This will be Italy’s third and final match in the Autumn Nations Series and marks the 18th meeting between the two teams, with Italy hosting the All Blacks for the 10th time and the first-ever match to be held in Turin.
The Allianz Stadium, traditionally home to Juventus, will play host to this historic fixture and will open its doors for a rugby event for the first time in history.
For the New Zealand clash, Quesada has made six changes to the starting lineup that took to the field against Georgia. A total of 14 players return from Italy’s last encounter with the All Blacks, a 2023 Rugby World Cup group-stage match in Lyon, which saw New Zealand claim a 96-17 win.
Ange Capuozzo, having completed his return-to-play protocol after suffering a head injury, returns to the starting lineup as fullback, replacing Gallagher. Capuozzo is joined by Jacopo Trulla and Monty Ioane, who retain their positions as wingers.
The midfield remains unchanged, with Tommaso Menoncello at inside centre and Juan Ignacio Brex – who takes over as Italy’s captain for the first time – at outside centre, stepping in for the injured Lamaro.
The halfbacks, with Paolo Garbisi, at just 24 years old, making his 42nd appearance as starting fly-half, alongside Martin Page-Relo, who pairs with him in the scrum-half role, replacing Alessandro Garbisi, who has moved to the bench.
The back row will feature Ross Vintcent, Manuel Zuliani, and Sebastian Negri, while in the second row, alongside Player of the Match against Georgia Dino Lamb, Federico Ruzza returns after missing the Georgia game due to a minor injury.
Quesada has also made two changes in the front row, keeping Danilo Fischetti at prop, while Marco Riccioni and Gianmarco Lucchesi return as starting prop and hooker, respectively.
On the bench, Italy has named five forwards – Giacomo Nicotera (hooker), Mirco Spagnolo (prop), Simone Ferrari (prop), Niccolò Cannone (back-five), and Alessandro Izekor (back-five), who makes his first appearance in the November series. Alessandro Garbisi, Leonardo Marin, and Marco Zanon are named as the backline cover for the New Zealand Test.
This is Italy's lineup:
15 Ange CAPUOZZO (Stade Toulousain, 22 caps)
14 Jacopo TRULLA (Zebre Parma, 11 caps)
13 Juan Ignacio BREX (Benetton Rugby, 40 caps) – captain
12 Tommaso MENONCELLO (Benetton Rugby, 22 caps)
11 Monty IOANE (Lyon 34 caps)
10 Paolo GARBISI (Toulon RC, 41 caps)
9 Martin PAGE-RELO (Lyon, 12 caps)
8 Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 8 caps)
7 Manuel ZULIANI (Benetton Rugby, 26 caps)
6 Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 57 caps)
5 Dino LAMB (Harlequins, 8 caps)
4 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 58 caps)
3 Marco RICCIONI (Saracens, 29 caps)
2 Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Toulon RC, 27 caps)
1 Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 46 caps)
Available
16 Giacomo NICOTERA (Stade Francais, 27 caps)
17 Mirco SPAGNOLO (Benetton Rugby, 10 caps)
18 Simone FERRARI (Benetton Rugby, 58 caps)
19 Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 46 caps)
20 Alessandro IZEKOR (Benetton Rugby, 5 caps)
21 Alessandro GARBISI (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps)
22 Leonardo MARIN (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps)
23 Marco ZANON (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps)
