Conor O'Shea names young Italy squad for New Zealand visit
Tuesday 8 November 2016 17:03, UK
Italy's new coach Conor O'Shea has gambled on a youthful line-up sprinkled with a few old heads for his first home match in charge, against New Zealand on Saturday.
The Irishman has handed Treviso's Giorgio Bronzini an international debut at scrum-half in an untested half-back partnership with Carlo Canna, who has only 12 caps to his name.
But he has also recalled skipper Sergio Parisse, who will win a record 120th cap in the back row, and veteran hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini, for whom it will be an 82nd international appearance.
Both men missed the summer tour in which O'Shea's squad lost to Argentina but secured narrow victories over the USA and Canada.
Parisse will be breaking the appearances record he had shared with Martin Castrogiovanni, who has not played since being suspended by his French club Racing 92 earlier this year over an unauthorised trip to Las Vegas.
Adding to the experience in the starting XV is Australian-born Luke Mclean, who also wins his 82nd cap, at inside centre.
O'Shea's back three of full-back Edoardo Padovani and wings Giulio Bisegni and Angelo Esposito have just 12 international appearances between them.
The second-row combination of South African-born Andries Van Schalkyk and Marco Fuser is untried and flanker Maxime Mbanda will be making his maiden appearance on Italian soil after winning his first two caps against the USA and Canada.
Italy: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Giulio Bisegni, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Angelo Esposito, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Giorgio Bronzini; 1 Andrea Lovotti, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 4 Marco Fuser, 5 Andries van Schalkwyk, 6 Maxime Mbanda, 7 Simone Favaro, 8 Sergio Parisse (c).
Replacements: 16 Ornel Gega, 17 Sami Panico, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 George Biagi, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Tommaso Boni.
