Sergio Parisse, one of the greatest eights of all time and one of the most gifted all-round players the game has seen, has been appointed Italy’s assistant coach for forwards on a four-year contract.
Gonzalo Quesada has made seven changes to Italy's starting line-up for Saturday's first Test against the Springboks in Pretoria with Niccolò Cannone named as captain.
Gonzalo Quesada has made several changes to Italy's starting line-up for Saturday's Test against Ireland with Juan Ignacio Brex taking over the captaincy from Michele Lamaro.
Experienced forwards Danilo Fischetti and Niccolo Cannone will make their 50th appearances for Italy in Sunday's Six Nations clash against France in Rome.
After losing their Six Nations openers last weekend, Italy and Wales will be keen to get their respective campaigns on track when they face off in Rome on Saturday.
The Six Nations permutations for the final round of the Six Nations as history awaits Italy, Wales are Wooden Spoon favourites and four teams in the title race.
As the Six Nations enters the final weekend of the Championship, we review the job security of each of the head coaches with Fabien Galthie under the cosh.