Azzurri squad named for Nations Series

Gonzalo Quesada, Head Coach of the Italian Men’s National Rugby Team, has announced the list of players called up for the Verona training camp in preparation for the Autumn Nations Series. Italy’s matches will be broadcast live on Rai and Sky Sport.

The Azzurri (Italian national team) will meet in Verona starting Sunday, October 26, where they will spend the entire week together until Wednesday morning, October 29, when the players competing for clubs abroad will return to their teams. The coaching staff, led by Quesada, will then travel to Udine on Sunday, November 2, when the squad will regroup to prepare for the first match.

There are first-ever call-ups for Northampton Saints back Edoardo Todaro, who has started the season strongly with three tries in as many games and a Player of the Match performance against Leicester Tigers, and for Bath second-row Enoch Opoku Gyamfi. Both players were recently part of Italy’s Under-20 squad at the World Cup.

More than a year after his last appearance for the Azzurri due to injury, Lorenzo Pani returns to the squad. Zebre center Damiano Mazza is also included, having been called up for the final match against South Africa in the 2025 Summer Tour. Giacomo Da Re is confirmed in midfield after starting all three matches of the Summer Tour, alongside Paolo Garbisi and Tommaso Allan, who were rested in the previous international window along with Ruzza, Lamaro, Brex, Page-Relo, and Capuozzo.

“We have a very exciting challenge ahead of us in the next international window in November,” said Gonzalo Quesada. “In our first two matches, we’ll face Australia and South Africa, who are coming off strong Rugby Championship campaigns after spending four months together and playing between eight and ten matches before arriving in Italy. The goal of the Verona training camp is to make the most of the time available and be ready for Udine, with no excuses and great determination. After the tour in Namibia and South Africa, we’re eager to start a new season together, playing at home and in front of our fans. The first match of the Quilter Nations Series like the opening game of the Six Nations is the hardest to prepare for, but I have enormous faith in this staff and this group of players. We will put in all our energy and commitment to be ready even in just a few training sessions. We’ll have two days of training with the full group in Verona before releasing the players who play abroad on Wednesday to return to their clubs. Then we’ll have all the players called up for the week of the match against Australia. I have no doubt that everyone will be ready.”

“They will do their best to honor this beautiful Italy shirt with our fans at the stadium. Their support will be a great motivation for the boys. We’ve assembled the group we believe is best to begin preparations in Verona, but it’s a list that could still be expanded in the coming weeks. Players like Opoku Gyamfi and Todaro will have the opportunity as others like Di Bartolomeo, Odiase, Mey, and Belloni have had in the past to experience this level of preparation, understand how the national team works, and learn the team culture. Whether they actually take the field will depend on them,” Quesada concluded.

This is the schedule of Italy’s matches in the Quilter Nations Series:
Italy v Australia – 08.11.25 – Bluenergy Stadium – 6:40 PM
Italy v South Africa – 15.11.25 – Allianz Stadium – 1:40 PM
Italy v Chile – 22.11.25 – Luigi Ferraris Stadium – 9:10 PM

This is the list of players called up:

Props: Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby, 66 caps), Danilo Fischetti (Northampton Saints, 55 caps), Muhamed Hasa (Zebre Parma, 3 caps), Marco Riccioni (Saracens, 34 caps), Mirco Spagnolo (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps).

Hookers: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo (Zebre Parma, 3 caps), Pablo Dimcheff (Colomiers Rugby, 2 caps), Giacomo Nicotera (Stade Français, 34 caps).

Second Rows: Niccolò Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 55 caps), Riccardo Favretto (Benetton Rugby, 7 caps), Enoch Opoku Gyamfi (Bath, debutant), Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby, 64 caps), Andrea Zambonin (Exeter Chiefs, 12 caps).

Back Rows: Lorenzo Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 30 caps), Alessandro Izekor (Benetton Rugby, 6 caps), Michele Lamaro (Benetton Rugby, 48 caps), Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby, 65 caps), Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby, 35 caps), Ross Vintcent (Exeter Chiefs, 17 caps).

Scrum-halves: Alessandro Garbisi (Benetton Rugby, 18 caps), Martin Page-Relo (Bordeaux, 18 caps), Stephen Varney (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps).

Fly-halves: Tommaso Allan (Perpignan, 86 caps), Giacomo Da Re (Zebre Parma, 5 caps), Paolo Garbisi (Toulon, 47 caps).

Centers: Juan Ignacio Brex (Toulon, 46 caps), Leonardo Marin (Benetton Rugby, 15 caps), Damiano Mazza (Zebre Parma, uncapped), Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby, 31 caps).

Wings/Fullbacks: Ange Capuozzo (Stade Toulousain, 28 caps), Monty Ioane (Lyon, 39 caps), Louis Lynagh (Benetton Rugby, 7 caps), Lorenzo Pani (Zebre Parma, 8 caps), Edoardo Todaro (Northampton Saints, uncapped).

Invited: Mirko Belloni (Zebre Parma, 2 caps).

Players not considered due to injury: Matteo Canali (Zebre Parma, 2 caps), Alessandro Fusco (Zebre Parma, 20 caps), Dino Lamb (Canon Eagles, 12 caps), Gianmarco Lucchesi (Toulon, 33 caps), Ivan Nemer (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps), Jacopo Trulla (Zebre Parma, 17 caps).