2025 Italy rugby union tour of Namibia and South Africa
| 2025 Italy rugby union tour of Namibia and South Africa | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 27 June – 12 July 2025 | ||||
| Coach(es) | Gonzalo Quesada | ||||
| Tour captain(s) | Giacomo Nicotera, Niccolò Cannone | ||||
| Top test point scorer(s) | Giacomo Da Re (21) | ||||
| Top test try scorer(s) | Jacopo Trulla (3) | ||||
| Summary |
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| Test match |
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| Opponent |
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 Namibia |
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 South Africa |
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| Tour chronology | |||||
| Previous tour | Pacific and Japan 2024 | ||||
In July 2025, the Italy national rugby union team toured South Africa as part of the Summer International calendar. The two-test tour was confirmed in October 2024,[1][2] with a match against Namibia being included on the tour.[3][4]
It was Italy's third tour of South Africa, and the first time both teams have played each other at Loftus Versfeld Stadium and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.[5]
Fixtures
| Date | Venue | Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 June 2025 | Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, Windhoek | Namibia
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6–73 |  Italy
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| 5 July 2025 | Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria | South Africa
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42–24 | Italy
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| 12 July 2025 | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha | South Africa
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45–0 | Italy
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Squad
On May 21, Italy named a 33-player squad for the tour.[6]
On June 11 Louis Lynagh replaced Monty Ioane.[7] On June 23 Simone Ferrari replaced Giosuè Zilocchi.[8] On June 27 it was announced that Federico Mori will not join the tour, due to injury.[9] On June 30, Pietro Ceccarelli and Damiano Mazza were added to the squad in substitution of Marco Riccioni and Leonardo Marin, who were both injured in the first match against Namibia.[10] On July 4, Leonard Krumov joined the team in South Africa in substitution of injured Riccardo Favretto.[11] On July 7, Giampietro Ribaldi was called to replace Giacomo Nicotera.[12]
- Ages and caps updated at the start of the tour.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommaso Di Bartolomeo | Hooker | 4 January 2001 (aged 24) | 0 | Zebre Parma
|
| Pablo Dimcheff | Hooker | 1 July 1999 (aged 25) | 0 |  Colomiers
|
| Giacomo Nicotera (c) | Hooker | 15 July 1996 (aged 28) | 33 | Stade Français
|
| Giampietro Ribaldi | Hooker | 12 March 1997 (aged 28) | 0 | Zebre Parma
|
| Pietro Ceccarelli | Prop | 16 February 1992 (aged 33) | 34 | Perpignan
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| Simone Ferrari | Prop | 28 March 1994 (aged 31) | 64 | Benetton
|
| Danilo Fischetti | Prop | 26 January 1998 (aged 27) | 52 | Zebre Parma
|
| Muhamed Hasa | Prop | 10 September 2001 (aged 23) | 0 | Zebre Parma
|
| Marco Riccioni | Prop | 19 October 1997 (aged 27) | 33 |  Saracens
|
| Mirco Spagnolo | Prop | 2 January 2001 (aged 24) | 14 | Benetton
|
| Matteo Canali | Lock | 11 September 1998 (aged 26) | 0 | Zebre Parma
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| Niccolò Cannone | Lock | 17 May 1998 (aged 27) | 52 | Benetton
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| Riccardo Favretto | Lock | 18 October 2001 (aged 23) | 6 | Benetton
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| Leonard Krumov | Lock | 1 May 1996 (aged 29) | 0 | Zebre Parma
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| Andrea Zambonin | Lock | 3 September 2000 (aged 24) | 9 | Zebre Parma
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| Lorenzo Cannone | Back row | 28 January 2001 (aged 24) | 28 | Benetton
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| Alessandro Izekor | Back row | 5 March 2000 (aged 25) | 4 | Benetton
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| Sebastian Negri | Back row | 30 June 1994 (aged 30) | 63 | Benetton
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| David Odiase | Back row | 19 January 2003 (aged 22) | 0 | Oyonnax
|
| Ross Vintcent | Back row | 5 June 2002 (aged 23) | 14 | Exeter Chiefs
|
| Manuel Zuliani | Back row | 26 April 2000 (aged 25) | 32 | Benetton
|
| Alessandro Fusco | Scrum-half | 28 October 1999 (aged 25) | 18 | Zebre Parma
|
| Alessandro Garbisi | Scrum-half | 11 April 2002 (aged 23) | 16 | Benetton
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| Stephen Varney | Scrum-half | 15 May 2001 (aged 24) | 32 | Vannes
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| Giacomo Da Re | Fly-half | 29 March 1999 (aged 26) | 2 | Zebre Parma
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| Giovanni Montemauri | Fly-half | 24 October 2000 (aged 24) | 0 | Zebre Parma
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| Giulio Bertaccini | Centre | 29 November 2000 (aged 24) | 1 | Zebre Parma
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| Damiano Mazza | Centre | 16 February 1999 (aged 26) | 0 | Zebre Parma
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| Leonardo Marin | Centre | 23 February 2002 (aged 23) | 14 | Benetton
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| Tommaso Menoncello | Centre | 20 August 2002 (aged 22) | 28 | Benetton
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| Marco Zanon | Centre | 3 October 1997 (aged 27) | 17 | Benetton
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| Simone Gesi | Wing | 23 May 2001 (aged 24) | 3 | Zebre Parma
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| Louis Lynagh | Wing | 3 December 2000 (aged 24) | 5 | Benetton
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| Paolo Odogwu | Wing | 18 February 1997 (aged 28) | 6 | Benetton
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| Jacopo Trulla | Fullback | 5 July 2000 (aged 24) | 14 | Zebre Parma
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| Mirko Belloni | Fullback | 4 June 2004 (aged 21) | 0 | Rovigo Delta
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Matches
Namibia vs Italy
| 27 June 2025 15:00 CAT (UTC+02) |
| Namibia | 6–73 | Italy |
| Pen: Swanepoel (2/2) 7', 16' | Report | Try: Penalty try (2) 5', 80+3' Trulla (3) 18' m, 40+2' c, 75' c Marin 23' c Gesi 32' c Menoncello 38' c Fusco 45' c Spagnolo 63' m Varney 70' c Con: Da Re (6/8) 24', 33', 39', 43', 46', 71' Varney (1/1) 76' |
| Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium, Windhoek Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland) |
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Notes:
- This was Italy’s largest-ever winning margin in an away Test Match, surpassing the previous 61-point margin set against Portugal during the 1995-1997 FIRA Trophy.
- Sidney Halupé, Jurgen Meyer, Danie van der Merwe (all Namibia), Mirko Belloni, Tommaso Di Bartolomeo and Muhamed Hasa (all Italy) made their international debuts.[13]
South Africa vs Italy (first test)
| 5 July 2025 17:10 SAST (UTC+02) |
| South Africa | 42–24 | Italy |
| Try: Kriel 11' c van den Berg (2) 23' c, 37' c Arendse 30' c Koch 57' c van Staden 73' c Con: Pollard (6/6) 12', 23', 31', 38', 58', 74' | Report | Try: Zuliani 46' c Dimcheff 63' c N. Cannone 68' c Con: Da Re (3/3) 47', 64', 69' Pen: Da Re (1/1) 28' |
| Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria[14] Attendance: 42,632 Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland) |
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Notes:
- Vincent Tshituka (South Africa), Matteo Canali, Pablo Dimcheff and David Odiase (all Italy) made their international debuts.
South Africa vs Italy (second test)
| 12 July 2025 17:10 SAST (UTC+02) |
| South Africa | 45–0 | Italy |
| Try: Williams 8' m van der Merwe (2) 15' m, 31' c Moodie 37' m Marx 50' c Mapimpi 72' c Wessels 80' c Con: Libbok (4/7) 32', 51', 73', 80+1' | Report |
| Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha[14] Attendance: 44,282 Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland) |
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Player of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Notes:
- Willie le Roux became the eighth South African to earn 100 test caps.
- Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Ethan Hooker and Cobus Wiese (all South Africa) made their international debuts.
- This was the first time since June 2008 that South Africa has kept Italy scoreless (26–0).
- This was the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup that South Africa has kept their opposition scoreless (Romania 76–0).
- This was the first time since losing to Ireland 36–0 during the 2024 Six Nations that Italy has failed to score any points.
See also
- 2025 mid-year rugby union tests
- 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia
- 2025 England rugby union tour of Argentina and the United States
- 2025 France rugby union tour of New Zealand
- 2025 Wales rugby union tour of Japan
References
- ^ Skippers, David (13 October 2024). "Springboks' opponents for 2025 mid-year internationals revealed – report". Planetrugby.
- ^ "Opponents and dates for 2025 home Tests confirmed". sarugby.co.za. South African Rugby Union. 27 November 2025. Archived from the original on 10 January 2025.
- ^ "Gonzalo Quesada reveals Italy's third opponent in the summer". OnRugby. 31 January 2025.
- ^ "RugbyRugby, l'Italia a luglio sfiderà il Sudafrica e la Namibia" [Rugby: Italy will take on South Africa and Namibia in July]. OA Sport (in Italian). 19 March 2025.
- ^ "Springbok home Test venues locked in for 2025". sarugby.co.za. South African Rugby Union. 27 February 2025. Archived from the original on 28 February 2025.
- ^ "Italrugby, gli Azzurri convocati per il Tour Estivo 2025". www.federugby.it. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
- ^ "Italrugby, convocato Lynagh per il Tour Estivo 2025". www.federugby.it. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-11.
- ^ "Italrugby, convocato Simone Ferrari per il Tour Estivo 2025". www.federugby.it. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
- ^ "Italia, Federico Mori indisponibile per i Test Match estivi". www.onrugby.it. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ^ Bardi, Valerio (2025-06-30). "Rugby - Italia: due nuovi giocatori convocati per il doppio test con il Sudafrica". On Rugby (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-06-30.
- ^ Palma, Francesco (2025-07-04). "Rugby - L'Italia convoca un'altra seconda linea per la seconda parte del tour estivo in Sudafrica". On Rugby (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ Pellegrino, Antonio (2025-07-07). "Italrugby, convocato Ribaldi per il Test Match contro il Sudafrica a Port Elizabeth". Federazione Italiana Rugby (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-07-07.
- ^ "Paolo Odogwu set for Italy return against Namibia with three debutants". Rugby Pass. 25 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ a b "The Springboks will welcome Italy, Georgia, Australia and Argentina to South Africa in 2025, SA Rugby confirmed on Wednesday". 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.