Young guns named in Azzurri squad to face Boks in Nelson Mandela Bay

Italy have named an exciting new-look squad packed with young guns to face the Springboks in an eagerly awaited Test at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on July 12.

Before the Bay battle, a success-hungry Italian side will play Namibia in Windhoek on June 27 and the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld on July 5.

The Azzurri began preparations for the tour with an intensive training camp at the Stadio Tommaso Fattori in the central Italian city of L’Aquila this week.

A capacity crowd of 46,000 is expected in Gqeberha to watch the Boks in action in their first match in the Bay since 2021, when they played two Tests against Argentina behind closed doors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nine players who started in Italy’s last match against Ireland have been omitted from the squad as the Italians look to build depth ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

Missing are prop Simone Ferrari, hooker Gianmarci Lucchesi, locks Dino Lamb and Federico Ruzza, half-backs Martin Page-Rolo and Paolo Garbisi, midfielder Juan Ignacio Brex, winger Ange Capuzzo and full-back Tommaso Allan.

Former skipper Michele Lamaro is also absent from the group.

Ahead of the team’s departure for the southern hemisphere, coach Gonzalo Quesada unveiled his squad that started preparations in L’Aquila this week.

Among the newcomers is Pablo Dimcheff, a French-based a hooker with Italian grandparents.

There are four other uncapped forwards, who all have Zebre connections.

They are prop Muhamed Hasa, hooker Tommaso di Bartolomeo, lock Matteo Canali and David Odiase, who is joining the Parma-based United Rugby Championship club in the summer from Oyonnax.

Benetton wing Paolo Odogwu, who was called up to the England squad when Eddie Jones was in charge, made his Italian debut in the lead-up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The last of his six caps came against New Zealand at the World Cup finals in France. 

Having previously torn his ACL at Wasps, a ruptured achilles at Benetton ruled him out of availability for the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, preventing him from building on his Test breakthrough with the Azzurri.

Another injury meant Odogwu also missed the 2025 tournament, and though he lasted just 11 minutes of Benetton’s season-ending United Rugby Championship loss at Munster, he has been included in the squad.

“The management of the athletes on one side and the desire to give opportunities to some young players are the two fundamental aspects that we have taken into account in choosing the squad for the next tour,” Quesada said. 

“There are players who have had very high minutes in the last two seasons.

“We have taken into account their recovery and how to best manage the group.

“This is also an important opportunity for some athletes to compete at this level, as well as a reward for the commitment shown during the season with their performances.

“The staff on the next tour will have the opportunity to work with a group made up of a mix of young and experienced athletes.

“Next season will be very important, the last before the World Cup, and we aim to have a general idea of ​​who we can involve towards the Rugby World Cup 2027 and try to increase the depth of the squad we have available.”

Italian squad:

Forwards: Danilo Fischetti, Muhamed Hasa, Marco Riccioni, Mirco Spagnolo, Giosuè Zilocchi, Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Pablo Dimcheff, Giacomo Nicotera, Matteo Canali, Niccolo Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Andrea Zambonin, Lorenzo Cannone, Alessandro Izekor, Sebastian Negri, David Odiase, Ross Vintcent, Manuel Zuliani

Backs: Alessandro Fusco, Alessandro Garbisi, Stephen Varney, Giacomo Da Re, Giovanni Montemauri, Giulio Bertaccini, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Federico Mori, Marco Zanon, Mirko Belloni, Simone Gesi, Monty Ioane, Paolo Odogwu, Jacopo Trulla

The Herald