Italy team v Ireland: Gonzalo Quesada swings the axe as Michele Lamaro is replaced as captain

Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has made numerous changes to his starting line-up for their Six Nations encounter against Ireland at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday.

After suffering a 47-24 defeat to England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham there are seven alterations in all – including two positional switches – while Juan Ignacio Brex (outside centre) takes over the captaincy from Michele Lamaro.

Although it is the second time that Brex will skipper the Azzurri, this will be the first time he leads his country in the Six Nations and he continues his successful midfield combination with Tommaso Menoncello.

Tommaso Allan back at full-back

Meanwhile, Tommaso Allan returns to the run-on side at full-back, after starting on the replacements bench against the Red Rose in Round Four while Ange Capuozzo moves to the right wing.

Capuozzo wore the number 15 jersey against England but returns to the position which he featured in for most of the Six Nations while Monty Ioane switches to the left wing.

There is one more change in the backline with Martin Page-Relo preferred to Stephen Varney as the starting scrum-half and he will form a half-back partnership with Paolo Garbisi, who continues as the starting fly-half.

In the forwards, there are a couple of alterations in the back-row with Lorenzo Cannone and Manuel Zuliani replacing Ross Vintcent and Lamaro at number eight and on the openside flank respectively, while Dino Lamb takes over from Niccolò Cannone in the second-row.

The final changes are in the front-row where Simone Ferrari and Gianmarco Lucchesi replace Marco Riccioni and Giacomo Nicotera as the starting tighthead prop and hooker respectively.

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Quesada has opted for a 6/2 split on his bench with Nicotera, Mirco Spagnolo, Joshua Zilocchi, Niccolò Cannone, Lamaro and Vintcent the forward replacements while Varney and Leonardo Marin offer backline cover.

With just one victory – against Wales in Round Two – Quesada is determined for the Azzurri to finish their Six Nations campaign on a high against the defending champions.

“We have a new, important opportunity to take to the field in the Six Nations in front of our fans,” he said. “It is a long and demanding tournament from various points of view.

“Our task is also to evaluate these aspects and make choices. The match develops over eighty minutes and the contribution of all the players in the match list will be fundamental.

“We have chosen to give the opportunity to Zuliani from the first minute and at the same time we want to have greater leadership on the field in the final part of the match.”

Italy’s team to face Ireland

Italy: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex (c), 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Joshua Zilocchi, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Michele Lamaro, 21 Ross Vintcent, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Leonardo Marin

Date: Saturday, March 15
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)

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