After withdrawing from the Azzurri’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations squad earler this year due to family reasons, Allan is back, while there are two possible debuts for Tommaso Di Bartolomeo and Giulio Bertaccini.
There is no shortage of new additions to the 34-player squad called up by head coach, Gonzalo Quesada for the training camp that will start on Sunday 27th October in Rome, as the Azzurri set their sights on the Autumn Nations Series.
The Azzurri will kick off their Autumn campaign on November 9th as they host Argentina at Blue Energy Stadium in Udine. This will mark the first time rugby has played in the region in 15 years after it last hosted a test match in 2009 against South Africa.
Italy will then head to Genoa, where they will take on Georgia in an eagerly anticipated rematch on November 17th at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Finally, on November 23rd Italian rugby makes its exciting debut at the Allianz Stadium, home of European football giants Juventus, against the All Blacks.
“We have focused on a group of players who have currently shown a high level of performance where most of them know our game principles and mechanisms well” said Gonzalo Quesada, when talking about his squad composition.
“We will face three different opponents in three challenges that have great appeal. Argentina coming off the best Rugby Championship in its history, Georgia after the match that we all remember in Batumi, and we will close with New Zealand about a year after the last challenge at the World Cup”
A total of 34 players have been called up by the Italian coaching staff. Among them are two uncapped players: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, a hooker for Zebre, and Giulio Bertaccini, a centre for Valorugby Emilia, who also played for Zebre earlier this season as a permit player in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Bertaccini’s club Valorugby Emilia compete in the Serie A Elite, Italy’s Championship Rugby competition. It is unlikely that Bertaccini will be among those selected in the match-day squads with the likes of Ignacio Brex and the 2024 Guinness Men’sSix Nations Player of the Championship, Tommaso Menoncello named. Leonard Marin has also been called back into the squad following an injury which ruled him out of the 2024 Championship.
The returning Allan, Italy’s most-capped active player with 80 caps, and tighthead prop Pietro Ceccarelli, who was part of the team for the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations. Fischetti, now a key player in the mix and newly appointed captain of Zebre, will likely feature prominently as well. Di Bartolomeo, the third hooker behind the France-based Giacomo Nicotera and Gianmarco Lucchesi, is in contention for his debut.
Dino Lamb makes has return to the Italian set-up for the first time since the 2023 World Cup, aiming to make his first appearance under the new coaching staff.
There are no significant changes in the back row, with Exeter Chiefs’ Ross Vintcent joining Benetton's back-row unit. In the halfbacks, Alessandro Fusco takes the scrum-half position, while Allan returns as fly-half but can also step in at fullback if required.
The spotlight, however, remains on the exceptional Ange Capuozzo, now showcasing his skills at Toulouse. As a backup option, newly-capped Matt Gallagher - son of the legendary 1987 World Cup-winning New Zealand fullback John - adds further depth. Meanwhile, Louis Lynagh continues his development after his recent switch to Italy earlier this year.
Italy's squad for the Autumn Nations Series:
Props
Pietro CECCARELLI (USAP Perpignan, 33 caps)
Simone FERRARI (Benetton Rugby, 56 caps)
Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 44 caps)
Marco RICCIONI (Saracens, 28 caps)
Mirco SPAGNOLO (Benetton Rugby, 8 caps)
Hookers
Tommaso DI BARTOLOMEO (Zebre Parma, debutant)
Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Toulon RC, 25 caps)
Giacomo NICOTERA (Stade Francais, 25 caps)
Second Row
Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 44 caps)
Riccardo FAVRETTO (Benetton Rugby, 3 caps)
Dino LAMB (Harlequins, 6 caps)
Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 57 caps)
Andrea ZAMBONIN (Zebre Parma, 9 caps)
Back Row
Lorenzo CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 22 caps)
Alessandro IZEKOR (Benetton Rugby, 5 caps)
Michele LAMARO (Benetton Rugby, 41 caps)
Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 55 caps)
Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 7 caps)
Manuel ZULIANI (Benetton Rugby, 24 caps)
Scrum-Halves
Alessandro FUSCO (Zebre Parma, 17 caps)
Alessandro GARBISI (Benetton Rugby, 10 caps)
Martin PAGE-RELO (Lyon, 11 caps)
Fly-Halves
Tommaso ALLAN (USAP Perpignan, 80 caps)
Paolo GARBISI (Toulon RC, 39 caps)
Leonardo MARIN (Benetton Rugby, 11 caps)
Centres
Giulio BERTACCINI (Valorugby Emilia, debutant)
Juan Ignacio BREX (Benetton Rugby, 38 caps)
Tommaso MENONCELLO (Benetton Rugby, 20 caps)
Marco ZANON (Benetton Rugby, 15 caps)
Back Three
Ange CAPUOZZO (Stade Toulousain, 21 caps)
Matt GALLAGHER (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)
Monty IOANE (Lyon 32 caps)
Louis LYNAGH (Benetton Rugby, 4 caps)
Jacopo TRULLA (Zebre Parma, 10 caps)
