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| - Factfile on Italy ahead of the Six Nations which starts this weekend: ITALY Population: 60.59 million Capital: Rome Coach: Franco Smith (RSA/since November 2019) Number of registered players: Around 90,000 World Rugby ranking: 12 (January 29, 2020) Six Nations past record (since 2000): Winners - N/A Wooden spoon (14) - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Fixtures (all times GMT): Feb 1: Wales v Italy, Cardiff (1415) Feb 9: France v Italy, Paris (1500) Feb 22: Italy v Scotland, Rome (1415) Mar 7: Ireland v Italy, Dublin (1415) Mar 14: Italy v England, Rome (1645) Squad Backs: Callum Braley (Gloucester/ENG), Guglielmo Palazzani (Zebre), Marcello Violi (Zebre), Tommaso Allan (Benetton), Carlo Canna (Zebre), Giulio Bisegni (Zebre), Tommaso Boni (Zebre), Luca Morisi (Benetton), Alberto Sgarbi (Benetton), Mattia Bellini (Zebre), Tommaso Benvenuti (Benetton), Michelangelo Biondelli (Fiamme Oro Rugby/Zebre), Jayden Hayward (Benetton), Matteo Minozzi (Wasps/ENG), Edoardo Padovani (Zebre), Leonardo Sarto (Benetton) Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli (Edinburgh/SCO), Danilo Fischetti (Zebre), Andrea Lovotti (Zebre), Marco Riccioni (Benetton), Giosue Zilocchi (Zebre), Luca Bigi (Zebre), Oliviero Fabiani (Zebre), Federico Zani (Benetton), Dean Budd (Benetton), Niccolo Cannone (Argos Petrarca Rugby/Benetton), Federico Ruzza (Benetton), David Sisi (Zebre), Alessandro Zanni (Benetton), Marco Lazzaroni (Benetton), Giovanni Licata (Zebre), Johan Meyer (Zebre), Sebastian Negri (Benetton), Jake Polledri (Gloucester/ENG), Abraham Steyn (Benetton) Player to watch: Jake Polledri. The Gloucester flanker was one of the stand-outs for Italy at the World Cup, a combative presence in the tackle and at the breakdown, exactly what is needed in the absence of Sergio Parisse Aim for the tournament: "Everyone's contributions will be crucial from the start to prepare the opening game of a Championship which gets more competitive and compelling all the time." - Coach Franco Smith lp/dj
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