English-born wing Paolo Odogwu and lock Dino Lamb will make their Test debuts for Italy on Saturday when they take on Ireland in a World Cup warm-up match at the Aviva Stadium.
The pair are among nine starting line-up changes announced by coach Kieran Crowley for a second preparatory game for Italy, whose experimental outfit was beaten 25-13 by Scotland at Murrayfield last weekend.
They will have a much stronger line-up in Dublin with Odogwu and Lamb looking to stake a claim for a place in the World Cup squad.
"Dino has the ability to play number four and five and can also be a loose forward. He is very mobile for a big man," Crowley said.
"He is starting to get to know our systems of play and is a very good ball-carrier with good skills. He brings physicality and a presence."
In 2021, Odogwu was called up to the England Six Nations squad but did not feature. The former Wasps back, now at Benetton Rugby, qualifies for Italy through his father.
"He is a different sort of winger than the others we have in that he is a very strong carrier, which will be an asset to us," Crowley said.
"I just want them both to go out and play, and know they are not going to be judged on one performance."
Italy’s revamped side sees backline changes with a new half-back pairing of Paolo Garbisi and Stephen Varney. Tommaso Allan has been moved to full-back, Odogwu comes in on the wing and Juan Ignacio Brez will be Tommaso Menoncello’s new centre partner.
In the forwards, Federico Ruzza, who captained Italy for the first time last week, moves to the second row alongside Lamb, allowing Sebastian Negri to come in on the flank.
Italy: Tommaso Allan; Paolo Odogwu, Juan Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Stephen Varney; Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera, Marco Riccioni; Dino Lamb, Federico Ruzza (capt); Sebastian Negri, Manuel Zuliani, Toa Halafihi.
Replacements: Luca Bigi, Paolo Buonfiglio, Simone Ferrari, Niccolo Cannone, Michele Lamaro, Lorenzo Cannone, Alessandro Fusco, Lorenzo Pani.
Watch Ireland v Italy in a World Cup warm-up match on Saturday from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra
