First up in our set of previews ahead of the 2026 Six Nations, we examine the prospects of last year’s fifth-placed finishers, Gonzalo Quesada’s Italy.
The Azzurri head into this year’s edition of rugby’s greatest championship with their tails up after a significant improvement in performance, results and competitiveness and set their sights on an historic campaign.
Quesada has inspired notable improvements in the team since taking charge of the Italians after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and at times, his side hasn’t reaped the rewards their efforts deserve.
Heading into year three of the Quesada era, perhaps that will change as they continue to build towards what will be a challenging 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Once the whipping boys of the Six Nations, the Italians have worked diligently to shake that tag, and 2026 could finally be the year that they do so for good.
Last year
There was no better indication as to just how much Italy have improved under Quesada’s tutelage than the opening two rounds of the Six Nations, where they toiled admirably with Scotland only for two late Huw Jones tries to bloat the scoreline and secure the win for Gregor Townsend’s men at Murrayfield.
That was followed by a 22-15 victory over Wales, but much of their hard work came undone against France, who ran riot in Rome. They rebounded to put up much better fights against England and Ireland, albeit in defeat.
A tour to Southern Africa bore fruit for Quesada, who tested the depth of his squad, and while they breezed past Namibia, the Springboks proved far too great a challenge despite the Italians testing the back-to-back World Cup winners in several areas of the game.
They replicated those efforts in November against the Boks, shortly after another historic victory over the Wallabies, and ended the year with a rather straightforward win over Chile.
This year
2025 was a year that Italy once again showed their potential but were undone by a soft underbelly and allowed games to slip from their grasp.
The goal for this year will be to learn from those defeats and produce more compelling performances, aided by the new depth of experience complementing the world-class talents. Still, it will be no easy task with away trips to Dublin, Lille and Cardiff on the menu.
Their Six Nations opener against Scotland serves as an opportunity to really stamp their mark on the tournament. They more than held their own against the Scots at Murrayfield for about an hour of action, a fact that the coaching staff will remind the players as they host Townsend’s men in Rome.
A trip to the Aviva Stadium follows, one of the most difficult Test arenas for away teams to visit, before finishing the first batch of fixtures with an away day in Lille to face France.
England in Rome comes after the fallow week, timely as it allows them to focus all their attentions on claiming a first-ever Six Nations win over the Red Rose, before completing their campaign at home against Wales.
Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus boldly predicted that the Azzurri would finish in their highest-ever position on the Six Nations table this year.
“If I can make a prediction, Italy will finish two or three in the Six Nations,” he said last year. “For me, they are a team that is on the up from what we’ve experienced from them. So we didn’t have an easy ride, and next year we’re coming back again.”
That will surely be the ambition of the team ahead of the competition, but that would require them to better their best-ever win tallies in a single edition of the Six Nations, which is currently set at two (2007 and 2024).
Wales will certainly be in their firing line and Scotland too. The remaining three matches are all daunting tasks considering the performances from last year, but maybe, just maybe, things click for Italy.
Key players
Quesada’s squad is littered with high-quality internationals, many of which are well-known in rugby quarters, and one man who looks to be adding to that list is Manuel Zuliani. Last year, the 25-year-old usurped long-serving captain Michele Lamaro as the starting openside flanker, particularly after his brilliant shifts against the Springboks. A tyrant over the ball, he also has a relentless work-rate and could be just the kind of star the Azzurri need to take that step up.
Staying in the pack and the likes of Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari and Marco Riccioni provide the grunt, power and technical prowess to mix it with the best the Six Nations has to offer in the front-row.
Much of Italy’s success will be reliant on the performance of the key game drivers in Paolo Garbisi, Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex. The trio are world-class operators in their own right, but as a combination, can tear open the best defences the game has to offer. Garbisi has been the mastermind behind some of Italy’s greatest successes in recent times with his playmaking brilliance and clutch goal-kicking, which will be essential in the closer games.
Players to watch
Still, Garbisi will need an adequate partner, and he will get that in the form of scrum-half Martin Page-Relo, who will surely be the frontrunner for the nine jersey, considering his club form with Union Bordeaux-Begles. The 27-year-old has shone in the absence of Maxime Lucu, slicing defences open with his pace and intelligence around the fringes of the breakdown. Adding to that, he has an exceptional kicking game off the tee and in open field. He will have stiff competition for his position in the form of Stephen Varney and Alessandro Fusco.
Staying with the backs and the full-backs and wingers are primed to play a massive role in this year’s Six Nations as teams continue to adapt and exploit the new directive around escorts.
Their ability to secure possession will be paramount when they are fielding high bombs or competing in the air. Monty Ioane and Louis Lynagh thrived in this facet of the game last November, as did Ange Capuozzo, who is sidelined for the opening rounds at least. It’s worth keeping an eye on Edoardo Todaro, the Northampton Saints teenage sensation, too.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Prospects
The best-case scenario for Italy is that they live up to Erasmus’ expectation, but as mentioned above, it will be no easy feat considering their run of fixtures and away days. Quesada’s first Six Nations in charge was a historic one in terms of results, but the second was a bit of a let-down.
At this point in his tenure, it does feel like anything less than a historic campaign is somewhat of a failure, considering the high standards he has set for Italy. Perhaps the biggest stumbling block that Azzurri face is overcoming the absence of key players like Seb Negri, Capuozzo, Ross Vintcent, Tommaso Allan, Gianmarco Lucchesi and Jacopo Trulla.
Still, three wins certainly feels like an achievable target, however unlikely, but that should be the goal at the very least for the Azzurri, who look on course to replicate their highest-ever finish in the tournament’s history. Fourth.
Italy’s 2026 Six Nations: Squad, fixtures, referees, TV channels, kick-off times and more
Fixtures
Saturday, February 7 v Scotland (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Saturday, February 14 v Ireland (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Sunday, February 22 v France (Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Saturday, March 7 v England (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)
Saturday, March 14 v Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
READ MORE: 2026 Six Nations: Comprehensive TV broadcast guide, how to watch the action anywhere in the world