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Six Nations preview: Italy hoping coaches can bring change

Sergio Parisse, Captain of Italy (L) and Conor O'Shea, Head Coach of Italy (R) pose with he Six Nations trophy

The Azzurri were within minutes of beating France in the opening round of last year's Championship but were eventually pipped 23-21 at Stade de France, and lost all of their remaining fixtures emphatically.

However, they have since made some shrewd additions to their coaching staff. Former Harlequins boss Conor O'Shea was lured to Italy while ex-Saracens coach Brendan Venter has joined as defence coach.

Italy

​​​​​​​Last season: 6th
Head coach: Conor O'Shea
Captain: Sergio Parisse
Sky Bet odds: 500/1

The changes have had some impact. Italy came close to beating Argentina in June before recording a first ever victory over the Springboks in Florence in November. But inconsistency continues to dog them; those results sandwiched other disappointments, including a loss to Tonga one week after knocking over the Boks.

Italy's Six Nations fixtures

As is always the case with Italy, key to their Six Nations ambitions is continuity throughout the tournament, and a hope that their relatively small player pool is not exposed by injuries.

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Michele Campagnaro has hit form in recent weeks for Exeter

Campagnaro is hitting form at exactly the right time. Exeter didn't manage to progress from their Champions Cup pool but Campagnaro scored three tries in the final two rounds, including a brace against Ulster, and followed it up with a hat-trick against Wasps in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

The 23-year-old made his Italy debut in 2013 and since then has tallied 25 caps for his country, scoring four tries.

Six Nations squad

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 28:  Italy player Dario Chistolini in action during the RBS Six Nations match between Scotland and Italy at Murrayfield Stad
Image: Prop Dario Chistolini is back in the Italy fold

Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli, Dario Chistolini, Lorenzo Cittadini, Andrea Lovotti, Sami Panico, Tommaso D'Apice, Ornel Gega, Leonardo Ghiraldini, George Fabio Biagi, Joshua Furno, Marco Fuser, Federico Ruzza, Andries Van Schalkwyk, Marco Barbini, Simone Favaro, Maxime Mata Mbanda, Francesco Minto, Sergio Parisse (c), Abraham Jurgens Steyn.

Also See:

Backs: Giorgio Bronzini, Edoardo Gori, Marcello Violi, Tommaso Allan, Carlo Canna, Tommaso Benvenuti, Tommaso Boni, Michele Campagnaro, Luke McLean, Giulio Bisegni, Angelo Esposito, Giovambattista Venditti, Edoardo Padovani.

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