Italian
The technical staff of the men’s rugby national team has officially announced the lineup that will face Australia on the third day of the Nations Championship
PERTH (AUSTRALIA) – ItalRugby is preparing to play at HBF Park in Perth for the third round of the Nations Championship. The national team will face Australia on Saturday, July 18 at 6:10 PM local time (12:10 PM Italian time) with live coverage on Sky Sport Uno and free-to-air on TV8.
Comparison number 23 between the two teams with the last two previous matches, played in Udine and Florence, which saw the Azzurri win. The last match played in Australia by Italy dates back to the Summer Tour of 2017, where the Wallabies won with a score of 40-27 in Brisbane.
It will be a team changed by as many as nine elements compared to the match lost last Saturday against New Zealand, due to suspensions (including coach Quesada) and injuries.
In the expanded triangle, Lorenzo Pani returns after the injury sustained against Japan, with Ioane and Lynagh on his sides, while the centers will be Brex and Odogwu, making his debut in the Nations Championship.
The midfield will be a family affair with the brothers Garbisi. In the back row Vintcent, Favretto, and captain Lamaro. First starting match, after debuting against the All Blacks last week, for Giulio Marini in the second row alongside Federico Ruzza. In the front row, Riccioni, Lucchesi, and Hasa will take the field.
On the bench will be Dimcheff, Neculai, Da Re, Fischetti, Zambonin, Ortombina, Fusco and Marin. Returned to Italy due to injury Tommaso Allan and Lorenzo Cannone. The former suffered a stable fracture of the left hemicostal against the All Blacks, while the Benetton back row has sustained a stable fracture of the second metatarsal of the right foot.
The match will be officiated by the English referee Christophe Ridley.
Training
This is the lineup that will take the field:
15 Lorenzo PANI (Zebre Parma, 13 caps)
14 Louis LYNAGH (Benetton Rugby, 15 caps)
13 Juan Ignacio BREX (Toulon, 54 caps)
12 Paolo ODOGWU (Benetton Rugby, 9 caps)
11 Monty IOANE (Lyon, 48 caps)
10 Paolo GARBISI (Perpignan, 56 caps)
9 Alessandro GARBISI (Benetton Rugby, 24 caps)
8 Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 20 caps)
7 Michele LAMARO (Benetton Rugby, 56 caps) – captain
6 Riccardo FAVRETTO (Benetton Rugby, 15 caps)
5 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 73 caps)
4 Giulio MARINI (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)
3 Marco RICCIONI (Perpignan, 38 caps)
2 Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Toulon, 35 caps)
1 Muhamed HASA (Zebre Parma, 10 caps)
Available
16 Pablo DIMCHEFF (Colomiers Rugby, 4 caps)
17 Danilo FISCHETTI (Northampton Saints 65 caps)
18 Ion NECULAI (Zebre Parma, 3 caps)
19 Andrea ZAMBONIN (Exeter Chiefs, 20 caps)
20 Alessandro ORTOMBINA (Zebre Parma, 1 cap)
21 Alessandro FUSCO (Zebre Parma, 26 caps)
22 Giacomo DA RE (Zebre Parma, 6 caps)
23 Leonardo MARIN (Benetton Rugby, 24 caps)
The statements
In the press conference presenting the match, German Fernandez, assistant coach of Italy, spoke, who will also take the place on the bench of the suspended Gonzalo Quesada.
“The most important objective of this third match is to control the pace of the game ourselves, take the initiative, and manage our attack with balance, use the kicking game, attack with our hands, accelerate or play in a more organized manner.
The match against New Zealand was the most intense of the year, both in terms of the number of actions and pace. It was incredibly demanding, so we need to work well on this aspect. However, the atmosphere is positive. After that first half, in which we managed to execute what we had prepared in our game plan, the group is doing well”
On Menoncello’s absence: “Behind every difficulty, there is always an opportunity. Tommy is one of the best players in the world right now. It will be very interesting to see not only Paolo Odogwu, but all the guys who come in and usually don’t play in the team. We chose to rest Tommy: we need to manage the physical load of our players”.
On the changes in the lineup: “This is not an experiment. Obviously, the suspension of Niccolò Cannone and also the injuries we had against New Zealand push you to make many changes. We have all the guys available whom we closely monitor. We always go to the stadium, in Parma or Treviso, to observe the performance of each player. Each one of those who will have the opportunity to play this Saturday has earned it with what they have done in their own team throughout the year.”
Photo Credits: Federugby.it
