Italy boss Franco Smith has issued an update to his original 33-man training squad ahead of the upcoming Championship restart, with Tiziano Pasquali, Antonio Rizzi and Cristian Stoian being drafted into proceedings.
Benetton prop Pasquali earns a recall to the national side hoping to add to his 21 Test caps to date, with his last Azzurri appearance coming during last year’s Rugby World Cup against Namibia.
Former youth internationals Rizzi and Stoian will be hoping to earn their first senior minutes during the autumn, with the pair having impressed so far in the fresh Guinness PRO14 campaign with Zebre.
Call-ups for the trio coincide with the absence of Matteo Minozzi and Cherif Traorè, with the former currently in the midst of an English Premiership title charge with Wasps, and the latter ruled out with injury following Benetton’s weekend defeat to Leinster.
The squad is now congregated in Rome and training is scheduled to get underway on Monday, with the clock continuing to tick down towards kick-off of Italy’s Round 4 clash against Ireland in Dublin.
Smith’s charges conclude the 2020 campaign at home to England a week later, hoping to end on a high by upsetting two of the title challengers, having tasted defeat in all three of their matches so far.
Following the conclusion to the Guinness Six Nations, Italy will then take part in the Autumn Nations Cup, in which they will play Scotland, Fiji and France in Group B, before contesting a play-off match to determine their final placing.
Updated squad:
Backs
Callum Braley (Benetton Rugby, 8 caps)
Stephen Varney (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
Marcello Violi (Zebre Rugby Club, 15 caps)
Tommaso Allan (Benetton Rugby, 57 caps)
Carlo Canna (Zebre Rugby Club, 42 caps)
Paolo Garbisi (Benetton Rugby, uncapped)
Antonio Rizzi (Zebre Rugby Club, uncapped)
Giulio Bisegni (Zebre Rugby Club, 16 caps)
Luca Morisi (Benetton Rugby, 32 caps)
Marco Zanon (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)
Mattia Bellini (Zebre Rugby Club, 25 caps)
Jayden Hayward (Benetton Rugby, 26 caps)
Federico Mori (Kawasaki Robot Calvisano, uncapped)
Edoardo Padovani (Benetton Rugby, 23 caps)
Jacopo Trulla (Kawasaki Robot Calvisano, uncapped)
Forwards
Pietro Ceccarelli (Brive, 9 caps)
Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby, 29 caps)
Danilo Fischetti (Zebre Rugby Club, 3 caps)
Tiziano Pasquali (Benetton Rugby, 21 caps)
Giosuè Zilocchi (Zebre Rugby Club, 5 caps)
Luca Bigi (Zebre Rugby Club, 27 caps) – captain
Leonardo Ghiraldini (released, 104 caps)
Gianmarco Lucchesi (Benetton Rugby, uncapped)
Niccolò Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 3 caps)
Riccardo Favretto (Mogliano Rugby/Benetton Rugby, uncapped)
Marco Lazzaroni (Benetton Rugby, 6 caps)
David Sisi (Zebre Rugby Club, 9 caps)
Cristian Stoian (Rugby Gold Flames, uncapped)
Maxime Mbanda (Zebre Rugby Club, 20 caps)
Johan Meyer (Zebre Rugby Club, 4 caps)
Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby, 25 caps)
Giovanni Pettinelli (Benetton Rugby, uncapped)
Jake Polledri (Gloucester Rugby, 16 caps)
Abraham Steyn (Benetton Rugby, 39 caps)
