Paolo Odogwu is about to make his first look for Italy for the reason that 2023 World Cup on Friday when Gonzalo Quesada’s aspect tackle Namibia in Windhoek.
The previous England U20 worldwide, who ruptured his Achilles in December 2023, will kind a back-three with Jacopo Trulla and Simone Gesi within the absence of Toulouse’s Ange Capuozzo.
With regular captain Michele Lamaro rested for the Azzurri’s tour of Africa, the place they’ll face the Springboks twice in July, alongside Capuozzo, hooker Giacomo Nicotera will captain the aspect.
Whereas it’s not a massively skilled beginning XV, each participant is capped, with three gamers having over 50 caps for his or her nation. There are three gamers on the bench, nevertheless, who will make their debuts ought to they arrive on – hooker Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, tighthead prop Muhamed Hasa and full-back Mirko Belloni.
“We worked hard both during the four days of preparation in L’Aquila and since our arrival in Windhoek, trying to take advantage of all the moments at our disposal,” said Quesada.
“The biggest challenge for us was to find rhythm and automatisms with the players in a short time. There are athletes who haven’t played for five weeks, some for more than 15 and others who are at their first call-up who had to learn our game principles in a short time.
“One of the positive aspects is the great energy that the whole group is showing in this tour. In Namibia we managed the impact with altitude training, a much tougher condition than what we are used to in relation to oxygen”.
“On this tour, every opponent is important and our approach to the matches will always be the same: to continue to progress in our attack, to show our true identity when we defend, and to give some players the opportunity to compete at this level.”
Italy XV
15 Jacopo Trulla (Zebre Parma, 14 caps)
14 Paolo Odogwu (Benetton Rugby, 6 caps)
13 Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby, 28 caps)
12 Leonardo Marin (Benetton Rugby, 14 caps)
11 Simone Gesi (Zebre Parma, 3 caps)
10 Giacomo Da Re (Zebre Parma, 2 caps)
9 Alessandro Fusco (Zebre Parma, 18 caps)
8 Ross Vintcent (Exeter Chiefs, 14 caps)
7 Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby, 32 caps)
6 Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby, 63 caps)
5 Riccardo Favretto (Benetton Rugby, 6 caps)
4 Niccolò Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 52 caps)
3 Marco Riccioni (Saracens, 33 caps)
2 Giacomo Nicotera (Stade Français, 33 caps) – captain
1 Danilo Fischetti (Zebre Parma, 52 caps)
Replacements
16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo (Zebre Parma, uncapped)
17 Mirco Spagnolo (Benetton Rugby, 14 caps)
18 Muhamed Hasa (Zebre Parma, uncapped)
19 Andrea Zambonin (Zebre Parma, 9 caps)
20 Lorenzo Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 28 caps)
21 Stephen Varney (Vannes, 32 caps)
22 Giulio Bertaccini (Valorugby Emilia, 1 cap)
23 Mirko Belloni (Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo Delta, uncapped)
