Italy Six Nations 2026: When in Rome, beware might of the Azzurri

Had the organisers listened to Warburton, then it would have been Wales and not Italy more in danger of falling through that proposed trapdoor over the last few years as those countries’ fortunes took contrasting paths.

Sensibly, the Six Nations were not of a mind to entertain the idea of Italy giving up their hard-earned spot to Romania, Georgia or even South Africa, as was mooted at one point, and their public backing has been repaid of late and then some.

The Azzurri were still annual wooden spoon recipients until 2023 but by then there was already a sign that something positive was stirring within Italian rugby that would become something far more tangible over the last couple of campaigns.

The development of a number of homegrown talents, some of whom were first introduced by Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith during his time with the national federation, alongside the capture of overseas players with Italian heritage have seen the squad grow from perennial whipping boys to credible competitors.

They may not quite have reached the point where they can be considered Six Nations contenders but, under savvy and suave head coach Gonzalo Quesada, Italy are undoubtedly now, at the very least, a threat in every match and capable of winning many of them, too.

Several nations have discovered Italy’s drastic improvement in painful fashion in recent years, including Australia, France, South Africa, Ireland, England, Wales and, in particular, Scotland who have historically found it tricky in this fixture, even going back to Italy’s maiden Six Nations bow in 2000 when they defeated the then reigning Five Nations champions.

Italy proud of their colosseum

Italy have been particularly obdurate opponents inside their own colosseum, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where Scotland will return for what looks a particularly treacherous opening encounter having lost a thriller at the same venue two years ago. It says much about the advancement of Italian rugby, and Scotland’s regression, that the hosts will almost certainly start that one as favourites.

Their two professional clubs, Benetton and Zebre, again provide the bulk of the preliminary 33-man squad named by Quesada (above), with Benetton in particular having improved in recent years to become one of the more dangerous outfits in the United Rugby Championship.

That Italy can also call upon players stationed at some of Europe’s biggest clubs – including Toulon, Saracens, Northampton Saints and Lyon – shows both how highly-rated their homegrown players have become but also the success of their recruitment policy.

It is to their undoubted detriment, then, that several of their dual-qualified internationals look set to miss at least the start of the Six Nations due to injury, including back-rowers Ross Vintcent and Sebastian Negri and, most notably, Ange Capuozzo.

The Toulouse back-three option has become a key figure in this Italian squad in recent years given his energetic and purposeful displays and will be a big miss should he fail to recover in time from a broken finger.

Tommaso Allan, the former Scotland under-20 fly half who kicked four penalties and a conversion as Italy gave Gregor Townsend’s side a scare at Murrayfield last year, also misses out, as do Gianmarco Lucchessi and Jacopo Trulla.

There are two uncapped players, back-row Samuele Locatelli and centre Damiano Mazza, called up to augment a squad again captained by Michele Lamaro. Paolo Odogwu, Matt Gallagher and Alessandro Fusco all return after missing the autumn internationals.

With Capuozzo likely to sit out at least the start of the tournament, there will be greater focus placed on Louis Lynagh to shine. Treviso-born to a legendary Australian dad, Michael, and raised in England, Lynagh (below left) elected to throw his lot in with the country of his birth two years ago, scoring on his debut against Scotland.

Having beaten Australia and Chile in the autumn as well as giving South Africa a thorough test, Quesada sounded a note of confidence and optimism as he named his squad.

“These days are filled with excitement as we await the oldest rugby tournament in the world, facing some of the best national teams in the world,” he said. “These are always moments filled with emotion. We need to build on the form we showed last November and then aim to show the performances we had against Ireland and Australia last year.”

The Italy breakdown

Head coach: Gonzalo Quesada.

Key player: Louis Lynagh.

One to watch: Edoardo Todaro.

Record in past 5 years: 2025 - 5th, 2024 - 5th, 2023 - 6th, 2022 - 6th, 2021- 6th.

World ranking: 10th.

Did you know? Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada was top scorer at the 1999 Rugby World Cup with 102 points for Argentina.