Cheetahs lock makes Italian WC squad
Italy’s South African coach Nick Mallett has named his 30-man squad for the World Cup which included the uncapped duo of hooker Tommaso D’Apice and former Cheetahs lock forward Cornelius Van Zyl.
The 23-year-old D’Apice plays at Aironi, while 32-year-old South Africa-born Van Zyl also features in the Celtic League with Treviso.
Fourteen of the 30 will be featuring in their first World Cup while skipper Sergio Parisse will be playing in his third, having also appeared in the 2003 and 2007 editions.
Prop Andrea Lo Cicero and loose forward Mauro Bergamasco, who both played in the 1999 tournament, are the veterans heading for the event in New Zealand later this year.
Missing from the squad is Australian-born flyhalf Craig Gower who had already been ruled out because of a knee injury. Fellow Australian-born playmaker Kristopher Burton was one of six players, originally included in the 36-man training squad, who did not make the final cut.
Italy will play two warm-up matches before heading to New Zealand – against Japan in Cesena on August 13 and Scotland in Edinburgh on August 20.
At the World Cup, Italy will be in Group C along with Australia, Ireland, Russia and the United States.
“We will go to New Zealand with the best team possible and we have no doubt that the quarterfinals will be within our reach,” said Mallett, whose side tackle Australia in their opening game in Auckland on September 11.
“We knew it would not be easy to choose 30 players for the World Cup. All the players that have trained this month have given their all. This is the result of four years of work. We have no doubt that those that have been chosen are the best possible to compete in the World Cup,” added the Italy boss.
Italy squad:
Forwards: Martin Castrogiovanni, Andrea Lo Cicero, Lorenzo Cittadini, Salvatore Perugini, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Fabio Ongaro, Tommaso D’Apice, Marco Bortolami, Carlo Antonio Del Fava, Qintin Geldenhuys, Cornelius Van Zyl, Robert Julian Barbieri, Mauro Bergamasco, Paul Derbyshire, Sergio Parisse (captain), Alessandro Zanni.
Backs: Pablo Canavosio, Edoardo Gori, Fabio Semenzato, Luciano Orquera, Riccardo Bocchino, Tommaso Benvenuti, Mirco Bergamasco, Gonzalo Canale, Gonzalo Garcia, Andrea Masi, Luke McLean, Matteo Pratichetti, Alberto Sgarbi, Guilio Toniolatti.
