Italrugby, for 34 Azzurri starts the hunt for the All Blacks
Italrugby, summoned
Gonzalo Quesada, the Technical Commissioner of the Italian Men’s National Rugby Team, has made official the list of athletes summoned for the gathering in Rome scheduled to begin Sunday, October 27 in preparation for the Vittoria Assicurazioni Autumn Nations Series 2024.
The Azzurri will meet at the Olympic Preparation Center “Giulio Onesti” in the Capital starting the march towards the first Test Match against Argentina – scheduled in Udine on Saturday, November 9 at 6:40 p.m.– in the late morning of Sunday, October 27. The full team will reach Friuli two days before the kickoff of the match against the Pumas. On Nov. 10, it will makeà return to its headquarters in Rome and then fly to Genoa on Nov. 15, two days before the challenge to Georgia scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 17, at 2:40 p.m. On Monday, Nov. 18, the Quesada-led team will move to Turin, which will host the Azzurri in the week leading up to the final Test Match of November against New Zealand scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23 at 9:10 p.m. at Allianz Stadium, home of Juventus.
Italy’s matches will be broadcast live on Sky Sport channels and free-to-air on TV8.
Thirty-four athletes have been summoned by the Italian technical staff. Two rookies are on the list: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo – hooker of Zebre – and Giulio Bertaccini, center of Valorugby Emilia, who in this beginning of season è been protagonist with Zebre, as permit player, in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Returning to the Azzurri are opener Tommaso Allan, the most active Italian international with eighty caps, and right pylon Pietro Ceccarelli, after being part of the squad in the Guinness Six Nations 2024. Also present in the group are scrum-half Alessandro Fusco – who took part in the first rallies led by Quesada in 2024 in preparation for the Six Nations – and second line Dino Lamb, returning after injury and in his first call-up with the new technical staff after the Rugby World Cup 2023.
“We have focused on a group of players who at this time have shown a high level of performance where most of them are familiar with our principles and mechanisms of play. Before the’debut, on November 9, we will have very few days of preparation: it will be essential to take advantage of every training, meeting and internal confrontation to be as ready as possible when we take the field. We will face three different opponents in three challenges that have great appeal. Argentina coming back from the best Rugby Championship in its history, Georgia after the match we all remember in Batumi and we will close with New Zealand about a year after the last World Cup challenge. The November Tests will be an important new appointment to consolidate our growth path. We look forward to getting together with the boys to experience together an intense month of international Test Matches at home with the support of our fans” said Gonzalo Quesada.
