Captain Lamaro benched as Italy make wholesale changes for Ireland

Italy captain Michele Lamaro will start on the bench in round five the Guinness Six Nations against Ireland on Saturday at the Stadio Olimpico, as head coach Gonzalo Quesada has made sweeping changes to his starting XV, with seven players coming in.

Flanker Lamaro has joined No.8 Ross Vintcent, scorer of a sensational try at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium against England, among the substitutes, with Maneul Zuliani and Lorenzo Cannone taking their place in the back-row. Centre Juan Ignacio Brex will take over the captaincy.

After starting against England, Cannone’s brother Niccolo will start on the bench in Rome, with Dino Lamb returning to start after missing the loss to Steve Borthwick’s side.

The final changes in the pack see hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi and tighthead prop Simone Ferrari promoted from the bench last week to start, with Giacomo Nicotera taking the No.16 jersey and Giosue Zilocchi coming into the matchday squad.

Fixture

Six Nations

Italy

17 - 22

Full-time

Ireland

All Stats and Data

In the backs, Tommaso Allan has returned to the starting XV in place of the injured Matt Gallagher, with Ange Capuozzo shifting from full-back at Twickenham to the wing. Leonardo Marin has come in to take the place Allan held on the bench last week.

In the scrum-half department, Martin Page-Relo will start, swapping roles with Stephen Varney.

Italy have tended to fade away in the second half of matches so far this Championship, shipping far too many points against France and Italy. Quesada has clearly opted to bolster his bench with these changes to avoid that problem.

Italy XV
15 Tommaso Allan (Perpignan, 85 caps)
14 Ange Capuozzo (Toulouse, 27 caps)
13 Juan Ignacio Brex (Benetton Rugby, 45 caps) – captain
12 Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby, 27 caps)
11 Monty Ioane (Lyon, 38 caps)
10 Paolo Garbisi (Toulon, 46 caps)
9 Martin Page-Relo (Lyon, 17 caps)
8 Lorenzo Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 27 caps)
7 Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby, 31 caps)
6 Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby, 62 caps)
5 Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby, 63 caps)
4 Dino Lamb (Harlequins, 11 caps)
3 Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby, 63 caps)
2 Gianmarco Lucchesi (Toulon, 32 caps)
1 Danilo Fischetti (Zebre Parma, 51 caps)

Replacements
16 Giacomo Nicotera (Stade Francais, 32 caps)
17 Mirco Spagnolo (Benetton Rugby, 13 caps)
18 Giosuè Zilocchi (Benetton Rugby, 23 caps)
19 Niccolò Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 51 caps)
20 Michele Lamaro (Benetton Rugby, 47 caps)
21 Ross Vintcent (Exeter Chiefs, 13 caps)
22 Stephen Varney (Vannes, 31 caps)
23 Leonardo Marin (Benetton Rugby, 13 caps)