Welsh-born Stephen Varney given first Italy start
November 14, 2020, Florence, Italy: florence, Italy, Artemio Franchi stadium, 14 Nov 2020, Stephen Varney (Italy) during Cattolica Test Match 2020 - Italy vs Scotland - Autumn Nations Cup rugby match - Credit: LM/Ettore Griffoni (Credit Image: © Ettore Griffoni/LPS via ZUMA Wire)
Scrum-half Stephen Varney will play against the country of his birth after being named in the Italy XV to take on Wales at Parc y Scarlets.
Varney was born and raised in Pembrokeshire but committed to the Azzurri and starts alongside Paolo Garbisi at half-back – forming the partnership which helped the U20 side defeat Wales’ youngsters earlier this year.
Man of the match
The Gloucester man was named man of the match in that encounter and he now marshals the senior backline, which contains two more changes from the side that succumbed to France last weekend.
Monty Ioane is handed his debut, meaning that Luca Sperandio shifts to the right wing and Jacopo Trulla lines up at full-back. As a result, Matteo Minozzi misses out.
Italy remain unchanged in the pack, however, with Braam Steyn, Johan Meyer and Maxime Mbanda once again combining in the back-row.
Niccolo Cannone and Marco Lazzaroni are at lock and the front-row, which has been solid in 2020, sees Giosue Zilocchi, Luca Bigi and Danilo Fischetti start.
“We want to end the tournament in the best possible way. We have a new opportunity to be able to take the field and try to show our worth. Wales are an experienced team and need no introduction. The focus must be on our performance,” head coach Franco Smith said.
Italy: 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Luca Sperandio, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Carlo Canna, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 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 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Federico Mori
Date: Saturday, December 5
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Alex Ruiz (France)
TMO: Pascal Gauzere (France)