Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has named his squad for the inaugural Nations Championship, and the biggest headline is what’s missing. Star fullback Ange Capuozzo won’t be with the team for any of its training camp in L’Aquila, leaving fans to wonder how the Azzurri will handle the high-octane tournament that kicks off in Tokyo this July.
Capuozzo — one of Italy’s most electric attacking threats — is still tied up with his Top 14 club, Toulouse, which is battling in the final stages of the French season. Quesada confirmed that Capuozzo and hooker Giacomo Nicotera will both miss the entire preparation block in L’Aquila, joining the squad only at the very end. “Given the commitments of some athletes with their respective clubs, still involved in the final stages of the championships, we will not have the full group back until next week, starting on Tuesday,” Quesada said. “We will therefore have only one full-team training session before leaving.”
That’s a razor-thin margin for a team taking on Japan, New Zealand, and Australia in consecutive weeks. But Quesada isn’t panicking. “Most of the players have not played a match in several weeks, but I am very confident: I know the quality of work this staff is capable of delivering and I know the energy, dedication, and commitment this group brings on the pitch,” he added. “I am confident we will be ready for our debut in this new competition in Japan.”
Fresh Faces and Familiar Names
Three uncapped players — Giulio Marini, Alessandro Ortombina, and Malik Faissal — earned their first call-ups. Meanwhile, Destiny Aminu, Samuele Locatelli, and Ivan Nemer were invited as guests to the training camp in Abruzzo, giving them a chance to impress ahead of future selections.
English rugby fans will notice two familiar surnames in the backline: Paolo Odogwu and Louis Lynagh, both of whom had brief stints in England training camps earlier in their careers. They’ve since cemented their places in Quesada’s setup, adding depth to an already dangerous Italian back three.
The rest of the backline features the tournament-ready combination of Tommaso Menoncello, Paolo Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, and Monty Ioane. Menoncello, in particular, continues his rapid rise as one of the most dangerous playmakers in European rugby. Up front, the pack is built around Lorenzo Cannone, Ross Vintcent, and Danilo Fischetti — players who’ve scrummed their way into the national conversation.
Italy will open their Southern Hemisphere Series against Japan on July 4 at Chichibunomiya Stadium in Tokyo. They’ll then travel to Wellington to face the All Blacks on July 11, before wrapping up the series against Australia in Perth on July 18. Six players — including Simone Ferrari and Sebastian Negri — were ruled out due to injury, so Quesada is already operating with a trimmed deck. But with Capuozzo set to rejoin at the last moment and a squad hungry to prove itself on the global stage, the Azzurri might just be the surprise package of the tournament.
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