Italy stick with experience
Italy are taking no chances in their effort to qualify for the next World Cup in 2017. That is the clear message from the 30-player squad that they have selected for this year’s Six Nations.
Published by John Birch, January 20th, 2015
2 minute read
Captain Silvia Gaudino in action against Ireland last year.
With this season’s Six Nations forming the first step in the qualification process for 2017, national coach Andrea Di Giandomenico and his assistant Tito Cicciò have gone for experience in their selections. 26 of the 30 players in the squad have previous international experience, 24 of whom played last year.
The four new faces are Jessica Busato (fly half from Benetton), Federica Cipolla (centre/ wing Umbria Ragazze, and Isabella Locatelli and Novella Russo (back row and fly half from Rugby Monza). Elisa Cucchiella and Flavia Severini return to the colours having missed out last year.
Four of the squad (Melissa Bettoni, Awa Coulibaly, Sofia Stefan and Cecilia Zublena) currently play for Rennes in the top 8 in France, a development welcomed by Di Giandomenico and captain Silvia Gaudino when we spoke to them last year.
Italy's key games will be against qualifiaction rivals Scotland and Wales, with automatic places for the best two of the three, based on performances over the 2015 and 2016 tournaments. The third placed team will have to play off against the best team from the rest of Europe (almost certainly Spain) in a home-and-away two game series in the spring or early summer of 2016.
The squad is: