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Italy want a forwards battle

Italy will be looking to an experience pack to try to dominate in the tight facets of the match.

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The most notable feature of this team is that Brunel has decided to stick with his tried and tested front row combination of reliable props Martin Castrogiovanni and Matias Aguero, while captain Leonardo Ghiraldini remains at hooker.

The Italians will be looking to dominate at the scrums and hopefully their flyhalf, Tommaso Allan, can keep them moving foward.

Luke McClean seems to have cemented his position as the incumbent fullback.

Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Hugo Campagnaro, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Josh Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (captain), 1 Matias Aguero.

Replacements: 16 Andrea Manici, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Enrico Bacchin.

Date: Saturday, September 19

Venue: Twickenham, London

Kick-off: 20.00 (19.00 GMT: 21.00 Italian and French Time)

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Stuart Berry (South Africa)

TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

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