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Italy bolstered by return of 2 starters after injuries against England
By Josh Raisey
Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has named his 34-player squad that will prepare to take on Scotland and Wales in the final two rounds of the Guinness Six Nations, with back rows Sebastian Negri and Lorenzo Cannone returning after picking up injuries in round one against England.
Flanker Negri, who is now the most capped player in the Italy squad after Tommaso Allan pulled out, missed the loss over Ireland and draw with France after suffering a rib injury against England in Rome. His back row companion in that match, No8 Cannone, also succumbed to a knee injury that ruled him out of rounds two and three of the Championship.
The pair are back in the fold this week though as the Azzurri seek to build upon their 13-13 draw with France on Sunday. A Scotland side that are fresh from a Calcutta Cup win over England are next for Italy at the Stadio Olimpico.
After naming his squad, Quesada said (translated by Google): “After a week in which all the players returned to their own clubs, we will meet the group again on Sunday afternoon starting the next meeting with great concentration towards the two matches that will close the Six Nations.
"We showed a great performance against France and the objective will be to continue to improve in the next matches by confirming what we showed on the pitch.
"We are focused on our team identity, our play in every sector and, above all, our growth path” said Gonzalo Quesada."
Italy Squad
Props
Pietro CECCARELLI (Perpignan, 32 caps)
Simone FERRARI (Benetton Rugby, 51 caps)
Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 39 caps)
Marco RICCIONI (Saracens, 26 caps)
Mirco SPAGNOLO (Benetton Rugby, 3 caps)
Giosuè ZILOCCHI (Benetton Rugby, 19 caps)
Hookers
Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Benetton Rugby, 20 caps)
Marco MANFREDI (Zebre Parma, 3 caps)
Giacomo NICOTERA (Benetton Rugby, 21 caps)
Second rows
Matteo CANALI (Zebre Parma, esordiente)
Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 39 caps)
Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 52 caps)
Andrea ZAMBONIN (Zebre Parma, 6 caps)
Back rows
Lorenzo CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 17 caps)
Riccardo FAVRETTO (Benetton Rugby, 2 caps)
Alessandro IZEKOR (Benetton Rugby, 2 caps)
Michele LAMARO (Benetton Rugby, 36 caps)
Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 53 caps)
Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 2 caps)
Manuel ZULIANI (Benetton Rugby, 20 caps)
Scrum-halves
Alessandro GARBISI (Benetton Rugby, 8 caps)
Martin PAGE-RELO (Lyon, 6 caps)
Stephen VARNEY (Gloucester, 27 caps)
Fly-halves
Paolo GARBISI (Toulon, 34 caps)
Leonardo MARIN (Benetton Rugby, 7 caps)
Centres
Juan Ignacio BREX (Benetton Rugby, 33 caps)
Tommaso MENONCELLO (Benetton Rugby, 15 caps)
Federico MORI (Bayonne, 16 caps)
Marco ZANON (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps)
Wingers/fullbacks
Ange CAPUOZZO (Toulouse, 18 caps)
Monty IOANE (Lyon, 28 caps)
Simone GESI (Zebre Parma, 1 cap)
Louis LYNAGH (Harlequins, uncapped)
Lorenzo PANI (Zebre Parma, 7 caps)
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Latest Comments
What Savea couldn't control was the use of the bench. There were a couple of home goals from Razor. Ratima has been poor this tour, while Roigard has been an unsurprising revelation. To pull Roigard so early, or at all, was a huge error. You have to wonder if Hotham should be #2 now behind Roigard after Ratima's poor showings.
Tuipulotu should have come on much earlier when the French were starting to gain some physical momentum, perhaps the front row should have been rotated sooner too, even though the starters were fantastic.
DMac needs to go to 10 when he come's off the bench. He's clearly offered a point of difference to the attack when he's come on at flyhalf in his last two cameos, which has helped close out games. Shift BB to fullback or give him a breather.
Barrett had a good game generally, but started to lose his head towards the end, which is a habit he's struggled to kick. Two kicks in an attempt to force miracle plays are evidence of this, one ended in a French try down the other end, the other very well could have ended the same way. The first being a woeful chip while hot on attack in the French 22, the next a woeful cross-kick to a heavily marked wing inside his own 22.
It's a habit that's been the bane of Barrett's game throughout his late career. Credit to him he's bought it into check somewhat, but when the pressure's on he looses his patience and can't help himself but try to force a miracle with the boot.
DMac has been excellent at closing out games at 10 in his last 3 outings, whether we're in front or behind. He offers a different picture to the opposition defence in the last 20 or 30 minutes, and it's something teams have struggled to deal with. And something that was very much missing yesterday.
Go to commentsVery poor execution in the last 10 minutes for ENG (RSA as well to be tbh outside of the defense)
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