Kieran Crowley has announced his first Italian squad, a training group of 34, ahead of the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.
Italy are preparing for a busy Autumn Nations Series schedule which begins against New Zealand on November 6.
The Azzurri then host Argentina and Uruguay to complete their trio of matches and Crowley will be hoping that his Italian side can shake off recent struggles and notch some victories.
Introducing Italy: Crowley era begins for the Azzurri
The squad is announced ahead of a training camp in Verona on October 24, which will be only the second time Crowley will have met up with his players ahead of the Autumn Nations Series.
Of the 34 men selected, 26 of them are playing with the two Italian sides in the United Rugby Championship, with 13 from both Benetton and Zebre selected.
There are some notable recalls from Crowley, in particular those of Marco Fuser and Michele Campagnaro, who have been absent since November 2018 and the 2019 World Cup respectively, whilst Luca Morisi and Matteo Minozzi have also been recalled following their absence during the 2021 Guinness Six Nations.
There are also four uncapped players included in the squad, with front-rowers Ivan Nemer and Matteo Nocera included in the squad for the first time, where they are joined by scrum-half Alessandro Fusco, and winger Pierre Bruno.
The final squad will be announced on October 31 and Crowley is raring to get going.
“It is exciting to get to the heart of the work that we started planning from last summer,” he said. “The team building activities were important in order to begin to get to know all the various members of the group from a human point of view.
“With the technical staff, there was a constant and synergistic work together with the federal franchises (Benetton and Zebre), constantly monitoring the players who play in Italy and abroad.
“We want to create a strong team identity and playing in cities like Rome, Treviso and Parma, places that have a strong rugby roots in the area, will be an important factor in working towards our goals and facing the next opponents in the best possible way.
“Beginning against the All Blacks at the Olympic Stadium with the presence of our fans will have a special flavour.”
Italy training squad:
FORWARDS: Pietro Ceccarelli, Danilo Fischetti, Andrea Lovotti, Ivan Nemer, Matteo Nocera, Marco Riccioni, Luca Bigi, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Federico Zani, Niccolò Cannone, Marco Fuser, Federico Ruzza, David Sisi, Renato Giammarioli, Michele Lamaro, Giovanni Licata, Maxime Mbanda, Sebastian Negri, Abraham Steyn
BACKS: Callum Braley, Alessandro Fusco, Stephen Varney, Carlo Canna, Paulo Garbisi, Tommaso Boni, Juan Ignacio Brex, Michele Campagnaro, Luca Morisi, Marco Zanon, Mattia Bellini, Pierre Bruno, Montanna Ioane, Matteo Minozzi, Federico Mori
