Italrugby, six changes in XV for challenge to England
Rugby, training
Gonzalo Quesada, Technical Commissioner of the Italian Men’s National Team, has made official the lineup that will face England on Sunday, March 9 at 4 p.m. Italian time at Allianz Twickenham Stadium, a match valid for the fourth day of the Guinness Six Nations 2025 and that will be broadcast live on Sky Sport Uno and free-to-air on Rai 2.
It will be match number 32 between the two teams with all previous matches in favor of the hosts, the only team never beaten by the Azzurri inside the world’s oldest rugby tournament.
Six changes in the starting XV led by Quesada in his first appearance at Twickenham as coach of the Italian Men’s National Team. In the wide triangle, Ange Capuozzo returns to the number 15 jersey with the return of Ioane at wing – after being stopped by injury against France – and the inclusion of Gallagher, who will take the field for the first time in the Six Nations.
The pair of centers formed by Brex and Menoncello has been tested, while in the box along with Paolo Garbisi will be Stephen Varney, who will collect his first presence of the season with the Italy jersey.
On the third line along with captain Lamaro and Sebastian Negri will be; Ross Vintcent – in his first cap as a starter in 2025 – wearing jersey number 8. Confirmed in the second line is the pair formed by Ruzza and Niccolò Cannone, while in the first line Riccioni returns to the starting XV with Nicotera and Fischetti completing the department.
Ready to take over from the bench are Lucchesi, Spagnolo, Ferrari, Favretto, Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone, Page-Relo and Allan.
Irish whistle Andrew Brace will referee the match.
Lamb, Hasa, Gesi, Trulla, Bertaccini, Marin and Izekor will not be present for the English trip. Traveling with the team will be Zilocchi, Di Bartolomeo, Alessandro Garbisi, Zanon and Matteo Canali with the Zebre’s second line forward who reached Rome in the morning today following a muscle soreness suffered by Izekor in the last training session of the week.
This is the lineup that will take the field:
15 Ange CAPUOZZO (Stade Toulousain, 26 caps)
14 Monty IOANE (Lyon, 37 caps)
13 Juan Ignacio BREX (Benetton Rugby, 44 caps)
12 Tommaso MENONCELLO (Benetton Rugby, 26 caps)
11 Matt GALLAGHER (Benetton Rugby, 2 caps)
10 Paolo GARBISI (Toulon, 45 caps)
9 Stephen VARNEY (Vannes, 30 caps)
8 Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 12 caps)
7 Michele LAMARO (Benetton Rugby, 46 caps)– captain
6 Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 61 caps)
5 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 62 caps)
4 Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 50 caps)
3 Marco RICCIONI (Saracens, 32 caps)
2 Giacomo NICOTERA (Stade Francais, 31 caps)
1 Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 50 caps)
Available
16 Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Toulon, 31 caps)
17 Mirco SPAGNOLO (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps)
18 Simone FERRARI (Benetton Rugby, 62 caps)
19 Riccardo FAVRETTO (Benetton Rugby, 5 caps)
20 Manuel ZULIANI (Benetton Rugby, 30 caps)
21 Lorenzo CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 26 caps)
22 Martin PAGE-RELO (Lyon, 16 caps)
23 Tommaso ALLAN (Perpignan, 84 caps)
