Gonzalo Quesada, Head Coach of the Italian Men's National Team, has announced the Italy team to face Scotland at the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday 1st February, in the opening round of the 2025 Guinness Men's Six Nations.
It will be the 38th meeting between the two teams and the 19th in Scotland. The record stands at 28 victories for the Scots and nine for the Azzurri—the most recent coming last March when Michele Lamaro lifted the Cuttitta Cup, which will once again be contested on Saturday in honour of Massimo Cuttitta, the legendary Italy captain and former Scotland forwards coach.
Quesada has named the same back three originally selected for Italy’s 2024 tournament opener (before Ange Capuozzo’s late withdrawal), with Tommaso Allan—Italy’s most-capped active player and all-time top Six Nations points scorer—starting at full-back alongside wingers Capuozzo and Monty Ioane.
Capuozzo, who announced himself on the Test stage with two tries against Scotland in Rome during the 2022 Six Nations, will play at Murrayfield for the first time.
The centre pairing of Juan Ignacio Brex—who scored a try and was named Guinness Player of the Match against Scotland last year—and Tommaso Menoncello, the 2024 Guinness Men's Six Nations Player of the Tournament, remains unchanged. Paolo Garbisi and Martin Page-Relo form the half-back partnership.
In the back row, Quesada has retained the trio from two years ago, with Lorenzo Cannone at number eight, captain Lamaro at openside flanker, and Sebastian Negri on the blindside. In the second row, Federico Ruzza is joined by Dino Lamb, who makes his Six Nations debut.
The front row sees Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, and Simone Ferrari pack down in the scrum.
On the bench, debutant Matteo Rizzoli is set to earn his first cap. He is joined by fellow forwards Gianmarco Lucchesi, Marco Riccioni, Niccolò Cannone, and Manuel Zuliani, while Ross Vintcent, Alessandro Garbisi, and Simone Gesi complete the replacements. Gesi, who won his first and only cap against Scotland at Murrayfield two years ago, returns to the matchday squad.
Italy team to face Scotland
15 Tommaso Allan (USAP, 81 caps)
14 Ange Capuozzo (Stade Toulousain, 23 caps)
13 Juan Ignacio Brex (Benetton Rugby, 41 caps)
12 Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby, 23 caps)
11 Monty Ioane (LOU, 35 caps)
10 Paolo Garbisi (RC Toulon, 42 caps)
9 Martin Page-Relo (LOU, 13 caps)
8 Lorenzo Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 23 caps)
7 Michele Lamaro (Benetton Rugby, 43 caps) - capitano
6 Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby, 58 caps)
5 Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby, 59 caps)
4 Dino Lamb (Harlequins, 9 caps)
3 Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby, 59 caps)
2 Giacomo Nicotera (Stade Francais, 28 caps)
1 Danilo Fischetti (Zebre Parma, 47 caps)
Replacements:
16 GIanmarco Lucchesi (RC Toulon, 28 caps)
17 Luca Rizzoli (Zebre Parma, esordiente)
18 Marco Riccioni (Saracens, 30 caps)
19 Niccolò Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 47 caps)
20 Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby, 27 caps)
21 Ross Vintcent (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)
22 Alessandro Garbisi (Benetton Rugby, 13 caps)
23 Simone Gesi (Zebre Parma, 1 cap)
