Italy head coach Kieran Crowley has made several alterations to his starting line-up, including some positional switches, for Friday’s Pool A Rugby World Cup clash with New Zealand in Lyon.
After sealing a 38-17 victory over Uruguay in their previous match, most of the Azzurri’s changes are in the backline.
Tommaso Allan shifts from fly-half to full-back, where he takes over from Ange Capuozzo, who is moved to the right wing while Paolo Garbisi is back in the number 10 jersey after starting at inside centre against the Lelos.
Allan eyeing points-scoring record
Allan has not missed a shot at goal at this World Cup, kicking all 13 attempts, and requires five more points to surpass Diego Dominguez as the Azzurri’s all-time leading Rugby World Cup point-scorer.
That means Luca Morisi comes into the run-on side to wear the number 12 jersey, and he will be joined in the midfield by Juan Ignacio Brex.
Meanwhile, Monty Ioane keeps his spot on the left wing and joins Allan and Capuozzo in an exciting back three, while the final backline change sees Stephen Varney replacing Alessandro Garbisi at scrum-half.
In the forwards, Dino Lamb comes in at the expense of Niccolo Cannone as the only change to the forward pack. Lamb has scored a try in two of his three Test starts for the Azzurri.
Michele Lamaro captains the side from the openside flank, and he is joined in the back-row by Lorenzo Cannone (number eight) and Sebastian Negri (blindside).
In the front-row, Giacomo Nicotera packs down at hooker alongside Marco Riccioni and Danilo Fischetti, who are the tighthead and loosehead props, respectively.
Crowley has opted for a six-two split on the bench, in favour of the forwards, with Hame Faiva, Ivan Nemer, Simone Ferrari, Niccolo Cannone, Manuel Zuliani and Toa Halafihi being the forward replacements while Martin Page-Relo and Paolo Odogwu offer backline cover.
The team
Italy: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Niccolo Cannone, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Toa Halafihi, 22 Martin Page-Relo, 23 Paolo Odogwu
Date: Friday, September 29
Venue: OL Stadium, Lyon
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
READ MORE: Uruguay and Namibia chop and change for crunch Rugby World Cup clash in Lyon
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