Quesada’s 33 for the Nations Championship: ins and outs

Habemus convocatos. Gonzalo Quesada has shown his hand and confirmed the 33 Azzurri for the Southern Hemisphere Series of the 2026 Nations Championship, the first window of the new international competition. It’s the group Italy will take on their summer triple-header against Japan, New Zealand and Australia: three tough away trips, three opponents who all sit above the Azzurri in the world ranking.

The list came out on 17 June and tells more than it seems: confirmations to give the group continuity, three debutants, a return awaited for almost four years and a few absences tied to club calendars. Let’s take it in order.

What the Nations Championship is and why it matters

The Nations Championship is the new tournament born from the collaboration between Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR. On a two-yearly basis it pits the world’s twelve best national teams against each other, split into two pools of six: each team plays six matches — three in the July window and three in November — facing all the sides in the opposite pool. The tournament closes with a Finals Weekend at Twickenham, in London, between 27 and 29 November 2026.

The start of the Nations Championship marks the dawn of a new era for rugby.

The words are Quesada’s, who makes no secret of his ambition: “Almost all the teams we’ll face are ahead of us in the world ranking: it’s a very stimulating challenge”. The head coach has already set the course — camp in L’Aquila from the afternoon of Thursday 18 June, then departure for Tokyo.

When Italy play in the Nations Championship

Italy open on Saturday 4 July against Japan in Tokyo (Chichibunomiya Stadium), then fly to New Zealand to face the All Blacks on Saturday 11 July in Wellington (Sky Stadium) and close the summer window on Saturday 18 July against Australia in Perth (HBF Park). All the matches will be broadcast live on Sky Sport.

Three debutants and Neculai’s return

Quesada has opened the door to three players earning their first senior call-up: forwards Giulio Marini (Benetton) and Alessandro Ortombina (Zebre), and back Malik Faissal (Zebre), fresh from the Under-20 Six Nations in the Azzurri jersey. To them is added the return of Ion Neculai: the Zebre prop’s last cap dated back to 10 July 2022, in Batumi against Georgia.

The big names arriving later (and who’s missing)

Four Azzurri will join the group only after camp has started: Danilo Fischetti (Northampton Saints), Ross Vintcent, Stephen Varney and Andrea Zambonin (Exeter Chiefs) are involved in the English Premiership final on 20 June at Twickenham. Left out of the preparation, instead, are Ange Capuozzo and Giacomo Nicotera, still in contention in the closing stages of the Top 14: Quesada explained he didn’t consider them precisely because they’ll miss the entire block of work in Italy.

The full list of 33

Forwards: Lorenzo Cannone, Niccolò Cannone, Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Pablo Dimcheff, Riccardo Favretto, Danilo Fischetti, Muhamed Hasa, Michele Lamaro, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Giulio Marini, Ion Neculai, David Odiase, Alessandro Ortombina, Marco Riccioni, Federico Ruzza, Mirco Spagnolo, Ross Vintcent, Andrea Zambonin.

Backs: Tommaso Allan, Giulio Bertaccini, Juan Ignacio Brex, Giacomo Da Re, Malik Faissal, Alessandro Fusco, Alessandro Garbisi, Paolo Garbisi, Monty Ioane, Louis Lynagh, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Paolo Odogwu, Lorenzo Pani, Stephen Varney.

Invited to camp: Destiny Aminu, Samuele Locatelli, Ivan Nemer. Unavailable through injury: Simone Ferrari, Sebastian Negri, Martin Page-Relo, Edoardo Todaro, Giosuè Zilocchi, Manuel Zuliani.

What to expect

It’s a squad mixing a tried-and-tested backbone and targeted bets. With half the group idle for weeks and only one full-strength training session before departure, the real unknown is fitness. But Quesada’s message is clear: this new competition is a test that counts, and Italy want to show up ready right from Tokyo.

Read also:

• Tommy Allan torna in azzurro: il segnale verso il Mondiale
• Le scelte di Quesada: la sorpresa Faissal, gli esclusi Trulla e Mori

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