Round three of the 2023 Rugby World Cup gets underway this afternoon, with a Pool A clash between Italy and Uruguay taking place in Nice (16:45 KO GMT). The Azzurri are hoping to continue their winning form at the competition, after a 52-8 opening round win over Namibia.
Italy currently sit at third in Pool A, but a win with a points difference of +11 would see them leapfrog New Zealand to second place, as the All Blacks have a fallow weekend away from the action. Head Coach Kieran Crowley has made four changes to his side that won their first round match, with Alessandro Garbisi, Lorenzo Pani, Niccolo Cannone and Marco Riccioni all brought in.
Italian pocket rocket Ange Capuozzo has moved from wing to fullback, with ex-Harlequin Tommaso Allan returning at fly-half. Pani will make his Rugby World Cup debut, as he slots in on the wing to take on Uruguay. The South Americans impressed in last weekend’s defeat to France, and trailed by just one point mid-way through the second half.
The tournament hosts fielded an albeit weaker side, and ran away with the match in the latter stages for a 27-12 victory. Italy will start two sets of brothers for the first time in a World Cup game, as the Garbisi and Cannone brothers all make the side.
Alessandro Garbisi takes over from Gloucester’s Stephen Varney at scrum-half while his brother Paolo wears the number 12 shirt for the first time. He moves along from fly-half to replace Luca Morisi as centre. Niccolo Cannone replaces Harlequins lock Dino Lamb, who scored a try against Namibia and drops to the bench for this game. Lorenzo Cannone retains the number eight position.
Prop Riccioni comes in for Simone Ferrari, and back-row Sebastian Negri is set to make his 50th appearance for the Azzurri this weekend. Crowley understands the threat that Uruguay will bring, in what is a must win game with France and the All Blacks still to come for Italy in Pool A.
“We worked well during the week in Bourgoin,” Crowley said to Reuters. “We are in a World Cup, every game has its importance, its difficulties and its history.
“The preparation for the match against Uruguay was good. We will be focused on our performance.”
Italy’s last game against Uruguay saw Crowley record his first win as Head Coach. In the 2021 Autumn Internationals, Italy triumphed 17-10 over the Uruguayans, in what was Crowley’s third match in charge.
Seven players from that Italian team will start against Uruguay, Ignacio Brex, Monty Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Federico Ruzza, Danilo Fischetti, Negri, and captain Michele Lamaro.
ITALY TEAM TO PLAY URUGUAY
15. Ange Capuozzo
14. Lorenzo Pani
13. Juan Ignacio Brex
12. Paolo Garbisi
11. Montanna Ioane
10. Tommaso Allan
9. Alessandro Garbisi
1. Danilo Fischetti
2. Giacomo Nicotera
3. Marco Riccioni
4. Niccolo Cannone
5. Federico Ruzza
6. Sebastian Negri
7. Michele Lamaro (captain)
8. Lorenzo Cannone
REPLACEMENTS
16. Luca Bigi
17. Federico Zani
18. Pietro Ceccarelli
19. Dino Lamb
20. Manuel Zuliani
21. Giovanni Pettinelli
22. Alessandro Fusco
23. Paolo Odogwu.