Italrugby towards summer tour, Gonzalo Quesada summons 33: rookies are 7
The technical commissioner of the Italian national rugby team, Gonzalo Quesada, has summoned 33 players for the June 14 gathering in L’Aquila, Italy, where the Azzurri will begin preparation for the summer test matches against Namibia and South Africa. Of these, there are 7 potential test rookies, one of whom, Pablo Dimcheff, is in his first ever call-up for a national team gathering.
Here are the players chosen by the coach. azzurro, divided by role – Pylons: Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 52 caps), Muhamed HASA (Zebre Parma, rookie), Marco RICCIONI (Saracens, 33 caps), Mirco SPAGNOLO (Benetton Rugby, 14 caps), Joshua ZILOCCHI (Benetton Rugby, 24 caps) – Heelers: Tommaso DI BARTOLOMEO (Zebre Parma, rookie), Pablo DIMCHEFF (Colomiers Rugby, rookie), Giacomo NICOTERA (Stade Français, 33 caps).
Second Lines: Matteo CANALI (Zebre Parma, rookie), Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 52 caps), Riccardo FAVRETTO (Benetton Rugby, 6 caps), Andrea ZAMBONIN (Zebre Parma, 9 caps). Third Lines – Lorenzo CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 28 caps), Alessandro IZEKOR (Benetton Rugby, 4 caps), Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 63 caps), David ODIASE (Oyonnax, rookie), Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 14 caps), Manuel ZULIANI (Benetton Rugby, 32 caps)
Medians of Scrum: Alessandro FUSCO (Zebre Parma, 18 caps), Alessandro GARBISI (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps), Stephen VARNEY (Vannes, 32 caps) – Opening Mids: Giacomo DA RE (Zebre Parma, 2 caps), Giovanni MONTEMAURI (Zebre Parma, rookie) -Centers: Giulio BERTACCINI (Valorugby Emilia, 1 cap), Leonardo MARIN (Benetton Rugby, 14 caps), Tommaso MENONCELLO (Benetton Rugby, 28 caps), Federico MORI (Bayonne, 17 caps), Marco ZANON (Benetton Rugby, 17 caps).
Ali/Extremes: Mirko BELLONI (FEMI-CZ Rugby Rovigo Delta, rookie), Simone GESI (Zebre Parma, 3 caps), Monty IOANE (Lyon, 39 caps), Paolo ODOGWU (Benetton Rugby, 6 caps), Jacopo TRULLA (Zebre Parma, 14 caps).
“The management of athletes in one side, and the desire to give opportunities to some young players, are the two fundamental aspects we have taken into account, together with the technical staff, when choosing the roster for the upcoming summer tour – said Quesada -. There are some players who have had a very high minute count in the last two seasons: we have taken into account their recovery and how to best manage the group”.
“This is also an important opportunity for some athletes to compete at this level, as well as a reward for the’commitment shown during the season with their performances– added the coach. The staff on the upcoming tour will get to work with a group made up of a mix of young and experienced athletes. Next season will be very important, the last one before the World Cup: we aim to have a rough idea of who we can involve toward the 2027 Rugby World Cup and try to aggrandize the depth of the roster we have available”.
Italy will face Namibia in Whindoek next June 27, before the fearsome doubleheader with the world champion Springboks on July 5 in Pretoria and July 12 in Port Elizabeth.
