Vintcent to Start at 8 for Italy Against England

Ross Vintcent will this weekend make his first start in the 2025 Guinness Men's Six Nations for Italy.

Gonzalo Quesada, Head Coach of the Italian Men’s Team, has officially announced the line-up that will face England on Sunday, March 9, at 3:00 PM at Allianz Twickenham Stadium. The match will mark Round 4 of the Guinness Six Nations 2025.

This will be the 32nd encounter between the two teams, with all previous matches favouring the home side, the only team the Azzurri have never beaten in the tournament.

There are six changes in the starting XV. In the back three, Capuozzo returns to wear the number 15 jersey, while Ioane is back on the wing after recovering from an injury sustained against France. 

The well-established centre partnership of Brex and Menoncello remains unchanged, while at scrumhalf, Varney joins Garbisi.

In the back row, alongside captain Lamaro and Negri, Exeter Chief Ross Vintcent wears the number 8 jersey. 

The second-row pairing of Ruzza and Niccolò Cannone is confirmed, while in the front row, Riccioni returns to the starting XV, joining Nicotera and Fischetti.

Ready to come off the bench are Lucchesi, Spagnolo, Ferrari, Favretto, Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone, Page-Relo, and Allan.

Italy:

15 Ange CAPUOZZO (Stade Toulousain, 26 caps)
14 Monty IOANE (Lyon, 37 caps)
13 Juan Ignacio BREX (Benetton Rugby, 44 caps)
12 Tommaso MENONCELLO (Benetton Rugby, 26 caps)
11 Matt GALLAGHER (Benetton Rugby, 2 caps)
10 Paolo GARBISI (Toulon, 45 caps)
9 Stephen VARNEY (Vannes, 30 caps)

8 Ross VINTCENT (Exeter Chiefs, 12 caps)
7 Michele LAMARO (Benetton Rugby, 46 caps) – Captain
6 Sebastian NEGRI (Benetton Rugby, 61 caps)
5 Federico RUZZA (Benetton Rugby, 62 caps)
4 Niccolò CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 50 caps)
3 Marco RICCIONI (Saracens, 32 caps)
2 Giacomo NICOTERA (Stade Français, 31 caps)
1 Danilo FISCHETTI (Zebre Parma, 50 caps)

Replacements:

16 Gianmarco LUCCHESI (Toulon, 31 caps)
17 Mirco SPAGNOLO (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps)
18 Simone FERRARI (Benetton Rugby, 62 caps)
19 Riccardo FAVRETTO (Benetton Rugby, 5 caps)
20 Manuel ZULIANI (Benetton Rugby, 30 caps)
21 Lorenzo CANNONE (Benetton Rugby, 26 caps)
22 Martin PAGE-RELO (Lyon, 16 caps)
23 Tommaso ALLAN (Perpignan, 84 caps)