That the match is being held in a venue steeped in history and significance to the Italian public points towards the growing prominence and upward trajectory of rugby in the country. The stadium has become a cathedral for sport, hosting numerous high-profile football matches, and is synonymous with legends such as Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane.
Head-to-Head
Italy have faced New Zealand on 16 occasions, with the All Blacks maintaining a formidable 100% success rate in this fixture, with each win on average coming by a margin of 50 points.
Their last meeting was during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where New Zealand secured a dominant 96-17 victory. However, this wasn’t the largest winning margin between the two sides, which came during the 1999 Rugby World Cup when the All Blacks defeated the Azzurri 101-3.
Form
New Zealand will head into this game on the back of an agonising one-point loss against France, with the French making it three wins from their last three meetings.
Despite leading by seven points at half-time, the All Blacks lost control of the game, allowing France to mount a comeback. The French win also marked their largest half-time comeback at home (Saint-Denis) since 1998, securing a memorable victory and ending New Zealand’s hopes of an Autumn Nations Series Grand Slam.
Italy approach this contest buoyed by a hard-fought win against Georgia, where they overcame an 11-point half-time deficit to claim victory. This marked the Azzurri’s largest second-half turnaround in Test rugby history.
The Azzurri have won five games this year, only in 1993 (W8) and 2007 (W6) have they won more in a calendar year.
Team News
The All Blacks will be without Samipeni Finau, but Sam Cane is expected to return for the final Test of the season against Italy on Sunday.
Finau replaced Cane in the starting side for the 30-29 defeat to France but suffered a head injury early in the match, with Peter Lakai playing the remainder of the game. Finau now faces a mandatory 12-day stand-down period after failing his Head Injury Assessment (HIA), ruling him out of this weekend’s Test in Turin.
If selected, Sam Cane and TJ Perenara could have the opportunity to play their final Tests for New Zealand before heading to Japan.
Italy have their own injury concerns, most notably the potential absence of captain Michele Lamaro. Lamaro was forced off in the second minute of their clash with Georgia following a chest injury. Although he has travelled to Turin with the squad, it remains uncertain whether he will feature in this fixture.
Lamaro has been on top form for Italy this season, making the most tackles of any player in men’s Tier 1 rugby in 2024 with 155 tackles.
