Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has named his side for Saturday's Nations Championship clash against New Zealand, with the match set to kick off at 5:10pm local time (7:10am CEST) at Sky Stadium in Wellington.

Saturday's fixture will mark the 19th meeting between the two nations. The All Blacks have won each of the previous 18 encounters and remain the only Tier 1 nation that Italy have yet to defeat.

The Azzurri have made three changes to the side that faced Japan in Tokyo in their opening Nations Championship fixture.

The back three has been reshuffled, with Tommaso Allan moving to full-back, Malik Faissal retaining his place on the right wing and Louis Lynagh returning to the starting lineup on the left wing. The midfield pairing of Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello remains unchanged, while Paolo Garbisi and Stephen Varney continue as Italy's half-back combination.

Captain Michele Lamaro is joined in the back row by Lorenzo Cannone, who is set to earn his 40th international cap, and Ross Vintcent, who returns to the starting XV. Andrea Zambonin partners Niccolò Cannone in the second row, while Marco Riccioni, Tommaso Di Bartolomeo and Danilo Fischetti make up the front row.

On the bench, lock Giulio Marini is in line to make his international debut. If introduced, the Benetton forward would become the 19th player to make his debut under Quesada and the third during this year's Nations Championship, following Malik Faissal and Ortombina. He is joined among the replacements by Gianmarco Lucchesi, Mirco Spagnolo, Muhamed Hasa, Federico Ruzza, Riccardo Favretto, Alessandro Garbisi and Leonardo Marin.

The match will be officiated by French referee Luc Ramos.

Italy Starting XV

15 Tommaso Allan (Zebre Parma, 90 caps)
14 Malik Faissal (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)
13 Juan Ignacio Brex (Toulon, 53 caps)
12 Tommaso Menoncello (Stade Toulousain, 40 caps)
11 Louis Lynagh (Benetton Rugby, 14 caps)
10 Paolo Garbisi (Toulon, 55 caps)
9 Stephen Varney (Exeter Chiefs, 38 caps)
8 Lorenzo Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 39 caps)
7 Michele Lamaro (Benetton Rugby, 55 caps, captain)
6 Ross Vintcent (Exeter Chiefs, 20 caps)
5 Andrea Zambonin (Exeter Chiefs, 19 caps)
4 Niccolò Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 64 caps)
3 Marco Riccioni (Perpignan, 37 caps)
2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo (Zebre Parma, 11 caps)
1 Danilo Fischetti (Northampton Saints, 64 caps)

Replacements

16 Gianmarco Lucchesi (Toulon, 34 caps)
17 Mirco Spagnolo (Benetton Rugby, 25 caps)
18 Muhamed Hasa (Zebre Parma, 9 caps)
19 Giulio Marini (Benetton Rugby, uncapped)
20 Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby, 72 caps)
21 Riccardo Favretto (Benetton Rugby, 14 caps)
22 Alessandro Garbisi (Benetton Rugby, 23 caps)
23 Leonardo Marin (Benetton Rugby, 23 caps)

Italy's 2026 Nations Championship Southern Hemisphere Tour

• Japan 27-10 Italy (Tokyo, Chichibunomiya Stadium)

• New Zealand v Italy – Saturday, 11 July, 5:10pm local time (7:10am CEST) – Wellington, Sky Stadium

• Australia v Italy – Saturday, 18 July, 6:10pm local time (12:10pm CEST) – Perth, HBF Park