Rating every Italy player from their impressive Six Nations campaign: ‘Record-breaking’ leader and Brex ‘arguably the best’
Italy centre Juan Ignacio Brex, head coach Gonzalo Quesada and captain Michele Lamaro during the 2024 Six Nations.
Following the conclusion of the 2024 Six Nations, we rated all the players who featured in the Championship, next up, fifth-placed finishers, Gonzalo Quesada’s Italy.
Under Quesada’s guidance, the Azzurri registered their best ever Six Nations campaign, after joining the Championship in 2000, as they clinched memorable triumphs over Scotland and Wales and drew against France.
We run through their team, rating each player out of a possible 10.
Outside backs
Italy’s Lorenzo Pani scores a try during the Guinness Six Nations match at the Principality Stadium.
Tommaso Allan: He started in Italy‘s Championship opener against England and became the Azzurri’s top try-scorer (8) in the Six Nations, while his 12 point-haul saw him become his country’s top points-scorer in the Championship (165). Was an unused replacement against Ireland and then announced that he was taking a break from Test rugby. 7
Ange Capuozzo: The 24-year-old was a late withdrawal ahead of the clash against England due to illness but was back in the Azzurri’s side for their matches against Ireland, France and Scotland. As expected, he was influential in those games, especially the two latter ones, but missed the win against Wales due to injury. 8
Monty Ioane: The Lyon speedster was one of the Azzurri’s star performers, who produced several top-quality performances throughout the Championship. He was always dangerous with the ball in hand, and it is not surprising that he was amongst the leading players in several of the Six Nations’ overall attacking statistics. 9
Louis Lynagh: The Benetton-bound flyer made a memorable try-scoring international debut in the victory against Scotland and put in another solid all-round performance in the final game against Wales. 7
Lorenzo Pani: He started in the opening game against England but made little impact in that game and delivered a similar performance against Ireland. He was subsequently dropped and missed the France and Scotland games but returned against Wales and impressed on the attack. 6
Pierre Bruno: Did not feature.
Simone Gesi: Did not feature.
Planet Rugby’s player rating key for the 2024 Six Nations
Our Six Nations player rating key.
Centres
Juan Ignacio Brex: The Benetton stalwart made a steady start during the Championship’s early stages but improved as the tournament progressed and produced outstanding all-round performances in the victories over Scotland and Wales, which earned him the official Player of the Match awards in both those games. Brilliant on attack and defence and arguably their best player in the competition. 9
Juan Ignacio Brex of Italy celebrates scoring for the Azzurri during the Six Nations.
Tommaso Menoncello: The young playmaker produced his best performance of the Six Nations in Italy’s opener against England but went off the boil in their next game against Ireland. He shifted to the wing against France, where he was solid, but returned to the inside centre for the Scotland and Wales games and combined brilliantly with Brex. 8
Federico Mori: Another one of the young brigade, Mori played mostly off the replacements bench and did not disgrace himself, although there was nothing special to report. He started at inside centre against Les Bleus and delivered a solid but unspectacular performance. 6
Marco Zanon: Did not feature.
Fly-halves
Paolo Garbisi: The 23-year-old continued his growth as the Azzurri’s first choice number 10 as he delivered several outstanding displays and is one of the world’s best players in his position. Continually impressed with his playmaking skills and superb game management, and was a big reason for the Azzurri’s overall improvement in the Championship. 8
Leonardo Marin: The young Benetton playmaker made two appearances off the replacements bench during the latter stages of Italy’s victories over Scotland and Wales but made little impact in either of those matches. 5
Scrum-halves
Alessandro Garbisi: The younger of the Garbisi brothers was much less influential than his older sibling. The 21-year-old started the first game against England and scored a try but was replaced early in the second half and did not play again. 6
Stephen Varney: Despite playing off the bench in the opening game, the Gloucester stalwart was soon elevated to the run-on side and eventually started two out of the four remaining Tests – and was solid throughout. 7
Martin Page-Relo: He was not involved in the opening match of the Championship but played in all the other games and started against France and Scotland, where he gave a good account of himself. He provided a slick service to his outside backs and was handy with his long-range goal-kicking, which saw him slotting crucial penalties against France, Scotland and Wales. 8
Back-row
Michele Lamaro: The Azzurri skipper can be proud of his efforts as he led his troops superbly while also catching the eye with several outstanding all-round performances. Lamaro was at the forefront of Italy’s defensive efforts and finished with a record-breaking 103 tackles made in the Six Nations but also impressed as a ball carrier. 9
Sebastian Negri: One of the stalwarts of this team, he missed two of the matches – against Ireland and France – through a rib injury, but when he was involved, he gave his all for the cause. Impressed in a narrow loss to England and continued with the good work in the triumphs over Scotland and Wales. 8
Lorenzo Cannone: Another one of the first-choice loose forwards who missed most of the tournament due to injury, Cannone only featured in the first match against England and the last one against Wales. Despite his limited appearances, he was solid in both of those games. 7
Ross Vintcent: The South African-born back-row made his debut off the bench in the latter stages against Ireland, and although he made little impact in that clash, he soon started against France and delivered influential efforts against France and especially Scotland. Impressed as a ball carrier and a high work-rate on defence, he was also prominent against Wales. 8
Alessandro Izekor: The 24-year-old came on as a replacement for Negri against England but had little influence on the outcome of that encounter and wasn’t used again during the rest of the tournament. 5
Manuel Zuliani: Another one who featured off the bench against England, where he replaced Cannone, before being elevated to the run-on side against Ireland where he delivered a fine defensive display. He was dropped to the bench for the next game against France and was also a replacement against Wales but was restricted mostly to defensive duties in both those games. 5
Riccardo Favretto: The 22-year-old started in the Azzurri’s draw against France and played off the bench against Wales but apart from putting his body on the line in the execution of his defensive duties, he was quiet in other areas. 6
Giovanni Licata: Did not feature.
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Locks
Italy second-row Federico Ruzza wins possession at a lineout against Scotland.
Federico Ruzza: The Benetton star started all of Italy’s matches and established himself as his country’s premier second-row. Ruzza was a valuable source of possession in the lineouts and finished with the most takes at set-piece (33) in the entire competition. He was also prominent in attack and defence. 8
Niccolò Cannone: He gave good support to Ruzza as he packed down alongside his club-mate in all five Tests. Cannone was solid in the lineouts but made his biggest contribution on defence, where he made the second most tackles in the Championship for his country. 7
Andrea Zambonin: The 23-year-old served as back-up to Ruzza and Cannone in four of the five Tests – against England, Ireland, France and Scotland – but saw action mostly in the latter stages of those matches and did not make a great impact when he took to the field. 5
Edoardo Iachizzi: Did not feature.
Props
Danilo Fischetti: The Zebre Parma star was the starting loosehead prop in all the Azzurri’s matches and came to the fore with numerous excellent all-round performances. Fischetti was solid in the scrums and even dominated some of his direct opponents at the set-piece but also impressed as a ball carrier and made his presence felt at the rucks. 8
Pietro Ceccarelli: The veteran front-row started the first two matches against England and Ireland and did what was expected of him with the execution of his core duties but missed the rest of the tournament due to injury. 6
Mirco Spagnolo: The young Benetton front-row was ever-present throughout the Azzurri’s campaign as Fischetti’s backup and did what was expected of him when called up for action. 6
Giosue Zilocchi: The 27-year-old was involved in four of Italy’s five matches off the replacements bench, missing out on selection in the draw against France in Lille. Like Spagnolo, he was solid when needed and did not let the side down. 6
Simone Ferrari: The experienced front-row was called up to the squad, ahead of the match against Les Bleus, after missing the first two games and after starting on the bench in that game, he was promoted to the starting line-up for the last two games against Scotland and Wales where he impressed in the scrums and on defence. 8
Matteo Nocera: Did not feature.
Luca Rizzoli: Did not feature.
Hookers
Gianmarco Lucchesi: The Benetton hooker was in the run-on side for the England and Ireland encounters before being dropped to the bench for the rest of the campaign. Despite that setback, he never let the side down and finished in joint-second position with England’s Sam Underhill for breakdown steals. 7
Giacomo Nicotera: The 27-year-old replaced his club-mate Lucchesi midway through the Championship and impressed in all aspects of the game. He was solid in his throw-ins at the lineouts and a willing ball carrier but made his biggest impact on defence, where he had a high work-rate throughout. 8
Marco Manfredi: Did not feature.
READ MORE: Six Nations Team of the Tournament: Ireland and Italy lead the way as one country misses out