Italy team named for All Blacks challenge

Technical Commissioner of the Italian Men's Rugby National Team Gonzalo Quesada, has announced the lineup that will face New Zealand on Saturday 23 November at 9.10pm at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, the third and final Test Match for the Azzurri in the Vittoria Assicurazioni Autumn Nations Series. 

This will mark the eighteenth clash between the two nations, the tenth in Italy and the first in Turin which will see rugby debut in the Juventus stadium, host a sporting event event outside of football.

All seventeen of the previous fixtures have all been in favor of the three-time World Champions who currently sit in third in the World Rugby rankings after suffering a narrow defeat last Saturday in Paris against France.

Italy comes into the last challenge of its international autumn after the comeback victory achieved in Genoa on Sunday against Georgia, the fifth in ten test matches under the guidance of Gonzalo Quesada who, at the moment, boasts a score of five wins, one draw and four defeats on the Azzurri bench.

For the test match with the New Zealand XV, the Argentine coach of Italy makes six changes to the lineup seen from the first minute at the “Ferraris”, reintroducing in the match list fourteen players returning from the last direct clash won by the All Blacks last autumn in Lyon in the third match of the group stage of the Rugby World Cup “France 2023”.

Capuozzo, having completed the return to the field protocol, returns to the starting role of fullback, replacing Gallagher in the wide triangle where Trulla and Ioane are confirmed as wingers. The cup of centers most used by Quesada during his management remains unchanged, with Menoncello as the first center and Brex who, in the number thirteen jersey, is invested for the first time with the rank of Captain of Italy - taken over during the game in three previous matches - replacing the injured Lamaro.

In midfield, the starting pair from the inaugural autumn test match in Udine against Argentina are back, with Paolo Garbisi who at just 24 years old takes the field for the forty-second time with the number ten jersey as an opening goalkeeper, flanked in the direction by Martin Page-Relo.

In the third row, Vintcent, Zuliani and Negri will take the field, while in the second row, together with Genoa's Player of the Match Dino Lamb, Ruzza returns, forced to miss the challenge against Georgia due to a slight physical problem.

Quesada finally changes two thirds of the front row, confirming only Fischetti on the left side from the first minute and reintroducing Riccioni and Lucchesi on the right as starting hookers.

On the bench are five forwards – Nicotera, Spagnolo, Ferrari, Niccolò Cannone and Izekor, the latter for the first time in the match list in the November international window – and the three-quarters Alessandro Garbisi, Marin and Zanon to complete the Italian team .

The match was entrusted to the Frenchman Pierre Brousset, who refereed Italy for the second time in his career after having directed them at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin against Ireland on the second day of the Guinness Six Nations 2024. 

This is Italy's lineup:

15 Ange CAPUOZZO (Stade Toulousain, 22 caps)
14 Jacopo TRULLA (Zebre Parma, 11 caps)
13 Juan Ignacio BREX (Benetton Rugby, 40 caps) – captain
12 Tommaso MENONCELLO (Benetton Rugby, 22 caps)
11 Monty IOANE (Lyon 34 caps)
10 Paolo GARBISI (Toulon RC, 41 caps)
9 Martin PAGE-RELO (Lyon, 12 caps)
8 Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 8 caps)
7 Manuel ZULIANI (Benetton Rugby, 26 caps)
6 Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 57 caps)
5 Dino LAMB (Harlequins, 8 caps)
4 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 58 caps)
3 Marco RICCIONI (Saracens, 29 caps)
2 Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Toulon RC, 27 caps)
1 Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 46 caps)

Available
16 Giacomo NICOTERA (Stade Francais, 27 caps)
17 Mirco SPAGNOLO (Benetton Rugby, 10 caps)
18 Simone FERRARI (Benetton Rugby, 58 caps)
19 Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 46 caps)
20 Alessandro IZEKOR (Benetton Rugby, 5 caps)
21 Alessandro GARBISI (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps)
22 Leonardo MARIN (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps)
23 Marco ZANON (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps)