up

Italy: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Edoardo Iachizzi, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Lorenzo Pani

Date: Saturday, February 3
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)

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