Italy get their superstar back ahead of Bok clash

SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Ange Capuozzo, Paolo Garbisi and Michele Lamaro make their returns to the Italy squad for three November Tests after missing out on mid-year action, the Italian rugby federation announced.

Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada named a 34-man squad that sprang no surprises.

Toulouse back Capuozzo makes his return from a broken fibula sustained in June.

Toulon playmaker Garbisi, who missed the July tour of South Africa that saw Italy lose twice to the Springboks (24-42 and 0-45), is also back along with Perpignan’s Tommaso Allan, Treviso flank Lamaro and Bordeaux-Begles scrumhalf Martin Page-Relo.

There were also call-ups for uncapped 19-year-olds Edoardo Todaro, a centre with Northampton, and Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, a lock currently on Bath’s books.

Italy play Australia in Udine on November 8 before taking on world champions South Africa a week later in Turin and finishing up against Chile in Genoa on November 22.

Italy squad:

Forwards: Lorenzo Cannone (Benetton Rugby), Niccolo Cannone (Benetton Rugby), Tommaso Di Bartolomeo (Zebre Parma), Pablo Dimcheff (Colomiers/FRA), Riccardo Favretto (Benetton Rugby), Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby), Danilo Fischetti (Northampton/ENG), Muhamed Hasa (Zebre Parma), Alessandro Izekor (Benetton Rugby), Michele Lamaro (Benetton Rugby), Sebastian Negri(Benetton Rugby), Giacomo Nicotera (Stade Francais/FRA), Enoch Opoku Gyamfi (Bath/ENG), Marco Riccioni (Saracens/ENG), Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby), Mirco Spagnolo (Benetton Rugby), Ross Vintcent (Exeter/ENG), Andrea Zambonin (Exeter/ENG), Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby).

Backs: Tommaso Allan (Perpignan/FRA), Juan Ignacio Brex (Toulon/FRA), Ange Capuozzo (Stade Toulousain/FRA), Giacomo Da Re (Zebre Parma), Alessandro Garbisi (Benetton Rugby), Paolo Garbisi (Toulon/FRA), Monty Ioane (Lyon/FRA), Louis Lynagh (Benetton Rugby), Leonardo Marin (Benetton Rugby), Damiano Mazza (Zebre Parma), Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby), Martin Page-Relo (Bordeaux-Begles/FRA), Lorenzo Pani (Zebre Parma), Edoardo Todaro (Northampton/ENG), Stephen Varney (Exeter/ENG).