Italrugby, the anti-Scotland lineup
Italy-Scotland
Kieran Crowley, Technical Commissioner of the Italian Men’s National Rugby Team, has made official the lineup that will face Scotland on Saturday, July 29 at 3:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. Italian time) at Murrayfield in the first round of the Summer Series in preparation for the Rugby World Cup 2023, a match that will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and free-to-air on TV8.
In clash number 36 with Scotland, two will be rookies in Italy’s starting fifteen with Lorenzo Pani and Martin Page-Relo taking the field for the first time in the Azzurri jersey. In the extended triangle along with the Zebre fullback will be Bruno and Ioane, returning to the group after the Autumn Nations Series. Menoncello and Morisi pair the centers, while in the middle, along with Page-Relo, Allan will wear the No. 10 jersey.
In the third line, Halafi and Zuliani will start from the first minute with Federico Ruzza receiving the captain’s stripes for the first time with the senior national team from the first minute. Zebre brand second line with Sisi and Zambonin, while Ceccarelli, Faiva and Zani will take the field in the front line.
Ready to take over from the bench will be Manfredi, Fischetti, Alongi, Iachizzi, Lorenzo Cannone, Alessandro Garbisi, Da Re and Mori.
“The match against Scotland represents an important first step toward the Rugby World Cup. Many players will have the chance to play in a Test Match of high international level showing their skills to enter the World Cup call-up list. It will also be a time to assess the first part of the preparation for the upcoming matches,” said Kieran Crowley.
New Zealand’s Ben O’Keeffe will referee the match.
This is the lineup that will take the field:
15 Lorenzo PANI (Zebre Parma, rookie)
14 Pierre BRUNO (Zebre Parma, 12 caps)
13 Tommaso MENONCELLO (Benetton Rugby, 10 caps)
12 Luca MORISI (released, 44 caps)
11 Montanna IOANE (Lyon, 17 caps)
10 Tommaso ALLAN (Perpignan, 71 caps)
9 Martin PAGE-RELO (Lyon, rookie)
8 Toa HALAFIHI (Benetton Rugby, 9 caps)
7 Manuel ZULIANI (Benetton Rugby, 10 caps)
6 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 41 caps) – captain
5 Andrea ZAMBONIN (Zebre Parma, 2 caps)
4 David SISI (Zebre Parma, 27 caps)
3 Pietro CECCARELLI (Perpignan, 26 caps)
2 Epalahame FAIVA (released, 5 caps)
1 Federico ZANI (Benetton Rugby, 21 caps)
Available.
16 Marco MANFREDI (Zebre Parma, 1 cap)
17 Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 30 caps)
18 Filippo ALONGI (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)
19 Edoardo IACHIZZI (Benetton Rugby, 5 caps)
20 Lorenzo CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 8 caps)
21 Alessandro GARBISI (Benetton Rugby, 4 caps)
22 Giacomo DA RE (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)
23 Federico MORI (Bayonne, 12 caps)
This is Italy’s summer Test Match schedule
29.07 Scotland v Italy, Edinburgh 3:15 p.m. local (4:15 p.m. Italian)
05.08 Ireland v Italy, Dublin 8 p.m. local (9 p.m. Italian)
19.08 Italy v Romania, San Benedetto del Tronto 6:30 p.m.
26.08 Italy v Japan, Treviso 6:30 p.m.
This is the schedule of Italy’s matches in the RWC 2023 round:
09.09 Italy v Namibia, Saint-Etienne 1 p.m.
20.09 Italy v Uruguay, Nice 5:45 p.m.
29.09 New Zealand v Italy, Lyon 9 p.m.
06.10 France v Italy, Lyon 9 pm
