Rugby-Much-changed Italy give debut to Locatelli against South Africa


FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Wales v Italy - Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - March 14, 2026 Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada during the warm up before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Italy head ⁠coach Gonzalo Quesada made 10 changes, mostly enforced ⁠by injuries, when he named his side to face ‌South Africa in Saturday's Nations Championship fixture in Turin, where flanker Samuele Locatelli will make his debut.

• Quesada has been hit with a ​long list of injury absentees since their ⁠last match, a 57-10 ⁠loss against Australia in July, including captain Michele Lamaro, centre ⁠pairing ‌Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex, along with Sebastian Negri and Louis Lynagh

• Locatelli comes into the ⁠back row after the 25-year-old took part ​in this year's ‌Six Nations training camp without making an appearance

• Mirko ⁠Belloni is ​selected at fullback, with Ange Capuozzo on the wing

• Number eight Ross Vintcent drops to the bench and is replaced by ⁠Lorenzo Cannone, whose brother Niccolo is ​selected in the second row

• Hooker Giacomo Nicotera will captain the side in the absence of Lamaro

• Italy lost all three ⁠Nations Championship matches in July, and host Argentina on November 14 in Genoa and Fiji one week later in Udine

Team: 15-Mirko Belloni, 14-Ange Capuozzo, 13-Paolo Odogwu, 12-Leonardo Marin, 11-Monty ​Ioane, 10-Paolo Garbisi, 9-Alessandro Fusco, 8-Lorenzo ⁠Cannone, 7-Samuele Locatelli, 6-Alessandro Ortombina, 5-Federico Ruzza, 4-Niccolo Cannone, 3-Simone ​Ferrari, 2-Giacomo Nicotera, 1-Muhamed Hasa

Replacements:16-Tommaso Di ‌Bartolomeo, 17-Danilo Fischetti, 18-Ion Neculai, 19-Enoch ​Opoku Gyamfi, 20-Ross Vintcent, 21-Manuel Zuliani, 22-Stephen Varney, 23-Tommaso Allan

(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Alison Williams)

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