In the wake of the 12-16 loss to Scotland at the weekend, Jacques Brunel has culled players from the Italy group and named his squad for the impending Rugby World Cup in England.
Veteran flanker Mauro Bergamasco is, astonishingly, featuring in his record-breaking fifth World Cup. The group is captained by the irrepressible Sergio Parisse, who did not feature in the game at the weekend.
Marco Bortolami and Robert Barbieri are two of the bigger names to miss out, while 16 of the squad are World Cup debutants.
“I want to thank all the players for their great commitment and attachment to the national team demonstrated in these two months of hard work,” said Brunel.
“I am confident that the same spirit will continue to shine in this last stage of the journey towards the World Cup and will be at the peak during the event.
“Our goal, over the years, has always been to find the right balance for this team. Our ambition is to qualify for the quarter-finals, getting out of the group stage for the first time in the history of Italian rugby, and we have focused our energy and made our decisions based on reaching that goal.”
Italy squad for Rugby World Cup 2015:
Matias Aguero, Martin Castrogiovanni, Dario Chistolini, Lorenzo Cittadini, Michele Rizzo, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Davide Giazzon, Andrea Manici, Valerio Bernabo, Joshua Furno, Marco Fuser, Quintin Geldenhuys, Mauro Bergamasco, Francesco Minto, Sergio Parisse, Samuela Vunisa, Alessandro Zanni, Edoardo Gori, Guglielmo Palazzani, Marcello Violi, Tommaso Allan, Carlo Canna, Tommaso Benvenuti, Michele Campagnaro, Angelo Esposito, Gonzalo Garcia, Andrea Masi, Luke McLean, Luca Morisi, Leonardo Sarto, Giovanbattista Venditti
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
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