This is the best Italy Six Nations XV of all time, as voted for by the fans

Italian rugby fans have voted for the ‘ideal’ Italy XV of the Six Nations, with just three current players making the cut. Over five thousand people participated in the vote for the XV, with fans picking from a squad of fifty-five candidates from the one hundred and ninety players who, from February 5, 2000 to today, who have represented Italy in rugby’s oldest and most prestigious international tournament.

Head coach went to Pierre Berbizier, the French guru who led Italy between the summer of 2005 and autumn of 2007, guiding them to fourth place in the Six Nations 2007 thanks to an away victory over Scotland and a home win over Wales. It was a close call, with Berbizier earning 26.2% of the votes, beating off John Kirwan (22%) and Nick Mallett (20%).

Andrea Masi, MVP of the 6 Nations 2011, grabbed the 15 jersey with 67.7% of the votes. He’s joined by modern-day boy wonder, Matteo Minozzi (40%) and the hulking Giovanbattista Venditti (23.1%) on the wings.

Go behind the scenes for a pre-season week with Zebre

Go behind the scenes for a pre-season week with Zebre

Nearly 50% of the preferences for outside centre went to Michele Campagnaro (48.9%), while inside centre went to Mirco Bergamasco ( 23.1%). Sharpshooter Diego Dominguez sailed to the No.10 jersey with 69.7% votes, while inside him at 9 is another Italian in legend Alessandro Troncon (61.6% ), the first Italian to break the 100 caps milestone.

It will surprise no one that Sergio Parisse is named at No.8 with 87.2% of the vote. It makes you wonder what the other 12.8% were thinking. At seven is the nearly equally legendary Mauro Bergamasco, who served Italy from 2000 to 2015. He bagged 49.4% of the votes, while Simone Favaro had to fight considerably harder for his place at blindside with 27.2%.

Captain of the unforgettable campaign of 2007, Marco Bortolami, garnered 57.3% of the votes and won the number 5 shirt, while Carlo Checchinato (18%) fought off Quintin Geldenhuys by three percentage points (15%).

The mighty and hairy Martin Castrogiovanni collected 86.8%, with Andrea Lo Cicero grabbing 56% of the votes at loosehead. while Leonardo Ghiraldini concluded the team at hooker with 57.5% of the votes.

#XVideale di #Italrugby: la migliore Italia del @SixNationsRugby scelta da voi ??

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Grazie agli appassionati che hanno dato il proprio voto tramite la piattaforma #Fanize ?

Tutti i dettagli sulla formazione ? https://t.co/dGn3VxG7NN#Insieme, verso le prossime sfide ? pic.twitter.com/Msi2acvDkD

— Italrugby (@Federugby) May 16, 2020

THE BEST ITALIAN SIX NATIONS XV
15 Andrea Masi (95 caps, 67,7%)
14 Matteo Minozzi (19 caps, 40%)
13 Michele Campagnaro (36 caps, 48,9%)
12 Mirco Bergamasco (89 caps, 23,1%)
11 Giovanbattista Venditti (44 caps, 23,1%)
10 Diego Dominguez (74 caps, 69,7%)
9 Alessandro Troncon (101 caps, 61,6%)
8 Sergio Parisse (142 caps, 87,2%)
7 Simone Favaro (36 caps, 27,2%)
6 Mauro Bergamasco (106 caps, 49,4%)
5 Marco Bortolami (112 caps, 57,3%)
4 Carlo Checchinato (83 caps, 18%)
3 Martin Castrogiovanni (119 caps, 86,8%)
2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (104 caps, 57,5%)
1 Andrea Lo Cicero (103 caps, 56%)