O'Shea names 44 in Italy's World Cup training squad
Conor O’Shea has chosen a squad of 44 to train for Italy’s World Cup campaign, with only 10 having previous experience at a finals.
Captain Sergio Parisse is in the running for his fifth World Cup tournament while two other veterans, Leonardo Ghiraldini and Alessandro Zanni, are chasing their fourth participation
O’Shea’s preliminary squad, which will initially gather at Pergine Valsugana on June 2, consists largely of the players who represented the Azzurri in the frequent Six Nations, a competition where Italy again finished bottom of the table following five defeats.
There are returns for Marco Fuser, Rernato Giammarioli, Marco Lazzaroni and Giosue Zilocchi, who were fringe players in 2019, while Mattia Bellini, Giovanni Licata, Matteo Minozzi, Marcello Violi and Zani return to the mix following injury.
Fresh from their historic qualification for the Guinness PRO14 play-offs, Benetton account for 50 per cent of the training squad as Kieran Crowley’s squad, who play Munster this Saturday, were rewarded with 22 call-ups.
We sent Jim Hamilton to chat with Treviso coach Marius Goosen in what has been an amazing season for the Italian team in this season's PRO14 Rugby
Posted by RugbyPass on Monday, 29 April 2019
There are also three uncapped players included, Gloucester scrum-half Callum Braley, hooker Enjiel Makelara and prop Marco Riccioni.
O’Shea said: “The announcement of this team for summer gatherings leads to realising how close we are to the incredible sporting experience that awaits us in September in Japan. It’s a great opportunity to take a new step in our journey that aims to bring Italy back at the top of international rugby.
? #RoadtoRWC2019: i 44 Azzurri per preparare i Mondiali
Tutti i dettagli qui ? https://t.co/FU23s28gGo#Italrugby #insieme pic.twitter.com/JzlKnPnduA— Italrugby (@Federugby) May 2, 2019
“This group is a mix of young people and veterans, a truly electrifying whole. We have already had to make some difficult choices and even harder ones will have to be made during the summer.
“Playing a World Cup is every player’s dream. Between June and July we will hold four meetings in Pergine Valsugana, the first starting from June 2, working together and working alongside the two franchises before starting our summer Test matches on August 10 in Dublin against Ireland.”
'I haven’t been at Benetton for a long time but just you could see the emotion in a lot of the players’ faces'
– @MontyIoane tells @heagneyl what reaching the @PRO14Official quarter-finals really means to @BenettonRugby ahead of their trip to… https://t.co/dI9dyjJ1F0
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 1, 2019
PROPS
Simone FERRARI (Benetton Rugby, 22 caps)
Andrea LOVOTTI (Zebre Rugby Club, 34 caps)
Tiziano PASQUALI (Benetton Rugby, 18 caps)
Nicola QUAGLIO (Benetton Rugby, 9 caps)
Marco RICCIONI (Benetton Rugby, uncapped)
Cherif TRAORE’ (Benetton Rugby, 10 caps)
Federico ZANI (Benetton Rugby 7 caps)
Giosuè ZILOCCHI (Zebre Rugby Club, 2 caps)
HOOKERS
Luca BIGI (Benetton Rugby, 19 caps)
Oliviero FABIANI (Zebre Rugby Club, 7 caps)
Leonardo GHIRALDINI (Stade Toulousian 104 caps)
Engjel MAKELARA (Benetton Rugby, uncapped)
SECOND ROW
Dean BUDD (Benetton Rugby, 20 caps)
Marco FUSER (Benetton Rugby, 33 caps)
Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps)
David SISI (Zebre Rugby Club, 5 caps)
Alessandro ZANNI (Benetton Rugby, 111 caps)
BACK ROW
Renato GIAMMARIOLI (Zebre Rugby Club, 3 caps)
Marco LAZZARONI (Benetton Rugby, 3 caps)
Giovanni LICATA (Zebre Rugby Club, 7 caps)
Maxime MBANDA’ (Zebre Rugby Club, 16 caps)
Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps)
Sergio PARISSE (Stade Francais, 138 caps) – captain
Jake POLLEDRI (Gloucester, 8 caps)
Abraham STEYN (Benetton Rugby, 30 caps)
Jimmy TUIVAITI (Zebre Rugby Club, 3 caps)
SCRUM-HALF
Callum BRALEY (Gloucester, uncapped)
Guglielmo PALAZZANI (Zebre Rugby Club, 31 caps)
Tito TEBALDI (Benetton Rugby, 32 caps)
Marcello VIOLI (Zebre Rugby Club, 15 caps)
OUT-HALF
Tommaso ALLAN (Benetton Rugby, 48 caps)
Carlo CANNA (Zebre Rugby Club, 32 caps)
Ian MCKINLEY (Benetton Rugby, 8 caps)
CENTRE
Tommaso BENVENUTI (Benetton Rugby, 56 caps)
Michele CAMPAGNARO (Wasps, 42 caps)
Tommaso CASTELLO (Zebre Rugby Club, 18 caps)
Luca MORISI (Benetton Rugby, 25 caps)
Marco ZANON (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)
BACK THREE
Mattia BELLINI (Zebre Rugby Club, 17 caps)
Giulio BISEGNI (Zebre Rugby Club, 11 caps)
Angelo ESPOSITO (Benetton Rugby, 20 caps)
Jayden HAYWARD (Benetton Rugby, 17 caps)
Matteo MINOZZI (Zebre Rugby Club, 10 caps)
Edoardo PADOVANI (Zebre Rugby Club, 20 caps)
WATCH: The RugbyPass documentary on Zebre, the PRO14 franchise
Comments on RugbyPass
$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
2 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
1 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
10 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
18 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
2 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
2 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
10 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
10 Go to commentsWho’d have thought, not having Farrell & Youngs kicking the ball at every possible opportunity and playing flat and allowing your centres to run and pass would pay off? No one could possibly have seen this coming. FML. It took a LONG time coming but at least that time has finally come. England need to find a backup to Lawrence. Freeman is the best candidate for me, I see no reason why he can't play 12. He's big, strong, fast and has great hands.
10 Go to commentsLove Manu but he's not the player he was and I imagine Bayonne have paid too much money for him.
3 Go to commentsNew Zealand have not beaten England since 2018 and even that was a pretty close shave.
1 Go to comments“a renewed focus on Scottish-qualified players” Scottish-qualified is another way of saying English. England has development more players for the Scotland national Rugby team in the last 4 years, than Scotland has.
2 Go to commentsThis sounds a lot like the old Welsh rugby proverb “Wales never lose. Other teams just score more points.”
5 Go to commentsFinally,at last, Borthwick has done what the whole of England have been crying out for. Ditch the kick chase and let the players have freedom to attack and run with the ball. It was great to see. Ford played really well and for the first time in ages was 5 yards closer to the gainline which then allowed a more attacking position . Pity it has taken 90 odd caps to do so. However, this has to continue and not be a false dawn . One issue. Marcus. With Ford having one really good game in 5 ,is he the answer long term . Smith puts bums on seats and is terrific to watch . How can you leave him out before he departs for France in disillusion . England are in danger of Simmons , Alex Goode , Cipriani , Mercer and now Smith being unable to get a selection ahead of “favourites” of the management regardless of form . Great to see England play so well .
2 Go to commentsCockerill was an abrasive player in the mould of a Georgian front rower who will have the respect of that pack. Looking forward to seeing what he can do with this exciting team, hopefully they can send a message to unions like Wales that money alone doesn't buy you wins.
2 Go to commentsI like the look of those July matches. Hopefully they'll get some good tests in November too.
2 Go to commentsThis is a poor article, essentially just trolling six nations teams
22 Go to comments