Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada has opted for a six-two bench split for Saturday’s Test against the Springboks in Turin.
Quesada has made just one change to the starting lineup that upset Australia 26-19 in Udine last weekend, with Marco Riccioni starting at tighthead prop and Simone Ferrari moving to the bench.
The bench composition is the bigger talking point, though, with Quesada loading up on forwards.
Flank David Odiase comes into the match 23 to provide additional muscle, while Alessandro Izekor is also named among the replacements, taking the place of Riccardo Favretto. Playmaker Leonardo Marin misses out completely as a result of the six-two split.
There are a couple of familiar names for South African fans in the Azzurri ranks. Jo-born Ross Vintcent continues on the flank after impressing against the Wallabies, while replacement flyhalf Tommaso Allan represented Western Province at age-group level.
FEATURE: How WP’s Tommy became Italy’s Tommaso
ITALY – 15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex (c), 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Ross Vintcent, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Bench:Â 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 David Odiase, 22 Martin Page-Relo, 23 Tommaso Allan.
Photo: Timothy Rogers/Getty Images
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