Italy team v France: Gonzalo Quesada limits changes as Azzurri target another historic performance against wounded Les Bleus
Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada.
Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has named his matchday squad for their Six Nations encounter against France at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Sunday, with Danilo Fischetti and Niccolo Cannone set to bring up milestones.
After claiming a memorable 22-15 victory over Wales in their previous fixture a fortnight ago, Quesada has retained most of the players who were on duty for that match with only two changes made to the run-on side.
They will fancy their chances against France after the corresponding match in last year’s championship ended in a 13-13 draw in Lille and Les Bleus also suffered a 26-25 defeat against England in their previous game in this year’s competition.
50 up for Fischetti and Cannone
The match will be a momentous occasion for loosehead prop Fischetti and lock Cannone as both players will make their 50th appearances for the Azzurri.
In the backline, there is just one alteration with rookie speedster Simone Gesi coming into the starting line-up on the left wing where he takes over from the experienced Monty Ioane.
Meanwhile, there is one change to the forwards as well with Gianmarco Lucchesi promoted to the run-on side at hooker where he replaces Giacomo Nicotera, who drops down to the bench.
Joining Gesi out wide is the experienced duo of Tommaso Allan (full-back) and Ange Capuozzo (right wing) to form a potent back three.
Meanwhile, Juan Ignacio Brex and 2024 Men’s Six Nations Player of the Championship Tommaso Menoncello continue as the starting centre combination with Paolo Garbisi and Martin Page-Relo once again the half-back duo.
In the forwards, Michele Lamaro will captain the side again from the openside flank position and he is joined in the back-row by Lorenzo Cannone and Sebastian Negri, who starts at number eight and on the blindside flank respectively.
In the front-row, Lucchesi will pack down alongside Fischetti and tighthead prop Simone Ferrari while Cannone is joined in the second-row by Federico Ruzza.
Quesada has opted for a six/two split on his bench with Nicotera joined by Mirco Spagnolo, Joshua Zilocchi, Riccardo Favretto, Manuel Zuliani and Ross Vintcent as the backline replacements, while Alessandro Garbisi and Jacopo Trulla will provide backline cover.
This weekend’s encounter is a momentous occasion between these two teams as they will face each other for the 50th time with the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy up for grabs.
Italy team to face France
Italy: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Joshua Zilocchi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Ross Vintcent, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Jacopo Trulla
Date: Sunday, February 23
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans (WRU), Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
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