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Sergio Parisse will lead Italy vs Wales this weekend, earning his 133rd cap in the process. The Argentine born-and-raised no 8 is a record holder already and quickly approaching even more milestones.
Italy’s match this weekend is a rare Sunday outing in Cardiff. The Azzurri face the Welsh at the Millennium Stadium looking to turn around their campaign.
For the match Italian Head Coach Conor O’Shea has made just a single to the starting line-up. That change sees Giulio Bisegni named ahead of Tommaso Boni at outside center.
Parisse again joins Maxime Mbanda and Sebastian Negri in the back-row. Their pack down behind a second-row of Dean Budd and Alessandro Zanni, the latter of whom was always a test flanker until this season with O’Shea moving him into the engine room.
The bench sees opportunities for Oliviero Fabiani, Guglielmo Palazzani, and Giovanni Licata. None of them played in the prior match against France.
ITALY
15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Sergio Parisse (capt.), 7 Maxime Mbanda, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Nicola Quaglio, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Jayden Hayward
