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Italy ring changes for Argentina clash after Bok thrashing

By Avuyile Sawula
Thursday 12 Nov 2026
Gonzalo Quesada Italy 2026

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada will be hoping for a much improved performance when his side welcomes Argentina in Round Five of the Nations Championship in Genoa on Saturday.

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The Azzurri come off a humiliating 7-66 loss to the Springboks last week and remain winless in the competition after four matches.

Continues below…

In an effort to better that record, Quesada has made five changes to the starting lineup that lost to the Boks in Turin.

Fullback Tommaso Allan will return to the starting lineup and form a back three pairing with Ioane Monty and Ange Capuozzo on the wings.

The centre pairing of Paolo Odogwu and  Leonardo Marin remains unchanged, while Paolo Garbisi and Stephen Varney will be the half-back pairing.

Quesada has opted for consistency in the back row, with Lorenzo Cannone keeping his starting spot, along with Manuel Zuliani and South African-born Ross Vincent.

Federico Ruzza and Niccolò Cannone are in the second row, while prop Danilo Fischetti returns to the starting lineup alongside captain Giacomo Nicotera and Simone Ferrari.

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The Italians are thin on the bench, and the combined caps add up to 135, with Marco Riccioni being the most experienced player with 39.

After facing Argentina, the Azzurri will take on Fiji in the final round of the competition.

Italy: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 12 Leonardo Marin, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Ross Vintcent, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera (captain), 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, 20 Alessandro Ortombina, 21 Samuele Locatelli, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Federico Mori.

Date: Saturday, 14 November
Venue: Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
Kick-off: 12:40 CET (11:40 GMT, 08:40 ART, Sunday 15 November)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

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