Italy player ratings vs England | 2025 Six Nations

Italy player ratings: England versus Italy games have always been tough affairs for the Azzurrri, and this 47-24 thumping was no different.

We rate the Italians, who weren’t all bad in London.

1. Danilo Fischetti – 5
Scrummaged well enough but went missing on defence, letting through more traffic than a broken toll gate. Needs to up his tackle accuracy.

2. Giacomo Nicotera – 3.5
Lineout darts were about as accurate as a weather forecast, and getting stepped by Will Stuart was a low point. A tough day he’ll want to forget.

3. Marco Riccioni – 5
Showed hints of solidity at scrum time, but tackling left a lot to be desired. Missing Tom Willis won’t be on his highlight reel.

Fixture

Six Nations

England

47 - 24

Full-time

Italy

All Stats and Data

4. Niccolo Cannone – 6
Tackled like a dog, hurling himself into contact. Ran out of bark eventually, but the effort was there.

5. Federico Ruzza – 5.5
Streetwise operator who sniffed out opportunities. Unfortunately, his shove on Marcus Smith was pure brainrot and put his side under considerable pressure.

6. Sebastian Negri – 7
One of Italy’s standout forwards. One-handed lineout takes had the crowd purring. Gave everything in a losing effort.

7. Michele Lamaro – 5
Brave as always, but being run over by Tom Willis for England’s opener sums up a frustrating afternoon for the captain. A few decent carries aside, he’s still searching for the form of his previous two seasons.

8. Ross Vintcent – 8
Outrageous pace for a No.8, storming onto a Capuozzo break to score, leaving English defenders in the dust. Looks like a possible long-term fix for Italy in the position.

9. Stephen Varney – 5
Busy around the fringes, yet sloppy at key moments. Service was hot and cold, leaving the backline short-changed, but he hung in there.

10. Paolo Garbisi – 4
Started really brightly but it all unraveled with multiple missed tackles and spilled balls. His afternoon just seemed to implode the more the game wore on.

11. Matt Gallagher – 5
The former Saracens and Munster man went AWOL for Freeman’s try and saw little possession. Discipline didn’t help his cause.

12. Tommaso Menoncello – 7.5
A menace at the breakdown in true BOD style, winning a key turnover. Also smashed Tommy Freeman to save a certain try. Great work rate and deservedly claimed a 5-pointer before full-time.

13. Juan Ignacio Brex – 8
He was Italy’s most reliable attacking weapon, rarely putting a foot wrong other than a couple of missed tackles. Was quick to exploit any gaps and even with limited possession, he found ways to threaten.

14. Monty Ioane – 6
Set up Capuozzo’s try with a superb kick, always looking for a chance to counter. Sadly, didn’t see enough of the ball to truly threaten.

15. Ange Capuozzo – 8
Took his try brilliantly from Ioane’s assist and set up Ross Vintcent for his. The Toulousain was a constant headache for England’s defence with his electric footwork, but starved of space once England tightened up.

REPLACEMENTS

16. Gianmarco Lucchesi – 5
Didn’t drastically alter the lineout fortunes when he came on. Reasonable in the scrum, though.

17. Mirco Spagnolo – 5
Held steady at scrum time. Limited involvement otherwise.

18. Simone Ferrari – 5
Brought some fresh legs but couldn’t shift momentum. Another steady scrummaging display.

19. Riccardo Favretto – NA
Not on long enough to rate.

20. Manuel Zuliani – 7
Plenty of graft upon arrival and very nearly scored in the 71st minute.

21. Lorenzo Cannone – 5
Another who put in a shift defensively. No major errors, though hardly changed the game.

22. Martin Page-Relo – 6.5
Looked bright replacing Varney, injecting pace and crisp passing.

23. Tommaso Allan – NA
Not on long enough to rate.