On Saturday 9 February at 17:45 (CET) at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, the azzurri of the Italian national rugby team will take to the pitch wearing the Cattolica jersey, playing Wales on their second day at the 2019 Guinness Six Nations. Following defeat in their first match against Scotland on 2 February at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Italrugby must now prove they can start again and redeem themselves.

“Have no fear: we don’t go on the pitch to suffer, and even from the defence we can launch our counter-attacks”, was the speech Conor O’Shea gave the formation now preparing for their next match, which will more or less be the same as the one that lost against the thistle, with the Italian spearheads: Mirko Campagnaro, who will return to his natural role as centre three-quarter, Edoardo Padovani, who will start on the wing, and Sergio Parisse, who on Saturday will celebrate his record 67th appearance in the Tournament. A look at the two teams’ history shows 26 direct clashes, including one draw and 2 wins by Italy, the most recent being in 2007.

Like all Italian Six Nation games, the Italy–Wales match will be aired live on DMAX (Channel 52 DTT).