Six Nations team guide: Italy 

Can the Azzurri back up last year's progress in the tournament? 

GLADIATORS... READY: Ange Capuozzo of Italy celebrates with fans after a game last year. Picture: INPHO/Andy Watts

ITALY 

SIX NATIONS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2025

Your home for the latest news, views and analysis of this year's Six Nations Championship from our award winning sports team.

SIX NATIONS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2025

Your home for the latest news, views and analysis of this year's Six Nations Championship from our award winning sports team.

Home: Stadio Olimpico, Rome 

If they were a movie title they’d be… The Wild Bunch 

World Ranking: 12 2022 Test Record: P11 W5 L6 

Highlight reel: Ending their 36-game Six Nations losing streak by beating Wales at the death in Cardiff for a first win since 2015 and then beating Samoa and Australia in November’s Autumn Nations Series.

6N Odds: Outright: 500/1 Grand Slam: 500/1 

Last time out: Wooden spoon, W1 L4 Oscar-winning performance: Fourth, 2007, 20013 

Rotten tomato: Whitewashed 11 times.

Head coach: Kieran Crowley (since 2022) P5 W1 L4 Win Rate: 20% 

If he was a screen character, who would he be? Ray Kinsella (Field Of Dreams) - inspired to pursue a seemingly unrealistic dream with the promise “If you build it, they will come”.

Captain: Michele Lamaro (since 2022) P5 W1 L4 Win Rate: 20% 

Who would play him in a biopic? Tom Holland – the next big thing and no stranger to a leading role.

Most appearances: 69 - Sergio Parisse (2004-19); Current: 19 – Tommaso Allan and Sebastian Negri Most points: 162 - Diego Dominguez (2000-03); Current: 61 - Paolo Garbisi.

Most tries: 7 - Parisse (04-19) and Mirco Bergamasco (2002-12); Current: 6 – Tommaso Allan

A-lister: Ange Capuozzo, the French-born Toulouse full-back was named World Rugby’s breakthrough player of 2022 after an electric start to his Test career with two tries on debut against Scotland a year ago before setting up the game-winning try for Edoardo Padovani in Cardiff a week later that secured a first win against Wales in 15 years.

A Star Is Born? Scrum-half Alessandro Garbisi is fly-half Paolo’s kid brother and made a try-scoring Test debut against Romania last summer, since when he has become a regular starter for Benetton.

New cast members… There are four uncapped front-row forwards in Crowley’s squad, with a trio from Zebre – tighthead prop Marco Manfredi, loosehead Luca Rizzoli and hooker Matteo Nocera – and Italian Top 10 league player Mirco Spagnolo of Petrarca.

Failed the audition… centres Marco Zanon and Federico Mori suffered the axe from Crowley while former Benetton wing Monty Ioane remains unavailable following his move back to Australia.

Broke a leg? Great news for Italy is the return from injury of fly-half Paolo Garbisi. The Montpellier playmaker’s knee injury has kept him sidelined since late December and he was expected to miss the opening rounds of the Six Nations. The Azzurri will still be without Toa Halafihi, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Leonardo Marin and David Sisi due to injury.

Potential milestones: Harlequins fly-half Tommaso Allan needs just one more five-pointer to equal his country’s Six Nations try-scoring record of seven and go into a three-way tie with Sergio Parisse and Mirco Bergamasco, while Matteo Minozzi and Edoardo Padovani start the championship on five apiece.

Donal Lenihan's verdict: Having finally won a Six Nations match after 35 consecutive defeats in their last tournament outing against Wales, backing that up with another win in this campaign would amount to big step in the right direction.

The sequence of games is especially unkind so they may have to wait until the back end of the tournament, when they face Wales and Scotland, to emulate the deeds of last season.

Italian coach Kieran Crowley has been quick to promote some very promising players from the U20 ranks and the Italian public may have to be patient to witness the fruits of that bold move. In the meantime, they have the mercurial attacking skills of new wing sensation Ange Capuozzo to set pulses racing.

Squad: Forwards (21): P Ceccarelli (Brive), S Ferrari (Benetton), D Fischetti (London Irish), M Nocera (Zebre Parma), M Riccioni (Saracens), L Rizzoli (Zebre Parma), M Spagnolo (Petrarca), F Zani (Benetton), L Bigi (Zebre Parma), M Manfredi (Zebre Parma), G Nicotera (Benetton), N Cannone (Benetton), M Fuser (Massy), F Ruzza (Benetton), A Zambonin (Zebre Parma), L Cannone (Benetton), M Lamaro (Benetton), S Negri (Benetton), G Pettinelli (Benetton), J Polledri (Gloucester), M Zuliani (Benetton) Backs (13): A Garbisi (Benetton Rugby), S Varney (Gloucester), A Fusco (Zebre Parma), T Allan (Harlequins), G Da Re (Benetton), P Garbisi (Montpellier), J I Brex (Benetton), E Lucchin (Zebre Parma), T Menoncello (Benetton), L Morisi (London Irish), P Bruno (Zebre Parma), A Capuozzo (Toulouse), M Minozzi (Benetton), E Padovani (Benetton)