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Italy bolstered by return of 2 starters after injuries against England
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.
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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
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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)
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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)
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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)
Comments on RugbyPass
Tamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
1 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…
1 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?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 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 …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
33 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
33 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to comments