19-year-old Welshman to make his first Italy start this weekend... against Wales
Wales-born Stephen Varney will make a first Test start for Italy in Saturday’s Autumn Nations Cup clash against the country of his birth. The Gloucester scrum-half was brought up in Pembrokeshire, but he qualifies for Italy through family connections on his mother’s side.
Varney, 19, made appearances off the bench in Italy’s Nations Cup games against Scotland and France last month. But the Scarlets academy product, whose father Adrian played as a flanker for Neath and Aberavon, will now line up from the start against Wales in Llanelli when both countries conclude their autumn fixtures.
Varney said: “We found out yesterday at the start of training and after training, I rang them to tell them and they are super proud. They were very emotional. They’re very proud parents and my grandparents are also very proud. It will be emotional for them. All my family in Italy are also very proud, they’re posting a lot of stuff.”
The teenager admitted there is likely to be a certain emotional conflict when he hears the Welsh national anthem but no qualms about giving his all for Italy. “There probably will be but I think that’s natural,” he said. “But I made the decision myself and I have no regrets. It will be emotional but at the end of the day I chose to play for Italy so that’s where my loyalties lie now.”
Elsewhere, Italy head coach Franco Smith has handed a Test debut to wing Monty Ioane, the nephew of former Wallabies winger Digby Ioane, while Jacopo Trulla moves to full-back in a Nations Cup finale where Wales and Italy are playing for fifth place.
La formazione in campo sabato per affrontare il Galles nell'ultimo appuntamento dell'@autumnnations 2020 ? https://t.co/HrhpDEEQtA
? Diretta Canale 20 Mediaset e app / sito @Sport_Mediaset alle 17.45 (ITA)#insieme #rugbypassioneitaliana pic.twitter.com/rs4RM7jAnp
— Italrugby (@Federugby) December 3, 2020
“We want to end the tournament in the best possible way,” Smith told the Italian Rugby Federation’s website. “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, and the focus must be on our performance.”
ITALY (vs Wales, Saturday)
15 Jacopo TRULLA (Calvisano, 2 caps)
14 Luca SPERANDIO (Benetton, 7 caps)
13 Marco ZANON (Benetton, 3 caps)
12 Carlo CANNA (Zebre, 46 caps)
11 Montanna IOANE (Benetton, uncapped)
10 Paolo GARBISI (Benetton, 4 caps)
9 Stephen VARNEY (Gloucester, 2 caps)
8 Braam STEYN (Benetton, 43 caps)
7 Johan MEYER (Zebre, 8 caps)
6 Maxime MBANDA (Zebre, 24 caps)
5 Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton, 7 caps)
4 Marco LAZZARONI (Benetton, 10 caps)
3 Giosuè ZILOCCHI (Zebre, 9 caps)
2 Luca BIGI (Zebre, 31 caps) – captain
1 Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre, 7 caps)
Replacements
16 Leonardo GHIRALDINI (unattached, 106 caps)
17 Simone FERRARI (Benetton, 33 caps)
18 Pietro CECCARELLI (Brive, 13 caps)
19 Cristian STOIAN (Fiamme Oro Rugby, 1 cap)
20 Michele LAMARO (Benetton, 1 cap)
21 Guglielmo PALAZZANI (Zebre, 40 caps)
22 Tommaso ALLAN (Benetton, 59 caps)
23 Federico MORI (Calvisano, 4 caps)
Episode 9 – Game Changers
We discuss the tense Wales vs England match from the weekend. Jamie reveals just how ruthless Shaun Edwards is! We speak to Mike Umaga on his son Jacob Umaga, and @OceansApartFilm !
iTunes – https://t.co/gfWdk5Vi8h
Spotify – https://t.co/JgbHP6KDdl pic.twitter.com/LF3nsAzp3c— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 2, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Big empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
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2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
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5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
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5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
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11 Go to comments