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Italy name team for France


Italy players sing the national anthem prior to the Guinness Six Nations match against England at Twickenham last March (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
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Conor O’Shea has made five changes to his Italy side as they bid to avoid yet another Six Nations wooden spoon.

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The Azzurri are on a 20-match losing streak in the tournament and have opted to change a third of the team beaten in last Saturday’s round four game by England.

O’Shea’s only tweak in the back line to face struggling France is in midfield where he has handed Benetton centre Marco Zanon his debut alonside club-mate Luca Morisi.

However, he has rung the changes up front, altering half of those who started at Twickenham.

Jake Polledri returns to the starting line-up in the back row, David Sisi is back in the second row for the injured Dean Budd, while Tiziano Pasquali and Leonardo Ghiraldini also return to the front row.

(Continue reading below…)

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“We will play against a very strong team, as always happens in the Six Nations,” said O’Shea.

“Our focus will be on ourselves trying to play our best rugby. We want to close the tournament with a great performance at the Stadio Olimpico.”

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ITALY TEAM (v France)
15 Jayden HAYWARD (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps)
14 Edoardo PADOVANI (Zebre Rugby Club, 19 caps)
13 Marco ZANON (Benetton Rugby, newcomer)
12 Luca MORISI (Benetton Rugby, 24 caps)
11 Angelo ESPOSITO (Benetton Rugby, 19 caps)
10 Tommaso ALLAN (Benetton Rugby, 47 caps)
9 Tito TEBALDI (Benetton Rugby, 31 caps)
8 Sergio PARISSE (Stade Francais, 137 caps) – captain
7 Jake POLLEDRI (Gloucester Rugby, 7 caps)
6 Abraham Jurgens STEYN (Benetton Rugby, 29 caps)
5 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 11 caps)
4 David SISI (Zebre Rugby Club, 4 caps)
3 Tiziano PASQUALI (Benetton Rugby, 17 caps)
2 Leonardo GHIRALDINI (Stade Toulousian, 103 caps)
1 Andrea LOVOTTI (Zebre Rugby Club, 33 caps)
 
Replacements:
16 Luca BIGI (Benetton Rugby, 18 caps)
17 Cherif TRAORE (Benetton Rugby, 9 caps)
18 Simone FERRARI (Benetton Rugby, 21 caps)
19 Alessandro ZANNI (Benetton Rugby, 110 caps)
20 Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 15 caps)
21 Guglielmo PALAZZANI (Zebre Rugby Club, 31 caps)
22 Ian MCKINLEY (Benetton Rugby, 8 caps)
23 Luca SPERANDIO (Benetton Rugby, 6 caps)

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NoLongerARuck 1 hour ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

The Six Nations produced so many compelling games and so much of action packed moments that you can only conclude that its the best international comp out there at the moment except for a world cup. If Wales improve it will be even better especially given the strides Italy have made in recent times. The Rugby Championship is now taking a hiatus in a year it really should be building toward something better which is terrible considering the competition was so tight last year. The Nations Champs promises much but one gets the feeling that the 6 Nations teams will not be at their peak given its at the end of their long season. In terms of rugby quality and entertainment Id rather watch the 6 Nations over everything else other than a world cup right now. The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field. In terms of entertainment the North wins. In terms of winning? They are making strides but until they win another world cup or get a team to rank number 1 again for an extended time again they cant really say they are better than the South.

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