ITALY’S HEAD COACH Nick Mallett has handed the No 10 shirt to Benetton Treviso’s Kristopher Burton for his debut in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations opener against Ireland at Rome’s Flaminio Stadium.
The Australia-born fly-half replaces Craig Gower, who is out for the entire tournament with a knee injury.
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Burton’s clubmate Alessandro Zanni replaces veteran Mauro Bergamasco at seven. Bergamasco is out of the Six Nations having suffered a shoulder injury back in November.
Edoardo Gori starts at scrum-half after an impressive game against Fiji last autumn. The Azzurri – who are usually at their strongest in the first game - will be boosted by the return of Sergio Parisse.
The captian missed last year’s Six Nations with a serious knee injury and watched as Italy suffered four defeats in five games.
Italy team to play Ireland in the RBS 6 Nations Championship, Stadio Flaminio, Rome on Saturday, 3:30pm:
L McLean; A Masi, G Canale, A Sgarbi, M Bergamasco; K Burton, E Gori; S Perugini, L Ghiraldini, M Castrogiovanni, S Dellape, Q Geldenhuys, J Sole, A Zanni, S Parisse (capt).
Replacements: F Ongaro, A Lo Cicero, C Del Fava, V Bernabo, P Canavosio, L Orquera, G Garcia.
Kristopher Burton handed debut shot against Irish in Rome
ITALY’S HEAD COACH Nick Mallett has handed the No 10 shirt to Benetton Treviso’s Kristopher Burton for his debut in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations opener against Ireland at Rome’s Flaminio Stadium.
The Australia-born fly-half replaces Craig Gower, who is out for the entire tournament with a knee injury.
Burton’s clubmate Alessandro Zanni replaces veteran Mauro Bergamasco at seven. Bergamasco is out of the Six Nations having suffered a shoulder injury back in November.
Edoardo Gori starts at scrum-half after an impressive game against Fiji last autumn. The Azzurri – who are usually at their strongest in the first game - will be boosted by the return of Sergio Parisse.
The captian missed last year’s Six Nations with a serious knee injury and watched as Italy suffered four defeats in five games.
Italy team to play Ireland in the RBS 6 Nations Championship, Stadio Flaminio, Rome on Saturday, 3:30pm:
L McLean; A Masi, G Canale, A Sgarbi, M Bergamasco; K Burton, E Gori; S Perugini, L Ghiraldini, M Castrogiovanni, S Dellape, Q Geldenhuys, J Sole, A Zanni, S Parisse (capt).
Replacements: F Ongaro, A Lo Cicero, C Del Fava, V Bernabo, P Canavosio, L Orquera, G Garcia.
Read all the build-up coverage here>
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