Italy head coach Kieran Crowley has announced a 46-man squad to prepare for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with five uncapped players, including Paolo Odogwu and Dino Lamb, selected.
The squad will assemble for training camps in Pergine Valsugana in Northern Italy before warm-up matches against Scotland, Ireland, Romania and Japan.
Five uncapped players
In 2021, Odogwu was called up to the England Six Nations squad but never made his Test debut. The former Wasps back, now at Stade Francais, qualifies for the Azzurri through his father.
The other uncapped players in the squad are Harlequins lock Lamb, Zebre props Paolo Buonfiglio and Matteo Nocera, and Toulouse scrum-half Martin Page-Relo.
The five players will be looking to press for a place in the final squad that will be announced on September 3.
Elsewhere, Sergio Parisse has not been called up and looks set to miss out on the opportunity of playing in a sixth Rugby World Cup. Fellow back-rower Jack Polledri misses out on the squad due to injury.
After missing the Six Nations, Epalahame Faiva, Federico Mori, Toa Halafihi and Ivan Nemer, all return to the squad.
Nemer will only be available from July 1, when his ban comes to an end after his racist secret Santa gift to his Benetton teammate Cherif Traore.
Italy’s Rugby World Cup training squad
Forwards: Filippo Alongi, Paolo Buonfiglio, Pietro Ceccarelli, Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Ivan Nemer, Matteo Nocera, Marco Riccioni, Federico Zani, Luca Bigi, Epalahame Faiva, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Marco Mandredi, Giacomo Nicotera, Niccolò Cannone, Edoardo Iachizzi, Dino Lamb, Federico Ruzza, David Sisi, Andrea Zambonin, Lorenzo Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Toa Halafihi, Michele Lamaro (c), Sebastian Negri, Giovanni Pettinelli, Manuel Zuliani
Backs: Alessandro Fusco, Alessandro Garbisi, Martin Page-Relo, Stephen Varney, Tommaso Allan, Giacomo Da Re, Paolo Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, Enrico Lucchin, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Luca Morisi, Pierre Bruno, Ange Capuozzo, Simone Gesi, Monty Ioane, Federico Mori, Paolo Odogwu, Edoardo Padovani
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2023 fixtures
July 29: Scotland v Italy – Edinburgh
August 5: Ireland v Italy – Dublin
August 19: Italy v Romania – TBC
August 26: Italy v Japan – TBC
RWC 2023
September 9: Italy v Namibia – Saint-Etienne
September 20: Italy v Uruguay – Nice
September 29: New Zealand v Italy – Lyon
October 6: France v Italy – Lyon
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