Italy welcome back veteran Zanni for Scotland showdown

Alessandro Zanni will start for Italy in Saturday’s Six Nations showdown with Scotland in Rome.

The veteran lock was injured in the warm-up prior to the 35-22 defeat to France in Paris on February 9.

Zanni returns in place of Dean Budd for what will be his 119th cap, with Italy otherwise unchanged from the loss to Les Bleus.

“We showed some improvements against France,” said head coach Franco Smith. “We want to produce a big performance in front of our fans at the Stadio Olimpico showing everyone our game and our true potential.”

Tommaso Allan, who managed three successful kicks against France, will start at fly-half on Saturday.

Italy are seeking their first points of the 2020 tournament, having suffered a chastening 42-0 defeat to Wales in round one.

The Azzurri are, along with Scotland, the only team yet to record a win this year.

#Italrugby

Il XV in campo per #ITAvSCO, primo match degli Azzurri allo Stadio Olimpico nel @SixNationsRugby 2020

 Kick off sabato 22 febbraio alle 15.15
 @dmaxitalia #insieme #rugbypassioneitaliana pic.twitter.com/LBcJZWM2Os

— Italrugby (@Federugby) February 20, 2020

Italy: Jayden Hayward, Mattia Bellini, Luca Morisi, Carlo Canna, Matteo Minozzi, Tommaso Allan, Callum Braley; Andrea Lovotti, Luca Bigi (captain), Giosue Zilocchi, Alessandro Zanni, Niccolo Cannone, Jake Polledri, Sebastian Negri, Abraham Steyn.

Replacements: Federico Zani, Danilo Fischetti, Marco Riccioni, Marco Lazzaroni, Dean Budd, Giovanni Licata, Guglielmo Palazzani, Giulio Bisegni.

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