Former Stade Francais manager Gonzalo Quesada on Tuesday unveiled his first squad as Italy coach for the Six Nations (February 2-March 16). The Argentine has called up 34 players, including five newcomers, to prepare for the match against England on the opening day of the Championship (Saturday 3 February at 15:15).
Quesada, who took over from New Zealand's Kieran Crowley after the last World Cup ended with two heavy defeats for the Italians, has not revolutionised his squad and called up the Nazionale's senior players, such as Michele Lamaro, Tommaso Allan, Ange Capuozzo and Paolo Garbisi. The former Argentina international (38 caps), who was manager of Stade Français until June (2013-2017 and 2020-2023), wanted to reinvigorate his scrum with five newcomers, three props and two back-rows, including South African-born Ross Vintcent who plays for Exeter.
Annunciati gli #Azzurri convocati per il raduno di Verona, in programma da lunedì 22 gennaio, in preparazione al #GM6N 2024 👉 https://t.co/lsgzolnPHB
3️⃣ ⃣ atleti, 4️⃣ esordienti e 5️⃣1️giocatore – Ross Vintcent – alla prima convocazione assoluta con #Italrugby 🧮 #insieme pic.twitter.com/NZ7pfWxfYS
— Italrugby (@Federugby) January 16, 2024
At the end of a training camp with all 34 players from 22 to 27 January in Verona, Quesada will reduce his squad for the match against England, scheduled for 3 February in Rome. "We will have the opportunity to work together for the first time, even if it is only for three days," Quesada was quoted as saying in a statement from the Italian Rugby Federation.
"We're going to be able to work on the basics of our game, both defensively and offensively. We won't have much time on our hands, so we'll have to maximise this opportunity," he continued. Eleventh in the world rankings, Italy have pulled off some major successes in recent years by beating Wales in the 2022 Tournament, as well as Australia on the 2022 autumn tour. But during the World Cup, the Azzurri finished 3rd in their group, humiliated by the All Blacks (96-17) and the Blues (60-7). La Nazionale finished in 6th and last place in the 2023 Tournament with five defeats in five games.
Italy's Six Nations squad:
Forwards (20): Lorenzo Cannone (Treviso), Niccolò Cannone (Treviso), Pietro Ceccarelli (Perpignan/FRA), Riccardo Favretto (Treviso), Danilo Fischetti (Parma), Edoardo Iachizzi (Treviso), Alessandro Izekor (Treviso), Michele Lamaro (Treviso), Gianmarco Lucchesi (Treviso), Marco Manfredi (Parma), Sebastian Negri (Treviso), Giacomo Nicotera (Treviso), Matteo Nocera (Parma), Luca Rizzoli (Parma), Federico Ruzza (Treviso), Mirco Spagnolo (Treviso), Ross Vintcent (Exeter/ENG), Andrea Zambonin (Parma), Giosuè Zilocchi (Treviso), Manuel Zuliani (Treviso)
Backs (14): Tommaso Allan (Perpignan/FRA), Juan Ignacio Brex (Treviso), Pierre Bruno (Parma), Ange Capuozzo (Stade Toulousain/FRA), Alessandro Garbisi (Treviso), Paolo Garbisi (Montpellier/FRA), Simone Gesi (Parma), Monty Ioane (Lyon/FRA), Tommaso Menoncello (Treviso), Federico Mori (Bayonne/FRA), Martin Page-Relo (Lyon/FRA), Lorenzo Pani (Parma), Stephen Varney (Gloucester/ENG), Marco Zanon (Treviso)