Andries Van Schalkwyk replaces suspended Italy captain Sergio Parisse
Thursday 24 November 2016 11:49, UK
Italy coach Conor O'Shea on Thursday replaced suspended captain Sergio Parisse with Zebre flanker Andries Van Schalkwyk for this weekend's Test against Tonga.
Parisse earned an Italian record 121st cap for the Azzurri last weekend in an historic 20-18 win over South Africa, but has been ruled out by a three-week ban for dangerous play during a Top 14 game with French side Stade Francais earlier this month.
Van Schalkwyk, who scored one of Italy's two tries against the Springboks in Florence, had initially been left out of O'Shea's starting XV when the Irishman named it earlier this week. He was replaced in the second row by Quintin Geldenhuys.
But the South African comes in at No 8 to replace Parisse, with Simone Favaro handed the captain's armband for the match in Padova.
After seeing Italy start their November series with a 68-10 defeat by a largely second-string New Zealand team in Rome, O'Shea was buoyed by last week's battling win over the crisis-hit Boks.
But he has demanded a disciplined, determined approach from the Azzurri as they look to make it two wins out of two.
"The discipline we had and the work rate I saw against South Africa can and must improve this weekend, that's what I expect to see," O'Shea said.
"Now, all eyes are on us. We can't be sidetracked by thoughts of winning. We have to focus on our objectives, which haven't changed: hard work, discipline and intensity."
Italy: 15 Edoardo Padovani; 14 Giulio Bisegni, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti; 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Giorgio Bronzini; 1 Sami Panico, 2 Ornel Gega, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys; 5 Marco Fuser, 6 Francesco Minto; 7 Simone Favaro (capt), 8 Andries van Schalkwyk
Replacements: 16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Nicola Quaglio, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 George Biagi, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Michele Campagnaro
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