2020 Autumn Nations Cup – Wales vs Italy Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Wales vs Italy taking place? Saturday 5th December, 2020 – 16:45
Where is Wales vs Italy taking place? Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Where can I get tickets for Wales vs Italy? Check official club websites for information about purchasing tickets
What channel is Wales vs Italy on? S4C
Where can I stream Wales vs Italy? Amazon Prime subscribers can stream this match live online
THE TEAM NEWS
WALES
Starting line-up: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Louis Rees-Zammit, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 James Botham, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Jonah Holmes
ITALY
Starting line-up: 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Luca Sperandio, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Carlo Canna, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Braam Steyn, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Maxime Mbanda, 5 Niccolò Cannone, 4 Marco Lazzaroni, 3 Giosuè Zilocchi, 2 Luca Bigi (c), 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Simone Ferrari, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Cristian Stoian, 20 Michele Lamaro, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Federico Mori
THE PREDICTION
Italy were effectively handed a bye to the 5th-place play-off match here when their match with Fiji was cancelled due to the Islanders’ covid-19 crisis and it is hard to tell on performances as to whether they would be here otherwise. Their unofficial tussle with Georgia for future Six Nations residency will have to wait as they travel to Wales with nothing to lose now but, barring the Rugby Union shock of the year, nothing to gain either. Wales looked a little better in their last match against England and coach Wayne Pivac seems to have done enough to buy some more time at the helm, so his side can enjoy this last match in the hope of entertaining their passionate fans who can return here in limited numbers. To that end, it could be quite the scoreline with the shackles off. France put 36 points past the Azzurri last weekend and Wales should be confident of covering at least half of that here. Wales to win with -17 to cover looks a solid option in the markets on a day for the fans.
