Italy host France in the opening clash of the 2023 Under-20 Six Nations at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo on Friday night.
Inspired by a 26-point haul from Max Auriac, France made a statement with a 41-15 win in Mont-de-Marsan last year and will be hoping to lay down a similar marker in in Treviso.
France were edged out by the barest of margins from the title last year by Ireland and will be hoping this year they can go that step further to land the title.
HOW TO WATCH
The Under-20s Six Nations will be shown live on BBC iPlayer for fans in the UK, as well as S4C in Wales, while those in Italy will be able to follow matches on Sky Italia.
For French supporters, L’Equipe TV is the place to go, while in Ireland, the games are split between Virgin Media and RTE.
The match kicks off at 6:30pm GMT.
Italy team news
Massimo Brunello has named an Italy team containing as many as six players who ply their club trade in France.
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Giovanni Quattrini captains the side from hooker, joined in the front row by props Destiny Ugiagbe Aminu and Marcos Francesco Gallorini.
In the second row, Alex Mattioli pairs up with Racing 92’s Pietro Turrisi, while another France club player David Odiase of Oyannax starts at openside flanker alongside Carlos Lizardo Berlese and No.8 Matteo Rubinato.
La formazione scelta dal Capo Allenatore Massimo #Brunello per la prima partita del #SixNationsU20 contro la Francia ➡️https://t.co/CzyiceSbgP
🇮🇹🇫🇷 #ITAvFRA
📍 Stadio Monigo – Treviso
🏉 Venerdì 3/2, kick off ore 19.30
🎟 @TicketOneIT
📺 @SkySport Arena pic.twitter.com/FdsLm2DDqG— Italrugby (@Federugby) February 1, 2023
Montpellier fly-half Giovanni Sante starts, outside Sebastiano Battara at scrum half with Perpignan centre Nicola Bozzo starting inside exciting talent Dewi Passarella, who will play in his home club stadium.
Mathias Leon Douglas and Alessandro Gesi line up on the wings, with François Carlo Mey of Clermont starting at full-back.
Captain Quattrini said: “We are aware of the difficulties of the game and of this Championship, but for us players it is a privilege to wear this jersey and play in a stadium like Monigo.
“We approach Friday’s game with a very united group, we want to do well and for sure no one will back down, we hope for the crowd’s support because last year they were able to give us so much and it would be great to hear them again.”
Italy team to face France: 15 François Carlo Mey, 14 Alessandro Gesi, 13 Dewi Passarella, 12 Nicola Bozzo, 11 Mathias Leon Douglas, 10 Giovanni Sante, 9 Sebastiano Battara, 1 Destiny Ugiagbe Aminu, 2 Giovanni Quattrini, 3 Marcos Francesco Gallorini, 4 Alex Mattioli, 5 Pietro Turrisi, 6 Carlos Lizardo Berlese, 7 David Odiase, 8 Matteo Rubinato
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Samuele Taddei, 18 Alex Valentino Artuso, 19 Filippo Lavorenti, 20 Enrico Pontarini, 21 Filippo Bozzoni, 22 Andrea Bruniera, 23 Jacopo Botturi
France team news
Sebastien Calvet has named an exciting team to face Italy, led by captain Nicolas Depoortere, who starts at inside centre.
He is joined in the centres by Arthur Mathiron, outside a half-back pairing of Simon Tarel and Tom Raffy.
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The back three is formed of Enzo Benmegal, Maël Moustin and Pau’s Theo Attissogbe.
In the forwards, Hugo Parrou, Barnabé Massa and Zacharie Affane make up the front row, while Charly Gambini and Brent Liufau form the second-row pairing.
😍 𝑳𝒂 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒂̀ la 1ère composition du tournoi des #SixNations pour notre équipe de #FranceU20 !
📍 On se donne rendez-vous vendredi à 19h30 sur @lachainelequipe pour la rencontre face à l’Italie 🇮🇹 #ITAFRA #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/Z0r51EKKFF
— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 1, 2023
In the back row, Toulouse’s Lomig Jouanny and Mathis Castro Ferreira are joined by Montpellier flanker Lenni Nouchi.
Calvet said: “Following our high intensity training thanks to our invitation from the France senior team in Capbreton, we are very excited to get going for this first match.
“We will need to impose ourselves against an Italian side looking for revenge who will be physical in the contact area.
“It is also a first evaluation of this generation in an official match.”
France team to face Italy: 15 Theo Attissogbe, 14 Mael Moustin, 13 Arthur Mathiron, 12 Nicolas Depoortere (C), 11 Enzo Benmegal, 10 Tom Raffy, 9 Simon Tarel, 1 Hugo Parrou, 2 Barnabé Massa, 3 Zacharie Affane, 4 Charly Gambini, 5 Brent Liufau, 6 Lomig Jouanny, 7 Lenni Nouchi, 8 Mathis Castro Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Thomas Lacombre, 17 Louis Penverne, 18 Valentin Simutoga, 19 Bastien Chinarro, 20 Oscar Jegou, 21 Lucas Zamora, 22 Axel Desperes, 23 Yerim Fall